In 1998, an eco-museum was established in Suojia Miao, Yi and Hui Township, China’s Guizhou Province. Consisting of 12 villages, including Gaoxing Village, the eco-museum is different from traditional ones. It isn’t enclosed by walls and    1     it showcases is more than various collections.

Xiong Shaozhen, a 77-year-old resident of Gaoxing Village, weaves every day with a loom (织布机) in a wooden house, her daughter-in-law busy    2    ( learn )the craft from her．“The costumes, language, music and even the way of production of the local community are all living     3    (significance) exhibits,” said Luo Gang, head of the museum.

A decade ago,Gaoxing Village    4    (list) in a traditional Chinese villages catalog (目录).However,Luo found there were few looms left in the village.He    5    (apply) for a budget from relevant departments and invited professional craftsmen to produce looms for the villagers. He asked each villager that received the machine    6    (use)it and train an inheritor (继承者) of the local weaving technique. In addition, most of the old folk houses with their    7    (roof) made of straw needed regular replacement and Luo had their original appearance     8    (restore).

There are 25 such eco-museums in the province, which are in line     9     sustainable development principles. Not only do they guide villagers to perform independent-management and activate their passion for preserving their traditional cultures, but they create more jobs and give     10    boost to local tourism.

A music concert “Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems” jointly performed by iSING! Suzhou and the Philadelphia Orchestra was staged at Kimmel Performing Arts Center in Philadelphia on Jan. 6.

Another concert featuring Tang poetry was    1    (successful) held at the Lincoln Center in New York on Jan. 7. Fifteen iSING! Suzhou singers from 10 countries led by Liao Guomin performed songs    2    (write) by young composers from 6 countries. The songs included many well-known    3    (poem) from the Tang Dynasty, such    4    Luo Binwang’s Singing of Goose and Li Bai’s Quiet Thoughts by Night.

The iSING! Suzhou International Young Artists Festival    5    (set) up in Suzhou in 2014 as China’s first international vocal (声乐) art festival. Over    6     past eight years, the festival has attracted outstanding young singers from all over the world, spread    7    promoted Chinese and classical music, and enhanced cultural exchanges between China and the West, becoming a cultural card for Suzhou to go    8    (globe).

The performances were also held to commemorate(纪念) the    9     (fifty) anniversary of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s China tour in 1973. The Philadelphia Orchestra, as the first American orchestra    10    (visit) China, bridged the two nations in the field of culture.

For Greek photographer George Doupas, Beijing is home now. During the past decade, he has been photographing the city, capturing its beauty     1     sharing these photos online and in exhibitions.

“This     2     (true) represents Beijing — the old and the new, nicely mixing together,” Doupas said while showing his photograph of the Zhihua Temple, a delicate Ming Dynasty building. It     3     (locate) in front of a modern office building, Galaxy SOHO, which features weaving bridges and interlocking passageways.

With rich historical heritage, Beijing     4     (be) an important center of traditional Chinese culture since the Ming Dynasty. Doupas often gets     5     (lose) in the city’s splendid ancient architecture. Meanwhile, he is also amazed by the modern city     6    (combine) high-end businesses and various industries. “It is fascinating to see a rapidly-developing city that invests so much effort in preserving its past, which is     7     I decided to pursue my career here,” he said.

Doupas is determined to continue with his career in China, hoping to serve as     8     bridge between China and the West. The     9     (display) that show his photos about Beijing have attracted a large audience in Greece and the Czech Republic.

“I call Beijing my home now,” he said, “I’ll keep sharing photos of China     10     the rest of the world.”

Liu Ruying,     1     grandfather is a huge fan of Peking Opera, has been interested in Peking Opera for much of her young life. Her grandfather is a great influence     2     her. At the age of 8, she     3    (begin) to practice the classic art. It wasn’t easy for a little girl     4    (experience) the difficult training, as performances combine martial arts, dancing and acrobatics(杂技).

“Sometimes I was tired,“ she said. ”I had to balance my studies and other     5    (course) I was interested in, such as dance. But the great charm(魅力) of Peking Opera made me always practice it.”

When Liu got the news that her region would have a cultural exchange with other countries, she had the idea of     6    (introduce) Peking Opera to the world in English. With     7     help of her mother, she took part in the activity after several months of practice.

“I     8    (extreme) love traditional Chinese culture,” she said. “Peking Opera has a long history of about 200 years and     9    (consider) a treasure of our nation. We should let     10    (we) make great efforts to carry forward our culture and protect the cultural diversity of the world.”

