When you travel in China, you can simply stick to popular attractions. But it can’t be     1     better choice to turn to Chinese food, where you can get bathed in truly authentic local culture.

Chinese food and the differences between Chinese and Western diets are both things that spark the     2    (curious) of most who visit China. You might even be surprised to learn that some of the Chinese dishes in America were     3    (specific) created to suit Western tastes. Moreover, when traveling through China you’ll most likely take notice of a few differences in the way food     4    (eat). For example, soup in the West is generally consumed     5     the start of a meal, while the Chinese prefer to enjoy their soup at the end.

You might also notice some distinct differences in meal preparation and cooking     6    (technique), which you may ignore when dining out in or ordering takeout from Chinese restaurants back home.

Cooking classes now     7    (become) an increasingly popular activity among those     8    (show) an interest in learning more about China’s culture through its cuisine. If you’re looking to take it a step     9    (far), keep an eye out for cooking classes held by residents in their own homes,     10     you can try your hand at cooking in the Chinese way.

Have you ever seen the scene?     1     (wear) a traditional Li ethnic group costume, a woman sits on the ground and weaves colorful yarn (纱线) into delicate brocade (织锦缎). These scenes are common in China s southernmost province of Hainan.

Li brocade, created by the Li ethnic group on Hainan Island, has     2     history of around 3,000 years. The entire process of the Li brocade tradition, from spinning, dyeing and weaving, to embroidery (刺绣),     3     (include) in the World Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2009. Hu is one of the few provincial-level inheritors of Li brocade in Hainan.

In recent years, Hainan has invested     4     (heavy) in opening training institutes to teach the techniques of Li brocade. Since 2012, it has been a course at primary and secondary schools in the province. Local authorities have taken a series of measures to strengthen the systematic     5     (protect) of Li brocade and the development of Li brocade, which is so     6     (benefit) to the survival of the traditional skills.

To spread Li brocade skills as widely as possible, Hu has compiled teaching materials by     7     (she). Over the years, she has taken her brocade work to participate in the exchange activities of intangible cultural heritage in Japan and France on behalf of Hainan. A set of her handcrafted double knit Li brocade was added to UNESCO’s collection when     8     (exhibit) in Paris.

Hainan is vigorously pushing Li culture to go global as well, with the ancient craft expanding its presence on the international stage over the past five years. 2019 was the year     9     Li brocade techniques became the first Chinese intangible cultural heritage project to be put on display at UNESCO headquarters. In addition, Li brocade has appeared in the Boao Forum for Asia annual conferences for many consecutive years and has been presented     10     a national gift to guests in China and abroad.

    1     (know) as silk embroidery (刺绣), Chinese embroidery is an art     2     (date) all the way back to the New Stone Age and is quite widespread across China during the reign of the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD). The Song Dynasty (960 AD-1279 AD) saw a peak of development of embroidery in both quantity and quality. It     3     (gradual) developed into     4     art form by combining calligraphy and painting.

Embroidery is a brilliant pearl in Chinese art. From the magnificent dragon robes worn by monarchs     5     the popular embroidery seen in today’s fashions, it adds so much     6     (pleased) to our life and culture.     7     is undeniable is that the Chinese today continue to produce matchless embroidered artworks, some of     8     are expensive pieces of art with high quality.

Chinese embroidery involves a perfect blend of fine arts, aesthetics achievements and     9     (practice) uses. Thus it     10     (consider) as a symbol of China and a nice choice for Chinese souvenirs.

The Dunhuang Academy recently showed its latest digital achievement—a digitalized version of the Library Cave.

As the 17th cave of the Mogao Grottoes(石窟), the Library Cave     1     (discover)in 1900 in Dunhuang City, a city in the northwest of China’s Gansu Province,     2     around 60, 000 rare cultural relics dug out. Since then, more than 10 countries     3     (take) away about 40, 000 pieces from the site. To protect the cultural relics, digital technology is used     4     (perform) 3-D modeling of the cultural relics and reproduce some of the relics     5     have been lost overseas. By     6     (visit) the website “Digital Dunhuang”, people can view the images of the cultural relics in the cave.

The Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, are a 1,600-year-old UNESCO world heritage site.     7     idea of digitalizing Dunhuang was put forward in the late 1980s. The following decades have seen much     8     (develop) and numerous achievements in digital preservation (保存).

At present, the “digital Dunhuang project” has     9     (successful) completed the digital collection of over 300 grottoes. Its digital platform, launched at the end of 2022, shares about 6,500     10     (create) works with people around the world.

Liu Dai’e is known as     1     national inheritor of Tujia brocade weaving (土家织锦). She completed dozens of orders for her products bearing unique cultural     2     (element) of the Tujia ethnic group in time for the last Spring Festival. Born and raised in a village in Hunan province, Liu has introduced a new technique     3     the traditional craft (手艺) over the past two years,     4     was named as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006.

In the Tujia language, the local brocade is known as xilankapu, which translates as “flower-patterned cover”. Made by skilled weavers and     5     (involve) more than 10 processes, Tujia brocade weaving     6     (feature) over 200 classic designs.

Liu Dai’e was named a national inheritor of the craft in 2007, Liu said, “Handwork is involved throughout the process, and     7     (produce) designs that are more delicate than others, I use one line, instead of two.” After launching her business, Liu became     8     (complete) aware of the popularity of products featuring traditional designs.

“Many of my customers like to wear these scarves,     9     send them to their families and friends as gifts,” said Liu. “We need to create high-quality, high-end products not only to preserve the craft but to enhance     10     (confident) in ethnic culture and achieve social and economic benefits,” she added.

