2 . The exhibit, Digital Dunhuang — Tales of Heaven and Earth, which was held at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, brought to Hong Kong more than 100 exhibits including the visual murals and other related programs that could allow visitors to learn about the art and history of the Mogao Caves in a fun way.

“Dunhuang was an international city, a place where East met West, on the old Silk Road. So the Mogao Caves, which were completed in a period of over 1,000 years, record the ways of life and beliefs of the different peoples that crossed paths there,” explained Fion Lin of Hong Kong Heritage Museum.

Visitors can now get up close and personal with these faraway treasures without having to step into the caves, thanks to the digitization project of the Dunhuang Academy, a pioneer that has made great progress in the digitization and 3D scanning of the Dunhuang treasures.

“Studies have shown that in a cave, both temperature and CO₂ concentration level can rise with 15 tourists inside for ten minutes. As a result, the wall paintings are going to eventually fade. Digital technology has helped to strike a balance between sharing the treasures and protecting them,” said Lin.

However, digitization of the caves faces many challenges such as poor lighting and rough wall surfaces. On average, 40,000 pictures have to be taken to cover 300 m². Great amount of efforts have been made to piece the pictures together. What the exhibition presented is the result of years of hard work.

During the exhibition period, a mini display on Dunhuang music culture was also being held at the Museum for public participation.

Knowing that you are confused about the custom of giving gifts in China, I’d like to share with some suggestions here.

To begin with, the meaning of the gifts lie in value rather than price. Giving that, you’d better found out the preference of your hosts. When comes to the color of wrapping paper, black or white may not be advisable, both of them are considered to be unlucky in China. Beside, it’s bad manner to pick a clock or a pair of shoes for your hosts. Finally, what makes the gifts specially is the bond between the sender and the recipient. The gifts to the hosts should not be cost.

I hope these suggestions will be of great help to you.

Yours,

Li Hua

Recently, a famous basketball player has caused public angry by writing on tho Great Wall. In   fact, this happens in many place of interest. I had some suggestions to solve this problem.

First, make more posters to inform the public the damage of graffiti (涂鸦). Besides, punishments, such as a fine, is necessary to tourists with so bad behavior. Also, I think it's helpfully to put up some boards along the tourist attractions that tourists can leave messages.

I'm sure with our efforts, more and more people will become concerning about protecting cultural relies.

6 . While the United States celebrates Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November every year, some Americans mark the day with sadness. The United American Indians of New England call the national holiday a National Day of Mourning. They will mark the day in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the place where some of North America's first European settlers landed. Organizers describe the event as a time to remember “the genocide (种族灭绝) of millions of native people, the theft of native lands and the attack on native culture.”

Native American groups have been holding the National Day of Mourning since 1970. But they say their message is especially urgent now. That is because the town of Plymouth is getting ready to hold a number of events marking the settlers' arrival. The original settlers, known as the pilgrims (清教徒), first landed in the Native Americans' land, which is now Massachusetts, nearly 400 years ago. As the anniversary nears, the native people whose ancestors met the pilgrims want to make sure the world hears the whole story. The Wampanoag tribe helped the European settlers survive. Its members say the settlers brought diseases, racism and oppression.

On November 28, 2019, people Taking part in the National Day of Mourning gathered on Cole's Hill. The hill overlooks Plymouth Rock, a memorial to the colonists' arrival. The area also has a large statue of the Wampanoag leader in 1620. At the gathering, Native Americans from tribes around New England beat drums, offered prayers and read speeches. Then they marched through the streets of Plymouth joined by like-minded supporters.

Organizers said that the marchers called attention to the situation of missing and murdered native women. They also noted government action on migrants from Latin America and the detention (拘留) of children.

Paula Peter is a Wampanoag writer and activist. Peters sees progress in how Americans think about their history. They are starting to look past the false Thanksgiving story about pilgrims and natives living peacefully together, she says, She adds that the work of native groups continues to honor their ancestors. They are taking their history out of the margins and moving it to the center of attention.

Swizerland is the world’s most famous watchmaker,     1     makes it little surprise that     2     (it) people are the most punctual in the world. For them, being on time is not only a nice thing to do, but it’s     3     strict belief that they build almost every aspect of their lives on.

According to the BBC, everything in Swizerland, from trains and buses     4     personal meetings, is on time. If someones says they are meeting you at 3 pm, they will not be there at 2:55 or 3:05, just 3 pm. It shows “a deep     5     (express) of respect for other people”, US writer Eric Weiner, who     6     (recent) traveled to Swizerland, wrote for BBC News. “A punctual person is a considerate one. By     7     (show) up on time for everything, a Swiss person is expressing he values your time and, by extension, he values you.”

This valuable quality of Swiss people     8     (report) to originate from the country’s mountain areas. Due to poor weather, people had to plant and harvest crops exactly on time,     9     they would have nothing to eat.

However, being punctual also has its problems. Since everybody has their lunch at exactly 12 and takes their coffee at 4 pm, elevators and coffee shops all tend     10     (be) full at the same time.

Since the very beginning of human race, diverse civilizations     1    (feature) different layers and distinctiveness have been formed on the     2    (base) of villages, regions, clans, religious communities, and so forth. On the one hand, each culture is     3     system that fits into its environment, a crystal of people’s experiences in life for thousands of years, and a human heritage of     4    (history) and artistic values. Therefore, it has always maintained its unique form of civilization. On the other hand, various forms of communications and exchanges     5    (perform) between different civilizations through daily association and economic activities     6     some ties. And with the     7    (form) of a world capitalist market, the local and national self-sufficiency and door-closed policy have be en replaced with the intercourses and mutual dependence in all aspects between each nation. The spiritual products of each nation have some common wealth, which makes national unilateralism and limitedness     8    (increase) impossible. As the development of world history shows, it is the opposition and     9    (unite) as well as integration and exchanges between different civilizations     10     have enabled the development of civilizations and the progress of society.

There was a heating discussion held in my class last Friday. It was mainly about protecting the fine Chinese culture. Some suggested raising people's aware of preserving our culture and making people fall in love with them. For example, we could conduct creative activity like discovery tours and culture shows to help people have better understanding of our culture. Others think some courses should be offered in schools, which goal was to help students learn more about our customs, ways of life and so on. And in my view, what was mattered was that everyone should feel proud in our own culture. Also, we should attempt to passing our fine culture down from generation to generation.

10 . As the birthplace of kites in the world, Weifang, Shandong province of China, produces beautiful, vivid, colorful and high-quality kites. Now, more than 70% of kites in the world are exported from Weifang. If you want to see various shapes and sizes of kites covering the sky, you cannot miss the Weifang Kite Festival held on the third Saturday of every April.

But this year, tens of thousands of Chinese participants gathered in Weifang, from Sept 26 to 29 for the 37th International Kite Festival. Held since 1984, the International Kite Festival is an annual event to “exhibit the excellence of the kite lovers to the public,” according to the festival's website.

During the festival, kite lovers can enjoy stunt (特技表演) kite flying, also known as aerial ballet. Controlled by either a single person or a group, the kites form different shapes in the air. People always devote a lot of time and wisdom to making their own kites. From animals that crawl (爬行) on the ground or swim in the water to legends like Monkey King, everything can fly in the sky at the festival. One of this year's highlights was the giant kites decorated with images of medical staff and the Long March 5 rocket, which reflect the hot topics this year.

“Flying a kite is like flying your dream. All the cultural symbols from ancient and modern times can be found in the sky of Weifang,” noted Medium. After more than three decades of development, the festival has become a place to appreciate kites. But most importantly, it serves as a unique cultural event to promote international exchange.