Every year during the Spring Festival, a small village east of Beijing puts on a special show. It’s about-15°C, and a man dressed in a straw hat and sheepskin coat    1           (throw)spoon after spoon of heavy molten iron(铁水) at a massive，icy wall.The collision(碰撞)between the 1,600℃ liquid metal and the frozen brick creates a waterfall of sparks(火花)    2    (fall) over him, equally beautiful and dangerous.

This is a performance    3    requires extraordinary courage, skill and strength. Known as Da Shuhua, it has a history of 500 years in Nuanquan, a highly-developed steel town.Da Shuhua translates literally into “beating down the tree flowers,”    4    agricultural activity of hitting fruit trees to stimulate growth.

In ancient times, fireworks weren’t always    5    (wide) affordable. So people in Nuanquan made use of scrap iron and developed Da Shuhua as a way    6    (celebrate) festivals.As a result,they brought firework displays    7    a whole new level.

Today,Da Shuhua has become more popular than ever,due to    8    (ban)on fireworks to reduce air pollution in some parts of China. Every year, this unique firework display attracts tons of people in spite of the freezing cold weather    9    draws attention for its protection. Since 2021,it    10    (list) as an intangible cultural heritage of China.

Huishan clay figurines (泥人) are produced in the western suburb of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, and are one of China’s most famous folk arts, having a history     1    (stretch) back over a thousand years.

The craft originated in the Southern Dynasties and reached     2    (it) peak in the Qing Dynasty. During the Qing, an artist made five clay figurines for Emperor Qianlong(1711~1799) and     3    (reward) with high praise from the royal family.

Huishan figurines differ from those of other localities in that they are always small and always feature a big head. They divide into two types - mold-pressed and hand-crafted. The     4    (cheap), molded figures often serve as children’s toys while the hand-crafted pieces are more refined and original.

The characters depicted (描绘) come     5    (large) from legends and Chinese opera plots. Da A Fu, a plump(微胖的) boy holding a fish, is the most popular figure in Huishan clay art. The legend     6    (go) that long, long ago, a god, disguised as a boy, beat a fierce lion     7     saved the children in Huishan.

    8    (express) appreciation, local people started to make clay figures of their boy savior Da A Fu. One-third of the overall figure is taken up by Da A Fu’s large head,     9     a face round as a full moon and big ears reaching down to his shoulders. It is     10     image implying happiness and good fortune.

Are you familiar with pop star Jay Chou’s Blue &White Porcelain? Its original lines, just     1     the composer Fang Wenshan described, were inspired by Ru porcelain (汝瓷).

Ranked best among famous kinds during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Ru porcelain is known for its unique pale blue glaze (釉). Oceans     2     Ru porcelain flooded onto the market around the year of 1100, but the     3     (exist) of Ru ware now is actually rare. Thanks to the efforts of Ru porcelain inheritors, people can now appreciate it     4     (close) at hand than before.

Born in Ruzhou, Henan province, Li Chao has spent a decade     5     (better) crafting skills. Ru porcelain goes through 72 steps, the    6     (one) of which is knead (揉) mud. Any small errors could lead to disaster, said the 41-year-old inheritor. He then stressed that a Ru porcelain inheritor must be patient enough. Every item of artwork     7     (full) deserves our admiration.

Techniques of making Ru porcelain will     8     (lose) with senior inheritors gradually passing away. So,     9     Li spares no effort in doing is introducing it to wider masses.     10     (achieve) this goal, he creatively uses Ru porcelain in making daily ware popular among young people. Now he’s aiming to expand the market by introducing it to the whole world.

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.

It is believed that Chinese knotting, also known as zhongguojie, originated for recording information and exchanging messages     1     writing was invented. Over the past thousands of years, knots     2     (play) an important part in the life of Chinese.    3     (initial), Chinese knots acted as good -luck charms to drive away evil spirits. Today, Chinese knots are widely used to decorate homes during festivities.

A major characteristic of Chinese knots is that they are often tied from a single continuous length of string. The knots are commonly named     4     the shape it takes. Chinese knots are created in a     5     (various) of colors such as gold, green, blue, or black, though the most commonly used color is red,    6     symbolizes good luck and prosperity.

Crafting the Chinese knot is a three-step process     7     (involve) tying knots, tightening them and adding the finishing touches. The knots     8     (pull) tightly together and are strong enough to be used for binding or wrapping, making them very practical.

Today, most of such knots are often mass manufactured in factories. Skilled knot artists weave complex knots that you might see     9     (sell) as souvenirs that you can take back with you. If you have time, why not try your hand at it? Perhaps these age-old charms can add     10     touch of good luck to your daily life?