1 . This year some twenty-three hundred teenagers (young people aged from 13-19) from all over the world will spend about ten months in US homes. They will attend US schools, meet US teenagers, and form impressions of the real America. At the same time, about thirteen hundred American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world.

Here is a two-way student exchange in action. Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.

Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months’ study the language began to come to him. School was completely different from what he had expected-much harder. Students rose respectfully when the teacher entered the room. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that were usual in the United States. There were almost no outside activities.

Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual. Fred found the food too simple at first. Also, he missed having a car. “Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time. In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it.”

At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea. “I suppose I should criticize American schools,” he said. “It is far too easy by our level. But I have to say that I like it very much. In Germany we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens. There ought to be some middle ground between the two.”

2 . The traditional Chinese solar calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms. The Spring Equinox (春分), as the fourth term of the year, starts on March 21 and ends on April 4 this year. The Spring Equinox signals the equal length of the day and night time. After the equinox, the sun moves northwards, resulting in gradually longer day time in the Northern part and longer night in the Southern part.

Here are things you may not know about the Spring Equinox.

Swallows flying north

The ancient Chinese people divided the fifteen days of the Spring Equinox into three “hou’s” or five-day parts. As the old saying goes, swallows fly back to the North in the first hou. It is said that during this period, thunder and lightning frequently occur.

Egg-standing games

Standing an egg upright is a popular game across the country during the Spring Equinox. It is an old custom that dates back to 4,000 years ago. People practice this tradition to celebrate the coming of spring. It is believed that if someone can make an egg stand, he will have good luck in the future.

Flying kites

Spring Equinox is a good time to fly kites. In ancient times, people did not have good medical resources. So, to pray for health, they wrote their medical issues on paper kite. When the kite was in the air, people would cut off the string to let the paper kite float away, symbolizing the flying away of diseases.

Eating spring vegetables

Eating spring vegetables during the Spring Equinox is a commonly practiced custom in many regions of China. The ancient teachings in the Chinese classic, Huangdi Neijing, suggest that people eat seasonal foods to help preserve health and bring good luck.

The Spring Equinox is a time of celebration and reflection, where people recognize the changing of the seasons and embrace new beginnings.

7 . Reggie couldn’t hear a thing. He was a normal boy, but he had been born deaf. He was well known to everyone in the town, and they were all very fond of him. Unfortunately, though, he always seemed to end up being treated differently from everyone else. Children were worried that they would hurt him and adults acted like he couldn’t understand them, as though he was some kind of baby.

Reggie didn’t like this very much. But the person who disliked it the most was his friend Michael, who decided that things had to be changed. Michael’s father was the town’s Mayor, and Michael managed to convince him that this year, in honor of Reggie, they should choose one day of the festival for deaf people. During that whole day everyone in the town would have to wear earplugs (耳塞).

People liked the idea, because everyone loved Reggie. The day became known as The Day of Silence, and when it arrived everyone stuck plugs in their ears. That morning was filled with practical jokes and laughter. But, as the hours passed, people became more and more aware of how difficult life was when you couldn’t hear anything. However, learning about how life was more difficult for the deaf was nothing compared to the greatest discovery of the day — Reggie was amazing!

So The Day of Silence was the day when everyone realized you had to give people a chance to show how valuable they are. People in the town wanted to make sure that others would learn this lesson. So, from that day on, whenever visitors came to the town, they were welcomed joyfully and helmets (头盔) were put on their heads, helmets with great thick earflaps.

8 . In the past, westerners were not familiar with Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM), but now it is becoming globally popular. According to a government report, TCM has been introduced into 183 countries and regions around the world.

However, westerners only have a little knowledge of TCM. Their understanding of TCM may be limited to acupuncture(针灸), cupping and massage(按摩). For instance, the purple, injury-like marks left on a U.S. famous swimmer’s back from cupping to relax his muscles and reduce pain became the centre of attention during the Rio Olympics in 2016.

In fact, Chinese herbs(药草) play a more important role in curing diseases and keeping the body in good condition in the TCM treatment system than physical treatment. Therefore, it is disappointing to know that although 103 World Health Organisation member countries have given approval to the practice of acupuncture, not many recognise Chinese herbal medicine. TCM is much less popular than Western medicine partly due to the slow development of Chinese herbs.

Herbs can be made into pills, powder and soup. The kind of herbs used, their quality, quantity and the processing together determine the effectiveness of the prescription(处方). Compared with Western medicine, which has standardised drug production processes and treatment methods, TCM lacks standardisation. The chemical composition and functions of its medicine are still unclear and their effects are unstable. Fortunately, standardisation has improved in recent decades and a number of factories are increasingly producing patented TCM drugs.

Another reason why TCM prescription drugs have developed slowly is that it lacks creativity. While Western medicine-making companies come up with new products every year, TCM drug producers tend to make medicine according to prescriptions handed down from the past. That Chinese chemist Tu Youyou won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her research into malaria(疟疾)treatment may drive creativity to some extent in China’s TCM industry.

However, Rome was not built in a day. The current situation cannot be changed within a short time.

9 . If it had not been for Fan Jinshi and her team, the world cultural heritage of Dunhuang Mogao Caves in a remote Chinese desert might have long been destroyed by sand, weather or humans.

Born in Beijing and raised in Shanghai, Fan has spent half a century fighting an uphill battle to preserve the ancient Buddhist wall paintings at Dunhuang, in Northwest China’s Gansu Province. The 1,653­-year­-old Dunhuang Mogao Caves are a huge collection of Buddhist art—more than 2,000 buddha figures and 45,000 square metres of paintings spread among 735 caves. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Archaeologist Fan was sent to Dunhuang after graduating from Peking University in 1963. While in Dunhuang, a remote village in the desert then, Fan lived in an abandoned temple. At first, she did not even dare to go out to the toilet at night. To protect the treasures from sand and dampness, Fan and other workers put doors on the caves, planted trees and started monitoring temperature and humidity in the caves. They also controlled the number of visitors.

In the late 1990s, with tourism booming nationwide since national holidays were extended, the local government planned to go public with Dunhuang Mogao Caves, but found Fan firmly in_their_way.   “The heritage would have been destroyed if it had been listed，” she said.

Dunhuang Academy has now photographed and cataloged online all the sculptures and paintings. “Despite our efforts to minimise damage, we can’t completely stop them from being eroded. But the digital database will last.”

Fan was grateful when her husband joined her in Dunhuang in 1986 after 19 years of separation. Her two sons grew up seldom with her accompany. “I have not been a good mother or wife. With regard to my family, I’m full of guilt，” she said. Fan, 81, retired four years ago as the director of Dunhuang Academy but continues her efforts as a national political adviser.