Xi’an, capital city of Shaanxi, served as the capital of 13 dynasties in Chinese history, which in total     1    (last) about 1,100 years. Consequently, the ancient history of Shaanxi is to some degree the ancient history of China. Shaanxi History Museum considers     2     a duty to be a showcase of Chinese ancient civilization.

People call Shaanxi History Museum “Bright Pearl in Ancient Capital and Precious Treasure of China”, for it is an art palace     3    (full) showing Shaanxi history and culture as well as Chinese ancient civilization. Its architectural buildings and exhibits have made it famous as a first-class museum in China     4     it was opened to the public in 1991. It covers     5     total area of 65, 000 square meters.

The basic halls in the museum are divided into three exhibition halls     6     2,000 cultural remains to display the history of ancient times in chronological (编年的) order. The first exhibition hall     7    (locate) on the ground floor while the other two are on the second floor.

While     8    (design) the buildings in Shaanxi History Museum, the great designer used     9    (tradition) palace construction of Tang Dynasty for reference. Adopting symmetry axis (轴对称) layout with main and supporting buildings in order, the complex     10    (architecture) show the unique presence of Tang Dynasty.

Luosifen is a combination of river snails and rice noodles, originating in Liuzhou, Guangxi, southern China. Since Liuzhou is a city full of Luosifen restaurants, with many near one another, you can even smell it    1     (walk) down the street! Because of the humid climate in Liuzhou, people tend to lose their appetite, but the spicy and sour taste stimulates    2     (people) appetite. Its unique taste of freshness, sourness, hotness and spiciness is    3     modern people and young people prefer. Diners can also add extra chili, fresh green vegetables or garlic    4     (suit) their own taste. Despite the word “snail” in its Chinese name, actual snails don’t commonly appear in the dish, but    5     (use) to flavor the soup. There being many choices of    6     (package) Luosifen these days ,people can easily prepare their favorite version at home. Some people even cook Luosifen-based hotpot    7     (they). Admittedly, Luosifen has become    8     must-try dish for those enthusiasts seeking a genuine cuisine. Whether you are exploring the streets of Liuzhou    9     enjoying a bowl in a distant land, Luosifen is sure to leave a lasting impression on your taste buds, providing a    10     (true) unforgettable gastronomic (美食的) experience.

4 . The Chinese written language originated very early. However, people began to like the art of writing, and pay attention to the creator’s thinking and spirit since the period between the Late Han Dynasty and Wei Jin Dynasty. The Chinese calligraphy fonts(字体) gradually evolved from oracle, Chinese bronze inscriptions and silk manuscripts to the following five main schools:

Yunnan is the hometown of tea. It provides the ideal climate and the ecological environment for large-leaf tea trees, which are located in the     1     (region) along the Lancang River. Thousands of years ago, they formed those ancient tea plantations,     2     are the best gift that nature has grated us.

    3     (preserve) the ancient tea trees, Southwest Chinn’s Yunnan Province has passed a protection regulation recently,     4     (clarify) that wild and cultivated ten plants aged over 100 wars should be better protected in the province. The new regulation, which will come into force starting from March 1, 2023,    5    (prohibit) six kinds of behaviors that harm ancient tea plants and their growing environment. Unauthorized cutting and transplantation of ancient tea trees, carving tree branches, digging the roots,     6    damaging the ancient lea trees are all banned.

Other     7     (legal) practices include using harmful chemical herbicides, releasing waste gas and water, as well as dumping and throwing waste     8     (casual) within the protection range of the trees, according to the regulation.

Yunnan has diverse resources of tea trees. The regulation also advocates proper research and     9    (apply) of Yunnan’s resources of ancient tea trees, raising varieties     10    new tea trees of good quality, as well as the establishment of relevant industrial chains.