Hongbao is commonly seen across China. But what are these little red     1    (envelope) stuffed with money really for, and what do they mean? Hongbao is a gift of money in a red envelope. They are given on some important occasions, such as Chinese New Year, birthdays, and weddings in China as a way     2     (send) good wishes. The color red symbolizes energy, joy, and good luck in Chinese culture. Traditionally, red envelopes     3     (decorate) with beautiful Chinese calligraphy and symbols.     4    (actual), the important meaning of red envelopes is the red paper, not the money inside. Wrapping lucky money in red envelopes is expected to bring more     5     (happy) and blessings to the receivers. When it comes to receiving the hongbao, remember to always receive your hongbao with both hands. It is     6     (polite) to accept a red envelope with just one hand. When you receive a red envelope, you should express thanks     7     greet the giver with a pleasing phrase. Finally, never open your red envelope in front of the person     8     just gave it to you. You should do it     9     private or when you get home. In recent years, it     10     (become) popular to send electronic hongbao via WeChat as a greeting. Sending digital red envelopes has become a new way to greet friends or relatives that cannot physically be reached during the Chinese New Year period.

Frances Wood, a well-known British historian, working on the study of Chinese culture, has said Chinese civilisation is one of the most fascinating and lasting     1     (civilisation) in the world and that not only does China have a rich, ancient history, but the country is also dynamic in terms of changing over time. “The continuity of Chinese civilisation is     2     (fantastic) important,” Wood emphasizes.

Some rules     3     (use) by the Chinese today originate from as far back as the Qin Dynasty. Take the example of the measurement rule at the entrance of metro stations in China, which decides     4     a child should buy a ticket or not according to his or her     5     (high) .

Wood studied Chinese at Cambridge University in     6     late 20th century, before traveling extensively in China while studying at Peking University. After graduating from London University with a master’s degree in Chinese architecture, she     7     (join) the British Library in 1977 and served as the librarian of the Chinese collections for more than 30 years until she retired in 2013.

As a person with the duty of being in charge     8     the objects in the library, one of her main aims was     9     (purchase) plenty of books in Chinese about China, covering various subjects including humanities and literature. “It was a wonderful and     10     (reward) job,” she says.

A city’s name can often indicate its status in a nation’s history. Nanjing, meaning “southern capital city” literally in Chinese, could claim such an influential     1     (identify) in history.

The city, now capital of East China’s Jiangsu Province, was once     2     (global) considered to have     3     urban history of 2,500 years, a new archaeological research rewrites that. It was founded more than 3,100 years ago when an ancient city named Changgan was recently excavated (发掘).

“    4     (date) from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, archaeologists found that the city’s walls were protected by trenches,     5    is a universally acknowledged indicator of a defensive system     6     (adopt) by ancient cities,” says Chen Dahai, head of the archaeological excavation team. “In the history of the ancient system, trenches     7     (appear) before the walls were constructed. They were built around the living area     8     (prevent) floods and defend against enemies,” he added.

The latest archaeological findings may reshape the city’s history, with     9     (it) appearance tracing back to more than 3,100 years ago. Wang Wei, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Archaeology Department, recognizes the discovery     10     a remarkable archaeological finding in tracing the Nanjing’s origins.

Tradition has never lost    1     (it) shine. Although China has achieved the greatest urbanization (城市化) in history, Chinese people’s physical and    2     (emotion) connections to traditions are strong and everywhere. These traditions    3     (become) a precious and unique part of Chinese culture over centuries.

In the past Spring Festival holidays, Chinese people have felt a festive atmosphere both in big cities    4    in the countryside.

The Ming Tombs in Beijing staged a live show inspired by the Ming Dynasty silk painting Ming Emperor Xianzong Enjoying the Lantern Festival, attracting hundreds of visitors. Dozens of    5     (actor) wearing Ming Dynasty clothing staged a sitcom (情景喜剧) style play, performing scenes including the emperor lighting lanterns and other ancient activities usually    6     (hold) during the Lantern Festival. One worker said that it aimed    7     (help) people experience how the Lantern Festival was celebrated and further understand Ming culture.

In addition to turning the ancient painting into a sitcom, many other folk arts also became a major draw,    8     (particular) for young people. One young woman Hou traveled all the way from Beijing to Jiexi County, South China’s Guangdong Province, during the holiday to watch a performance of the Yingge Dance,    9    is one of the most representative (有代表性的) folk arts in Chaozhou and Shantou, Guangdong Province.

Many people were deeply moved as traditional cultures could    10     (preserve) until now.

Are you ready to celebrate World Letter Writing Day on September1? Writing something down may seem like     1     out-of-date idea in this day and age, but it can be one of the most interesting things for you to do. The letter can be a love letter, or even one     2     (simple) written to create memories.

The day     3     (found) by Australian author and photographer Richard Simpkin,     4     loves writing letters. It all started when he began writing to individuals     5     (consider) to be Australian legends, and he also received their    6     (reply). Later, his experience of exchanging ideas with these celebrities (名人) by letter made     7     possible for him to print the book Australian Legends.     8     (honor) handwritten letters, he created World Letter Writing Day in 2014.

Letter-writing itself     9     (be) present for centuries. In ancient times, letters were written on special objects, such as wood and even metal. In the 17^th and 18^th   centuries, letters were a     10     (power) tool for people to communicate. This is why a few letters gathered from the past can serve as documents of personal or diplomatic (外交的) communication for historians.