After four days of wonderful performances, the 7th China Quanzhou International Puppet Festival     1     (come) to an end on December 12 in 2023 in Quanzhou, south China’s Fujian Province. The festival,     2     was held in the hometown of Chinese string (线) puppetry (木偶制作艺术), showed the high-level skills of Quanzhou’s puppetry artists, leaving audiences     3     (amaze).

In China, string puppetry is     4     important form of traditional theater that originated in Quanzhou during the Han Dynasty.     5     (actual), having been passed down over thousands of years, more than 700 traditional plays about folk beliefs and customs have been protected.

Each puppet is equipped with 8 to 16 strings, while more complex performances may require up to 36 strings. The strings     6     (divide) into several groups according to human movements, and all the actions are controlled by the hands of the puppetry artists.

To master string puppetry, skilled     7     (way) to perform puppets are not enough. Puppeteers also need to have rich life experiences     8     (understand) the emotional world of the characters to help bring the puppets to life.

On May 20, 2006, Quanzhou string puppetry was added     9     the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list (非物质文化遗产名录).

As the hometown of string puppetry, Quanzhou was also the first city in China to hold an international puppet festival and succeeded in     10     (host) six sessions in 1986, 1990, 2000, 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Comfortably numb, Sichuan peppers can do the surprising thing to you.

From its English name, obviously the pepper is essential to the deliciously complex cuisine of Sichuan. The pepper, together with dried chillies,     1     (form) the flavour known as mala, a term     2     (comprise) of the characters for “numbing” and “spicy”.

Anyone who has had the eye-watering, nose-running pleasure of eating Feitengyu—sliced fish in a sea of     3     (boil) , peppery chilli oil—knows this sensation.

In the West, kungpao dishes,     4     Sichuan speciality, tend to be oversweetened; the real version sings, the thrilling pepper set off by the rich flavor of black vinegar.

Less     5     (tradition) , dry-fried and then crushed with salt, Sichuan pepper can be a nice topping for popcorn.

Toasted and mixed with cumin (孜然) and fennel (茴香) seeds, dried chillies, anise (八角) , sugar and salt,     6     makes a spice rub that enriches stir-fried potatoes.

A few peppercorns go a long way. Just as inexperienced barbecue     7     (cook) often light so much wood that they burn their meat black, pepper novices (新手) risk making diners’ heads tremble for hours.

Yet even when     8     (use) in moderation, they remain a divisive ingredient. Critics wonder     9     someone would want to numb their mouths while eating.

There is no answer, really no disputing tastes,     10     the old saying goes.

To welcome 2024, a wide range of events were organized in many cities across China, from lantern and fireworks shows to outdoor concerts.     1    , the New Year’s countdown (倒计时) at the Guangzhou Museum offered visitors     2    antique different experience, combining a digital light show accompanied by a countdown     3     (feature) the bell-ringing of a Qing Dynasty clock.

The event attracted crowds of visitors who were treated     4     a visual feast arranged by a team of professional lighting designers. During the light show, images showing the development of Guangzhou City, the heritage of Lingnan culture, and     5     (select) pieces from the collection of the museum were projected onto the front wall of Zhenhai Tower, one of the     6     (old) landmarks in the city with a history of over 600 years.

    7     people began to countdown the remaining seconds of, 2023, the projections on the tower changed into colorful Chinese characters spelling out “2024,” adding to the     8     (excite) of the crowd.

Accompanying the visitors as they hugged one another and made their New Year wishes     9     (be) the twelve strikes of a rare gold clock from the Guangzhou Museum’s collection. It was the first time that the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) clock     10     (hear) in public since it was restored. Produced in Guangzhou, this typical clock of the era was made to pay a form of tribute to the royal court, not only striking on the hour but also playing music when wound up.

Zhang Zening, a hanfu enthusiast in Nanjing, started an extraordinary journey eight years ago to revive this traditional Chinese costume. Inspired by ancient murals (壁画) ，Zhang studied the artistry of hanfu in various museums,     1     (transform) paintings into wearable pieces.

Upon graduating, Zhang opened     2     hanfu studio with some friends. Now Zhang has cooperated with women’s re-employment organizations, seeking stay-at-home women with sewing skills, among     3     were many single mothers that could earn an income while taking care of their children. Around 2015, Zhang began to focus independently     4     the process of hanfu restoration. In that year, she visited Dunhuang, and     5    (impress) by the delicate murals there, wondering how she could     6     (possible) materialize them into beautiful costumes. Eight years     7     (late), she managed to restore more than 50 sets. In the past decade, she     8     (travel) to more than 10 cities across China, constantly studying murals and conducting research to restore hanfu from different     9     (dynasty ) . She has cross-referenced different materials accurate as possible. Thanks to her work, many young people wear     10     (restore) hanfu when they visit museums, and Zhang is excited to see more of them doing so.

Paper lanterns,     1     (emerge) from Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), were mainly used as lamps in ancient China.     2    (variety) of techniques (mostly Chinese paintings and paper-cutting) and many different materials, such as bamboo, wood and metal, were used in their making. Originally, monks (僧人) used lanterns    3     the twelfth day of the first lunar month in their worship (崇拜) of the Buddha. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Liu Zhuang, ordered the citizens     4    (light) lanterns to worship the Buddha just as the monks did. Later, this custom    5    (gradual) became a grand festival among common people. During the Tang Dynasty(618-907), people made lanterns to celebrate their peaceful life     6     the splendid creations symbolized and celebrated the prosperous, strong and powerful country. From then on, lighting lanterns became popular in the country.

Once used for lighting before the    7    (introduce) of gas and then electricity, lanterns are now merely decorative or more significantly used during of the yearly Lantern Festival. More modern technology    8    (employ) on making lanterns, so people can see lanterns with music or with colorful bulbs inside. The shapes of the modern lanterns, often cartoon characters and Chinese zodiac animals,     9    (change) a lot too. Sometimes the makers can even involve the computer games,     10     give visitors a different new and fresh impression.

The series “Escape from the British Museum”,     1     (comprise) of three episodes, has attracted over 310 million views since its release in late August on Douyin. It gives     2     account of a jade teapot transforming into a woman and escaping the British Museum with the assistance of a Chinese journalist. To our relief,     3     has sparked an appeal for the return of Chinese cultural relics is the widespread popularity of the series.

Recently, a formal notice     4     (submit) to the Chinese Film Administration to make a full-length animated version of “Escape from the British Museum”. Unlike the original series     5     (concentrate) on a single artifact, the movie will feature multiple Chinese relics that long for     6     (they) homeland and choose to return to China. The distinguished writer Wang Xuewen will be entrusted with crafting the screenplay, though it is not revealed whether the series originators will also be involved in the     7     (adapt).

Chinese state media have also     8     (enthusiastic) advocated the Douyin series. “We are thrilled to see Chinese young people are passionate     9     history and tradition,” remarked state broadcaster CCTV. “We also eagerly await the early return of Chinese artifacts     10     have been displaced overseas.”