Only relying on hands, the ancient Chinese art of shadow play (皮影戏) is a tradition dating back to the Han dynasty and it’s also a representative of the Intangible Cultural Heritage     1     (recognize) by UNESCO.

As     2     fifth generation inheritor of Wang’s Shadow, a family troupe based in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, Dang Feihua is trying to revive it. Not only does he skillfully combine the traditional     3     the contemporary in his creations, he also explores new methods     4     (boost) the presentation and preservation of this cultural heritage, especially ways of integrating the ancient art form into daily life.

Dang and his team use the puppets (木偶) to illustrate female     5     (hero) from films, along with many colorful scenes and maps describing countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative,     6     makes the traditional art attractive to the younger generation Thus this cultural tradition thrives instead of remaining limited to lifeless museum exhibits   Besides, they     7     (try) many other ways to present and promote shadow puppetry during the past few years, including cooperation with artists and directors, and launching cultural,     8     (innovate) and personalized products with brands   They also open a shadow puppet themed hotel in Beijing, where they perform shows     9     (regular) and teach guests to make puppets, linking traditional culture with the modern lifestyle.

As well as simply     10     (promote) shadow puppetry, Dang also wants to find more effective ways to revive all of China’s intangible cultural heritage.

In recent years, Chinese craftsmanship has enjoyed a renewed interest from global audiences. This is due in part     1     the growing popularity of Chinese culture and the     2     (increase) wealth of middle-class consumers.

One of the most popular forms of Chinese craftsmanship     3     (be) porcelain (瓷器). Porcelain is a type of ceramic     4    is made from a mixture of clay and kaolin, a type of white clay. Chinese porcelain has been prized for centuries for its beauty and durability. It was once used as     5     status symbol in the Chinese imperial court.

Another popular form of Chinese craftsmanship is jade (玉) carving. Jade     6     (use) in China for thousands of years for jewelry, sculptures, and other decorative objects. Jade carving is a highly skilled craft that requires a great deal of     7     (patient) and precision. Craftsmen use a variety of tools     8     (carve) jade, including chisels, saws, and drills.

The intricate designs of jade carvings often reflect Chinese culture and symbolism. For example, the dragon is a popular motif in Chinese jade carving, often     9     (see) as a symbol of power and good luck.

Chinese craftsmanship is a valuable part of Chinese culture. It is a testament to the skill and creativity of Chinese craftsmen,     10     it continues to inspire and amaze people around the world.

For many locals in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, the day begins with a hot, steaming bowl of beef noodles. Currently, there are over 1,600 shops     1    (sell) Lanzhou beef noodles in this ancient city on the banks of the Yellow River, with annual sales estimated at more than $58 billion.

The     2    (early) Lanzhou clear-soup beef noodles developed from Chen Weijing’s Lao Tang beef noodles from Henan Province during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty. Then Ma Liuqi from Gansu learned     3     Chen how to make the beef noodles and brought it to Lanzhou. This     4    (follow)by Chen Hesheng, Ma Baozi and others who established the standard of Lanzhou beef noodles and carried it forward.

Lanzhou beef noodles can be classified (分类) into more than 10 types     5    (base) on their thickness, with each type having its own name. The noodle types are determined by the different age groups they are     6    (suit) for. For example, the thinner noodles are ideal for older people as they are easier to chew. Young people have a     7    (prefer) for the thicker and wider noodles.

For over 200 years, this bowl of beef noodles     8    (become) world-famous for its tender meat and tasty soup, as well as its fine noodle texture. Now Gansu Province is considering passing     9     law related to Lanzhou beef noodles,     10     is believed to provide legal protection for the industry to achieve higher quality in production, business operation and services.

Chinese tea culture is divided into four parts that show the origin (起源) of it, the philosophy (哲学) behind it, the     1     (connect) with other cultures and its modern development.

The origin is often connected with the story of Shennong     2     is said to have discovered the medicinal use of tea leaves in ancient times.

    3    (drink) tea includes more than just preparation and beautiful tea set, and also shows the philosophy of how the Chinese get along with the outside world. The ancient Chinese used the word chadao, the way of tea     4     (honor) their dream of living an honorable life, as well as of keeping a good relationship with nature and the world.

In history, many emperors were tea addicts. Over ten teahouses     5     (build) in Beijing by Emperor Qianlong, a die-hard tea lover. The teahouse is     6     mix of different cultures. It also shows the openness and tolerance (包容) of     7     (high) civilized Chinese culture. As for tea culture, we can see the development of Chinese culture is     8     (color) and tolerant.

Apart from the tea sets and paintings, tens of tea bricks of different sizes and shapes     9     (make) in different places during the Qing Dynasty are on show. People can sit in a modern teahouse, examine different kinds of leaves     10     finally, have a cup.

When visiting China in early April, French President Emmanuel Macron enjoyed a music performance during his trip to Guangdong, Chinese music “High Mountains and Flowing Water”     1     (play) with a 1,267-year-old Chinese instrument guqin.

The guqin is a seven-stringed plunked instrument, which     2     (pass) down for more than 3,000 years so far. On November 7, 2003, Chinese guqin art was listed by UNESCO as a master-piece of oral and intangible heritage of mankind,     3     (make) it an important spiritual treasure.

