As one of the oldest ethnic groups in China, Yao people are     1     (wide) distributed across the southern part of the country. Every year on the 16th day of the     2     (ten) month of the traditional Chinese calendar, Yao people gather to worship their ancestor-King Pan-through song and dance. This day marks the Panwang Festival, a grand celebration that     3     (symbol) the essence and continuation of Yao traditional culture.

The Panwang Festival has     4     recorded history of more than 1, 700 years. There is a fixed procedure,     5     the first step is to make offerings to Panwang. Altars are set up and idols     6     (hang). After three fires of a musket and a chorus of firecrackers, elders offer sacrifices such as pig heads, sticky rice cakes, chicken, and wine at the altars in front of the idols. People bow their heads in silent prayers as a sign of respect and remembrance.

With no     7     (write) language of their own, the history and culture of the Yao ethnic group have been passed down through the generations orally     8     the form of songs, legends and stories. The “Panwang Song”, also known as the “Great Panwang Song”, is an epic and comprehensive collection of Yao poetry. The song covers a wide range of topics     9     (include) mythology, legends and ancient events, and encompasses everyday aspects of life.

In May 2006, the Panwang Festival was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists. The Panwang Festival has evolved beyond being solely a     10     (celebrate) for the Yao people, and it now attracts numerous tourists who come to experience Yao culture during this period.

Huizhou enjoys a time-honored history. In 2000, Xidi and the nearby Hongcun village were declared World Heritage sites by UNESCO for their outstanding preservation of rural architecture     1    (date) back to the Ming and Qing dynasties.   

Huizhou houses are often wooden structures with brick walls, which require a lot of maintenance. Moreover, daylight is valued in Huizhou houses, which is reflected in the building of open interior courtyards,     2     (allow) sunshine to enter the rooms. Now, walking along the bluestone streets there, visitors can appreciate the distinctive Huizhou-style houses featuring white walls, dark tiles (瓦片) and layered horse-head roofs,     3    feel like they are immersed in a traditional Chinese ink painting.   

The tourism boom helps to protect and breathe life into the ancient village. A    4    (symbol) paifang, standing at the entrance to Xidi,     5     (build) in the 16th century in memory of Hu Wenguang,     6    Ming Dynasty official born in the village who made great     7    (contribute) to local education and livelihoods. It is the local people’s desire to protect the local historical characteristics that leads to the buildings     8    (preserve) to this day. Besides ancient dwellings and paifang, there stand some ancestral halls    9    clans (宗族，家族) will gather to make sacrifices to their ancestors. With their own unique and marketable value, all these old Huizhou buildings are giving full play    10    their distinctive cultural charm.

For people interested in learning more about the ethnic (少数民族) Miao culture, an ideal place to experience it is an ethnic Miao community, called Qianhu, in Guizhou Province.     1     has preserved the distinctive cultural traditions of the Miao ethnic group exhibited in the forms of architecture, arts, and daily lifestyle.

This world’s largest Miao community consists     2     a dozen smaller settlements     3    (spread) over rolling mountains. Singing is     4     essential part of local life. The Miao people begin to learn how to sing as early as they can speak.

The Miao people are also known for making fine embroidery (刺绣). Different from other parts of China, the themes     5    (express) in Miao embroidery are showy,     6    (imagine), and often based on folklores (民俗). Meanwhile, Miao people can     7    (effortless) arrange colors in a way that avoids awkwardness. This is a truly natural gift.

Another fine element of the Miao culture is wearing silver ornaments (装饰). For most of their history, the Miao people     8    (have) no written language, so they had to preserve and pass on their heritage through visual elements, like carving history on silver ornaments. Over time, this craft has evolved into a vehicle     9     represents the Miao culture and spirit.

The Miao songs, embroidery, and silver ornaments all convey the rich, profound history of the Miao people and     10    (symbol) the continuity of their culture and traditions.

Did you ever imagine that one day we could enjoy the benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine in a cup of coffee?

Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM, is    1    approach used to help people re-balance their health and mind. A typical way of making a TCM formula (配方) is to get a prescription from a    2    (license) doctor, shop for all the medicinal materials, and then brew(煎) them with water in a pot. These materials    3    (say) to have a restorative effect by re-balancing one’s natural energy, or Qi,     4    runs through series of invisible meridians (经脉) throughout the body.

But if you ask younger generations of Chinese, few visit TCM shops nowadays, let alone brew these time-tested remedies for    5    (they). However, social media has recently seen a type of coffee    6    (feature) goji berry juice get popular.

The concept of combining TCM herbs    7    popular drinks could make young people access TCM more easily. The key of TCM is    8    (prevent). By trying such drinks, young people can take more care of their health, and nip sicknesses in the bud. Most people, attracted in such a cafe by the”new TCM drinks“ at first, would also be offered other TCM products like dried herbs and teas, after which they stay    9    (learn) more about TCM.

As Traditional Chinese Medicine becomes more    10    (access) to young people, many are integrating these ancient drinks into their daily wellness routines.

East China’s Shandong province, where the Yellow River flows into the sea, is promoting the deep integration of culture and tourism. So far, Shandong    1    (launch) many cultural tourism projects, making great progress in digging into the culture and value of the Yellow River    2    (boost) the high-quality development of the region.

One example is the Yellow River Tower in Binzhou’s Puhu Lake Scenic Area, which was open    3    the public last year. It has become a cultural landmark of the Yellow River Basin    4    visitors can view the river passing through the city and watch exhibitions showing    5    (it) long history and diverse cultures. The tower offers various types of activities, such as research tours, and undertakes Yellow River-themed video competitions.

One of the most    6    (influence) tourism brands in Yuncheng County is the Shuihu Film Studio. It integrates film shooting and performances. There are 36 courtyards and 108 scenic spots that    7    (vivid) display the diverse cultures of the Chinese classic novel Shuihuzhuan.

Yellow River culture is a product of the material and spiritual advancement of the people living by the river throughout time. The local artistic    8    (create) are playing important roles in the Yellow River culture. The most representative among them is Lyu Opera,    9    unique kind of the Chinese art form.    10    (root) in Dongying, the opera has become extremely popular among tourists.

China is known as the hometown of tea. For thousands of years, tea has been    1    (deep) rooted in Chinese culture and has been an important part of Chinese people’s daily life.

    2    is believed that the Classic of Tea, by Tang scholar LuYu in the 8th century, is the first book in China to systematically elaborated (阐述) the knowledge of tea and related practices.

While the age-old tradition of tea has been well-cherished by the Chinese, innovation is putting new life into the tea industry. In recent years, with the consumption upgrading of milk tea, there    3    (be) a boom in “new tea drinks” combining tea, fresh fruits and vegetables,    4    are particularly sought-after among young people.

From a    5    (globe) perspective, tea has been a long-standing bridge,    6     (connect) China and the world. It was once an important commodity (货品) on the ancient Silk Road and the ancient Tea Horse Road, and today, China is a major tea exporter in the world.

On Nov. 29, 2022,China’s traditional tea-making    7    (add) to the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) list, a milestone for the worldwide recognition of China’s tea culture.

The successful inclusion into     8    list has further highlighted the important contribution the Chinese culture has made     9    the diversity of human civilizations.

Chinese people believe that tea reflects the values of modesty, harmony, comity, and respect. The newly     10    (recognize) world cultural heritage will help introduce such Chinese wisdom and philosophy to more people in the world.