1     (know)as “soft gold”, gambiered Canton gauze(香云纱)is the perfect silk fabric for cheongsam(旗袍). It feels smooth, easy     2     (wash) and dry, and is also good for health.

Today, gambiered Canton gauze is the only silk fabric in the world     3     is still hand-dyed and using natural plants It gets its color from shuliang, a yam(薯蓣)plant growing in Shunde, Guangdong, which can help fight against     4     (bacterium)and bad smells. In 2008, the skill of dyeing gambiered Canton gauze was listed     5     a national intangible cultural heritage.

Ouyang Yongze is an inheritor of the gambiered Canton gauze dyeing technique.    6     50-year-old started learning the technique in 2017.

The dyeing process includes 30 steps. It can take up to six months and     7     (do) by hand with materials from nature. Workers put the fabric in shuliang juice and let it dry on the grass. They repeat this until it turns brownish-yellow. Then, they put river mud on it to help the yam react     8     (full). After washing and drying again, the fabric turns black!

Mastering the technique is a challenging task, according to Ouyang, who struggled with     9     (control)the density(浓度)of shuliang juice.

Considering this, Ouyang has worked harder to develop the traditional craft by combining other dyeing techniques and cooperating with famous fashion designers. They are turning the silk     10     both traditional and fashionable clothes that are popular worldwide.

The Zuojiang Huasha rock paintings, from South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,     1     (include) in the World Heritage List in 2016. It was the first time that china’s rock paintings had been listed as a world heritage.

    2     (locate) on the towering cliffs in the border regions of China, these 38 sites of rock art, the cliffs themselves, and Mingjiang River together form an     3     (impress) cultural landscape. The rock art, combined with its special landscape,     4     (convey) the vigorous spiritual and social life of the Luoyue people, who are believed to be ancestors of the present-day Zhuang people.

The main painted area along the cliff (悬崖) has a width of about 170 metres and a     5     (high) of about 40 metres. The paintings are between 30 metres and 90 metres     6     the river’s level. The main area contains about 1,900 paintings,     7     include human figures as well as animals along with bronze drums, knives, swords, bells, and ships. Human figures are     8       (typical) between 60 centimetres and 150 centimetres tall, but     9     highest figure is over 2 metres.

The paintings were originally thought     10     (date) from the period around the 5th century BCE to the 2nd century CE. The period of their creations spans the time from the Warring State Period to the late Han Dynasty in the history of China.

I experienced China’s Naadam Festival in Inner Mongolia for the first time. The festival features horse racing, wrestling, and archery. I saw a lot of people wearing splendid Mongolian robes     1     learned about their ancestral tradition. In the unique wrestling competition, I     2     (move) by the show of strength and grace. Celebrating Naadam was     3     (absolute) worthwhile, and I eagerly hope to experience more of their culture in a     4     (tradition) Mongolian tent and enjoy hot pot in winter.

Yingge Dance, a traditional folk art combining dancing, Chinese martial arts, and Chinese opera, is popular in the Chaoshan area of Guangdong province in South China. Yingge,     1     (write) with the characters for “hero” and “song”, means heroic song in Chinese and Yingge dancers, as their name implies, are the avatars of     2     (hero). The dancers each hold a pair of short sticks and strike the sticks with force     3     (create) strong beats — an artistic display of masculinity (男子气概). In 2006, the Puning Yingge Dance     4     (list) among the first batch of national intangible cultural heritages in China.

However, as young people move out of the villages,     5     are local folk arts gradually disappearing all around China. In Puning, Yingge is still danced during holidays such as the Lunar New Year and     6     (it) performers are generally amateurs — farmers     7     have put down their tools and put on costumes. Some of the parts are passed     8     in the family, from father to son, and so far some villages have started giving performers a basic salary.

Dressed in colorful clothes and     9     (wear) heavy makeup, ordinary villagers have created a song of cultural confidence. The performance,     10     must-watch for the local people, graces the village square one more time.

People of the ethnic Wa group living in Ximeng Wa Autonomous County of Yunnan     1     (welcome) their annual wooden drum festival yesterday. Since 2002 the date     2     (fix) from April 10 to 12 to create a more festive atmosphere on a national level to     3     (well) promote Wa culture.

During the three-day festival, the village head will select the best tree trunk from which to make the wooden drum and hold a sacrificial ceremony around the     4     (choose) tree. On the following day, villagers sporting festive costumes will pull the trunk back     5     the village. While the carpenter carves the drum from the trunk, all the other men and women sing and dance as one,     6     is considered as a good opportunity for young people to make new friends and find their lovers.

The wooden drum, usually made from a section of trunk     7     (measure) two meters by 0.8 meters in diameter, is considered a sacred object through which the Wa people can directly communicate with their gods. In the past, it was     8     (wide) used as a ceremonial object. But nowadays it serves as     9     instrument during festivals. Dancing to the beat of the drum allows the Wa people to express their     10     (wish) for a happy life, good luck, and a bumper harvest.