Twelve animal head statues of the Chinese zodiac ( 生 肖 ) are well-known treasures from Yuanmingyuan, or the Old Summer Palace. After Anglo-French troops broke     1     the Old Summer Palace in 1860, numerous national treasures, including the 12 animal head statues,     2     (take) away.

On Nov 13,     3     red bronze horse-head statue,     4     was donated by Macao-based collector Stanley Ho, returned to Beijing. “The     5     (break) link of historical memory is thus re-connected,” Liu Yuzhu, director of the NCHA, told China Daily. “The return of these relics holds the Public’s collective emotion. People’s cultural     6     (confident) can be strengthened. It will also encourage more compatriots’ (爱国者) devotion, both at home and abroad,     7     (preserve) the cultural heritage of our country better.”

In the past 70 years, the Chinese government and many compatriots     8     (spare) no effort to     reclaim (拿回) lost Chinese relics and artifacts from overseas. Due to their efforts, the horse statue is the     9       (seven) of the 12 animal statues to be returned from overseas. Now, the search is on for the     10     (remain) five: a dog, a rooster, a dragon, a sheep and a snake.

Learning Chinese calligraphy     1     (list) as one of the must-do things when I came to China. Now, I’m in the course of learning this unique art,     2     value is considered very high in China, even across East Asia today. It is not only     3     ancient artistic form of human language, but it also reflects Chinese traditions.

As someone who paints, draws, and loves all     4     (create) things, at first, I assumed I would be rather good at Chinese calligraphy. I was     5     (total) wrong. Using thick brush tips to produce awkward brush strokes (笔画) is very difficult for a     6     (begin). I have no idea about the different types of calligraphy and the meanings     7     (hide) behind each one. Also, I have to hold the paintbrush in a very specific way;     8     (like) a pen or pencil, the paintbrush is held upright in the hand. I need to be extra careful when     9     (change) the angle or direction of the brush, especially if I press too hard on the paper.

After taking the lesson, I now understand the difficulty of calligraphy and that it will take efforts and commitment     10     (master) this art form. Yet, I am grateful to learn such a special Chinese tradition.

The classical gardens of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, date back to the 6th century     1     the city was founded as the capital of the Wu Kingdom. Today, more than 50 of these gardens are still in     2     (exist), nine of which     3     (be) regarded as the finest embodiments (化身) of Chinese “Mountain and Water” gardens.

Built in the 11th century on the site of an earlier destroyed garden, Canglang Pavilion has the     4     (long) history among all the existing classical gardens in Suzhou. Naturally     5     (lay) out and well designed, it is called one of the four best gardens in Suzhou. The garden looks simple but natural. Without rich     6     (decorate), it combines buildings with scenery so well     7     the whole garden appears to be naturally endowed (赋予). Since many of the     8     (origin) features of the garden have been preserved, the garden has high historical and artistic value.

The classical gardens of Suzhou are the most vivid specimens (样本) of culture from the East Yangtze Delta region,     9     area known for its historical significance, in the 11th to 19th centuries. The underlying literature, art, and craftsmanship     10     (show) in the architecture and gardening perfectly reflect social, cultural, scientific, and technological development s of this period.

In 2020, a 63-year-old Chinese grandpa attracted millions of viewers online with his     1     (tradition) Chinese carpentry skills. The Chinese master carpenter, Wang Dewen, well known as “Grandpa Amu” online, has been called modern Lu Ban due     2     his vast knowledge of carpentry.

His first video,     3     showed him making a fantastic wooden arch bridge, has gained more than 42 million views since it was posted. When     4     (build) the arch bridge, Grandpa Amu followed an ancient Chinese mortise and tenon (榫卯) technique, which means no nails or glue are involved in     5     whole process.

Grandpa Amu also made several wooden toys for     6     (he) grandson, using the same technique. Among all the toys, a walking Peppa Pig and a bubble blowing toy were his grandson’s     7     (favorite) and won viewers’ praise.

In 2022, during the Qatar World Cup, Grandpa Amu posted a video in which he created a wooden football. “A block of wood is     8     (eventual) transformed into a football. Genius,” one viewer commented under the video.

By the end of 2023, Grandpa Amu     9     (attract) over 1.2 million fans on social media. However, he insisted, “I am not a super star     10     just an ordinary farmer.”

The Forbidden City in Beijing, home     1     the Palace Museum, houses more than 1.8 million cultural relics and is one of the world’s most     2     (visit) tourist attractions.

    3     (mark) the 600th anniversary of the Forbidden City, the Palace Museum will hold a series of events. For the special occasion, Along the River during the Qingming Festival, one of China’s most widely known     4     (masterpiece), will go on display in September. For its best preservation, this treasured artwork is seldom     5     (full) exhibited. It was back in 2005     6     the painting     7     (display) to celebrate the museum’s 80th anniversary for the first time. Such     8     rare sight is expected to draw huge crowds. In addition, the museum will also display exhibits from other countries.

During the past few years, the Palace Museum has been working hard to get the public familiar with the history and culture of the Forbidden City. And it seems that these efforts have been paying off, with its popularity     9     (reach) a new height. Over 17 million people visited the museum in 2018, of    10     40 percent were under 30 years old.

Many years ago, a dance between clay and fire gave rise     1     a tangible piece of art: porcelain (瓷器). In the flames     2     (burn) in kilns (窑) around China in the Xia and Shang dynasties, porcelain was born. Porcelain     3     (make) by heating raw materials, often a mix between China stone     4     kaolin clay, in a kiln at a temperature as high as 1, 200 degrees Celsius. Temperature is the key to     5     (produce) porcelain.

Porcelain has also been     6     carrier for cultural exchanges. Along with China’s silk and tea, porcelain was one of the first goods     7     (receive) worldwide trade.

As it travelled around the globe through the ancient Maritime Silk Road, porcelain enjoyed great     8     (popular) among royal families and upper classes in Europe,     9     were attracted by these beautiful containers they named after China, a product that could be produced only in the far East. As a memory that can be felt with both hands, porcelain is     10     (absolute) the touchable history.

China is well-known for its long and amazing civilization. Many factors make it possible, one of     1     is the Chinese writing system.

Starting as a picture-based language, written Chinese dates back several thousand years to the use of longgu—animal bones and shells with    2     (carve) symbols on them. By the Shang Dynasty, the symbols had become a     3     (high) developed writing system.    4     time went by, a wide variety of dialects and characters came into being because of geographical differences. Later on, Emperor Qinshihuang united the Chinese people and culture,    5     (lead) to the singular (单一的) development of the writing system. As a result, Chinese people, regardless of location or dialect, now almost have no     6     (difficult) in communicating in writing.

Written Chinese also serves as a great way     7     (connect) China’s present with its past.Because of it, people can read the classic works written in ancient times. People admire the Chinese writing system     8     feel proud of the Chinese calligraphy, which is     9     art form enjoying great popularity now. In the past ten years, the number of international students learning Chinese     10     (increase) rapidly.