A new chain of coffee shops has sprung up in the city of Wuxi, East China’s Jiangsu province, themed on the ancient Huishan clay figurine (泥人) culture—with a few modern adaptations. The Nanimomo Cafe chain has expanded     1     (rapid) since May last year and now has 11     2     (branch) in operation. The coffee shops display     3     range of figurines and related creative cultural products. In addition     4     drinking coffee, visitors can choose whether     5     (have) a go at making clay sculptures on site.

Huishan clay figurines are made from the black clay found at the foot of Huishan Mountain in Wuxi. They are said to have a     6     (record) history of more than 400 years. And they     7     (list) among the first batch (批) of China’s national intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) in 2006. In Wuxi dialect, Huishan clay figurines are pronounced nanimomo. The two most famous     8     (tradition) figurines are A Fu and A Xi, meaning “good fortune” and “joy”, and the factory has designed and produced several new figurines, such as Nani and Momo,    9     are more modern and attractive to young consumers. There are also several cute and colorful characters,    10     (carry) different types of food for which Wuxi is famous: spare ribs (排骨), peaches and steamed buns.

With roots     1     (date) back thousands of years, Chinese seals (印章) are more than just a unique image; they are symbolic of identity, status, and culture. A Chinese seal is a seal or stamp used to mark important documents, pieces of art, contracts, or any other item that     2    (require) a signature.

The seal was first created in 221 BC. The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, ordered his first imperial (皇帝的) seal to be carved using beautiful white jade (玉).     3     (call) the“Xi”, the imperial seal was only used by those in power. It wasn’t until the Ming and Qing dynasties     4     the seal’s usage moved from the imperial to the personal, due to the     5     (expand) of arts. Artists began using a stylized seal carving of their names to mark ownership of their works.     6     (individual) also began using a personalized stamp for important documents. These non-official stamps were called “Yin”.

    7    (typical), the seals are carved into stone, but they can also     8     (make) of wood, bamboo, or bone. Seals are carved in one of two ways: the material is carved away from the character, leaving a red ink outline when used on paper,     9     the character is carved into the material, leaving the character     10    white among a red background.

9 . There are many classical cultures in China. All of them have a very long history. Here we introduce four of them.

	Chinese Handwriting Chinese handwriting is a special art to Asian cultures. Brush handwriting is much loved around the world. Wang Xizhi is very famous for his handwriting. He made a great difference to the development of Chinese handwriting.
	Chinese Folk Music Chinese folk music has a long history. It is connected with Chinese ancient stories. One of the classics, Shijing, includes some folk songs in 15 different areas from the West Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period. Traditional Chinese musical instruments include guqin, guzheng, pipa, erhu, xiao and so on.
	Chinese Painting Chinese painting is one of the oldest traditional painting forms in the world. Most of the Chinese paintings in ancient China were done on paper or silk. Traditional Chinese painting includes mountains and water, figures (人物), flowers and birds. The paintings show different features during the different historical periods.
	Weiqi Weiqi, called “yi” in ancient China, is a smart board game between two players with a history of over 3, 000 years. The game can be treated as the beginning of all ancient chess games. It was introduced to Korea about 2, 000 years ago and was popular among the higher classes.

A 50-minute drive northwest of downtown, Beijing, a village pops up. It    1    (house) a shadow puppetry troupe (皮影戏剧团) and Beijing Long zaitian Shadow Puppet Theater.

Shadow puppetry is seen    2    the prequel (先行篇) to film and animation in China. Besides performances    3     (create) by light and shadow, performers must master a    4    (vary) skill set as the plays combine painting, carving, opera and literature. But due to low revenue and a small market, young people are unwilling     5    (learn) shadow puppetry.

    6    , this particular troupe stands out from the crowd. Average performer age is only 25. Moreover, of the 300 performers    7    has trained over the years, many are under 1.4 m in    8    (high). In 2021, the team created Winter Olympics-themed shadow pupets. The troupe also staged different plays    9    (introduce) ice and snow sports through fairy tales.

“    10    (fortunate), we have these people. They have been devoted to the inheritance of shadow puppetry for over a decade,”said Wang Xi, inheritor of Beijing Western School Shadow Puppetry.