The guqin is divided     4     two parts: the physical instrument, which is a static material heritage, and the art of the gugin, a dynamic intangible cultural heritage. The key to learning to play the guqin is how     5     (express) the connotations of ancient music with your own emotions. Dong,     6     enthusiast of guqin, said that compared with other traditional instruments such as the pipa and guzheng, the guqin can make her       7     (happy) and improve her cultural knowledge.

Through playing the guqin, people have more knowledge and a better understanding of traditional culture. Because the guqin is     8     (close) linked to poetry, painting, calligraphy and history, these elements complement each other.

The gugin is the earliest plucked instrument and it has deep cultural     9     (root) in China. Unlike other musical instruments, the guqin is more about the dialogue between the player and the audience’s own soul. “The sound of the guqin can be integrated into my soul, and this is     10     I want,” Dong added.

On November 29, 2022, “Traditional Chinese tea-making techniques and related customs” was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,     1     brings the number of world intangible cultural heritage sites in China to 43.

China is the birthplace of tea. It is 4,000 years    2     the Chinese began to grow and drink tea. Tea was first used as herbal medicine called “tu”.During the treating process 9 people    3     (gradual) found that tea could not only cure illness but also help to clear heat away; thereafter tea became an indispensable drink.     4    (base) on natural conditions and local customs, Chinese tea producers     5     (develop) six categories of tea－green, yellow, dark, white, oblong and black－and there are other    6     (variety) like flower-scented teas and more than 2,000 tea products. Tea is usually drunk in tea sets. A tea set is made up of a tea pot and some teacups, which are both made of china. Processing tools include woks, bamboo trays and drying frames, while core steps consist    7    shaqing, menhuang, wodui, weidiao, zuoqing, fajiao and yinzhi. All these teas,with their diverse colors, aromas and flavors, meet the different needs of people.

Most Chinese are fond of drinking tea. Tea    8    (serve) not only at tea house and restaurants but also at home. People also drink tea during breaks at offices or factories. It has been discovered that    9    (drink) tea does a lot of good to people’s health. A cup of tea can make you relaxed and refreshed. And it’s said that green tea can prevent cancers. That’s     10    tea is becoming more and more popular with people.

The first “Window of Chinese Books” in Europe was launched on Tuesday, with an online book donation ceremony from China’s Jinling Library to Malta Libraries.

The online event     1     (hold) at the Central Public Library in Floriana, Malta. More than 200 books were donated by Jinling Library,     2     cover fields such as ancient Chinese literature and art, history, culture, and food.

Books are crucial for the     3     (culture) exchange between two countries and will further enhance cooperation.     4     (hopeful), the donated books will open a new window of understanding of Chinese culture, history and social development for the Maltese people.

The books     5     (donate) on Tuesday not only provide a chance of     6     (promote) Chinese culture and tourism, but are also     7     precious gift of friendship from the people of Nanjing to the Maltese people.

Jinling Library has always focused on using books     8     a bridge to understanding of Chinese culture for global     9     ( citizen). Jinling Library, founded in 1927, established     10     (it) first “Window of Chinese Books” overseas in Nigeria in 2013. There will be more in the future.

Jing Xiu handicraft, a major school of traditional Chinese embroidery, has been listed as works of China’s own Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is at the risk of     1     (disappear). The list ensures that China’s best culture tradition is preserved and developed as well as made known to the world.

Jing Xiu, also     2     (call) Gongting Xiu or Gong Xiu, was     3     (original) made for the royal household. Jing     4     (name) after Yanjing (now Beijing) in ancient China. In Chinese, Xiu means embroidery while Gongting or Gong refers to the royal palace occupied by the imperial families.

The history of Jing Xiu     5     (date) back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907) when special workshops were established     6     (produce) embroidery items for the imperial household In the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties,     7     style of Jing Xiu took shape in terms of materials, handcraftsmanship, and embroidery patterns.

Jing Xiu,     8     is noted for the rigid standard of counted stitch (针脚), symbolic patterns, and second-to-none skills, took the lead of the Four Minor Embroidery Schools of Qing, along     9     the embroideries of Lu Xiu from Shandong Province, Bian Xiu from Henan Province, and Ou Xiu from Zhejiang Province.

Jing Xiu stands out by     10     (it) strong influence in the style from the imperial qualities, a feature that is rare in Chinese embroidery arts. The needlework features elegant colors and magnificent images, marked by demanding specification (规格) on silk material, types of stitches, and design patterns.

A new subway station in Moscow     1     features a number of Chinese design elements will soon become another landmark for Sino-Russian friendship and     2     (cooperate). The station as well as the other two on the southwestern section of the Moscow Metro     3     (stand) on the third transfer line of the city’s subway system.

    4     (show) respect for the Chinese constructors and friendship between China and Russia, Chinese-style designs have been adopted for the platform at the new station. The lamps     5     (decorate) with auspicious clouds, while the ceiling is in the form of a Chinese checkerboard.

According to Chen Zhuang, one of the designers, the style     6     (adopt) for the new station is “unique and consistent”, while the overall concept is modern, with geometric patterns and lines forming the main section. Design and aesthetic standards in China and Russia differ greatly, as Russia has     7     (large) inherited those of the former Soviet Union, but China’s design philosophy is based more on traditional elements. Combining the different standards of the two countries is one of the toughest     8     (task). “The Chinese-style platform is just     9     small part of the design, and we have to do more work and communicate     10     (far) on the subway structure, and other functions in underground construction,” he said.