Yesterday, I went to an amazing Chinese art Festival. There were different stands    1    artists could demonstrate their skills and teach the visitors! It was definitely    2    exciting experience for a foreign student like me.

What     3    (catch) my attention first was the 15th-century qinghua bowl in the breathtaking exhibition of Chinese porcelain. It    4    (vivid) illustrated a dragon playing with a ball.

Then I tried some paper cutting, that is, making images out of paper. It was difficult, but a lot of fun! With the help from the artist, I managed    5    (make) one in the shape of a fish. Meanwhile, a woman at the next stand    6    (use) a needle and some thread to do some embroidery. It looked so pretty! Then I went into a section decorated like a    7    (tradition) Chinese study, with two beautiful Chinese paintings of a pine tree and some bamboo hung on the walls.

There was also an old man    8    (write) Chinese calligraphy, which was so free and elegant! Another man sitting next to him showed me how seal cutting works. Chinese characters are carved into small squares of stone and stamped onto paper with ink. He made one for me with my name    9    Chinese—pretty awesome!

I also came away with a beautifully embroidered handkerchief made of soft cotton fabric and a porcelain cup and saucer    10    (paint) in wonderful shades of blue.

People of all ages and nations enjoy Chinese paper cutting. Paper Cuttings, though, are no longer just used for various pretty     1     (decoration).

This art form dates back to     2     sixth century. Chinses women would cut shapes from gold and silver foil (箔纸) to stick to heir hair. Families later followed the tradition     3     putting paper cuttings on gates and windows on special days. Finally, red paper cuttings became a way     4     (express) happy feelings and good wishes. A cutting of the “囍” character,     5     (represent) “double happiness”, is commonly used at weddings.

China paper-cutting master Li Yunxia makes the craft (手艺) much     6     (easy) than before. At the age of 6, she     7     (begin) to learn paper cutting from her mother. Li said     8     (frank), “All you need are paper, scissors and a lot of skills.” She was born in Shaanxi province,     9     paper cutting is still practiced and taught. Today, she teaches the ancient craft to people of every age.

No matter how common     10     special the design (图案) is, paper cutting remains a beloved Chinese craft. Next time you see a paper-cut, take a moment to appreciate it.

6 . As an old saying in China goes, “The days of the Sanjiu period are the coldest days.” “Sanjiu period”, which is in Minor Cold (小寒), refers to the third nine-day period (the 19th to the 27th day) after the day of the Winter Solstice (冬至). There are many different customs related to Minor Cold in China.

During Minor Cold people should eat some hot food to benefit the body and defend against the cold weather. Winter is the best time to have hotpot and braised mutton with soy sauce. But it is important to notice that too much spicy food may cause health problems.

In Tianjin, there is a custom to have huangyacai, a kind of Chinese cabbage, during Minor Cold. There are large amounts of vitamins A and B in huangyacai. As huangyacai is fresh and tender, it is fit for frying, roasting and braising.

According to tradition, the Cantonese eat glutinous rice in the morning during Minor Cold. Cantonese people add some fried preserved pork, sausages and peanuts and mix them into the rice.

In ancient times, people in Nanjing took Minor Cold quite seriously, but as time went by, the celebration of Minor Cold gradually disappeared. However, the custom of eating vegetable rice is still followed today. The rice is steamed and is incredibly delicious. Among the ingredients (原料), aijiaohuang (a kind of green vegetable), sausages and salted duck are the specialties in Nanjing.

7 . On the evening of April 8, Dunhuang Academy and Huawei jointly launched a brand-new technology-driven tour experience at the Mogao Grottoes. Using Huawei's newly-released Hetu artificial intelligence platform, coupled with the output of the Digital Dunhuang project, visitors to the Mogao Grottoes can enjoy a fantasy experience prior to entering the attraction.

Zhao Shengliang, director of the Dunhuang Academy, said that it has been cooperating with Huawei since March 2019. Using Huawei's latest Hetu technology, visitors are able to see the detailed contents of the Dunhuang Art Murals(壁画) outside the caves, through their Huawei mobile phones. This will reduce the time tourists spend inside the cave, aiding the protection of the cultural relics, while at the same time helping to increase the amount of information visitors can obtain. It is also considered to be a new way of promoting Dunhuang Art.

The Dunhuang Academy has used digital technology to preserve the research and exploration of Dunhuang Grottoes since the early 1990s. It has collected a wealth of data and has realized the goal of sharing of digital Dunhuang globally. It has played an important role in the protection and research of cultural site, as well as promoting the development and progress of related work.

The Huawei Hetu platform unites Dunhuang's study findings, high—resolution images of the site's murals and virtual, three-dimensional models with the real Mogao Grottoes. It has not only re-created the real tour of the scenic spot, but also developed a new way of digitally experiencing the grottoes. When people visit the site, they not only have the experience of seeing the real grottoes, but they can appreciate the admirable artworks more clearly and in greater detail.

In the future, Dunhuang Academy will continue to cooperate with Huawei to create more colorful virtual content to enrich the experience of Mogao Art on the platform, helping people around the world get to know Dunhuang Art better.

Many people have the hobby of collecting things, e.g. stamps, postcards or antiques. In the 18th and 19th centuries,     1     (wealth) people travelled and collected plants, historical objects and works of art. They kept their collection at home until it got too big     2     until they died, and then it was given to a museum. The 80,000 objects collected by Sir Hans Sloane, for example,     3     (form) the core collection of the British Museum     4     opened in 1759.

The parts of a museum open to the public     5     (call) galleries or rooms. Often, only a small part of a museum’s collection     6     (be) on display. Most of it is stored away or used for research.

Many museums are lively places and they attract a lot of visitors. As well as looking at exhibits, visitors can play with computer simulations (模拟) and imagine     7     (they) living at a different time in history or     8    (walk)through a rainforest. At the Jorvik Centre in York, the city’s Viking settlement is recreated, and people experience the sights, sounds and smells of the old town. Historical     9     (accurate) is important but so is entertainment. Museums must compete     10    people’s spare time and money with other amusements. Most museums also welcome school groups and arrange special activities for children.

Decorating with Plants, Fruits and Flowers for Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is a     1     (celebrate) marking the end of the winter season and the beginning of spring. This is why decorating with plants, fruits and flowers     2     (carry) special significance. They represent the earth       3       (come) back to life and best wishes for new beginnings.

These are some of the most popular in many parts of the country:

Oranges: Orange trees are more     4     decoration; they are a symbol of good fortune and wealth. They make great gifts and you see them many times     5     (decorate) with red envelopes and messages of good fortune.

Bamboo: Chinese love their “Lucky Bamboo” plants and you will see them often in their homes and office.     6     (certain) during the holiday period, this plant is a must. Bamboo plants are associated     7     health, abundance and a happy home. They are easy     8     (care) for and make great presents.

Branches of Plum Blossoms (梅花): The     9     (beauty) long branches covered with pink-colored buds (蓓蕾) make fantastic decorations. The plum trees are     10       first to flower even as the snow is melting(融化). They represent the promise of spring and a renewal of life.