Hanfu came to the public stage in 2018. Now this then led to the emergence of guochao, which basically means     1     (nation) trend.

The social media has definitely taken hanfu from a Gen Z niche hobby (Z世代的小众爱好) to a passionate consumer-driven market.

Zhong May, a Hanfu enthusiast said that she     2     (get) very positive feedback and her movements went along with each hanfu     3     she wore. Obviously, we have to be slow and reserve all these different things. Hanfu has become     4     art form, so a lot of people mix and match it     5     modern things.”

Cai Shangwei, the director of the center of culture industry in Sichuan University, explains that complex and profound social and cultural     6     (factor) have contributed to the rise of hanfu. But in the end, it all comes down to decades of stable     7     (develop) in China. As our country enters an era of prosperity, our cultural confidence gets     8     (boost).

Since young people enjoy buying fashion items to express their identity, hanfu meets the psychological need of the young generation to stay stylish and unique. Moreover, the design of hanfu is very     9     (visual) appealing and elegant, like a fairy.     10     (vote) by more and more young consumers as a favorable style, hanfu is gaining strong momentum (势头) to stay on trend.

The “Chuanbei Big Puppet (木偶) Show” in Nanchong, Sichuan Province,     1     (list) as an item of national intangible cultural heritage since 2006. And     2     makes this traditional performance so special is the use of life-sized puppets.

The art dates back over 300 years, and 82-year-old Li Siyuan is a     3     (recognize) master of his trade.

You can’t     4     (simple) rely on your hands to perform the big puppet show. Footwork is needed as well. The puppets, through the control of puppeteers, can dress up, light     5     candle, and even perform magical face-changing shows. Each puppet is at least 1.8 meters tall, and weighs over 20 kilograms.     6     takes skill and effort to really control them well.

“The traditional puppet, along with the ability     7     (control) it, is fast becoming a rarity in China. So,     8     (pass) this dying cultural heritage from one generation     9     the next is becoming a real challenge,” noted Li.

The good news is that the big puppet show in Nanchong is slowly gaining     10     (accept) and popularity among younger generations. Masters like Li Siyuan hope this age-old art and tradition can thrive in the modern era.

3 . The Rise of “China-chic”

Over past years, guochao, or “China-chic” has been gaining popularity among Chinese consumers. Guochao conveys the cultural heritage and values of China.     1    . “China-chic” is rising, but what is it?

The idea of guochao was first borrowed from some international brands, and began to win over Chinese consumers in 2015.     2    . In 2018, Chinese sportswear band Li-Ning presented its Wu Dao (the principles of Taoism) collection at the New York Fashion Week. It featured bright red color and Chinese characters. More brands have since followed, heralding (预示) the early period of guochao.

    3    . This was a period when applications of big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and 5G technology hit the market one after another. Domestic tech companies such as Huawei, Xiaomi, and DJI made headlines.

In its third stage, guochao became more common in everyday life. Over the past decade, guochao has expanded from consumer goods to experiential products. As consumers are showing greater interest in cultural identity and creativity, productions like the TV program National Treasure, and the dance show Night Banquet in Tang Dynasty Palace integrate cultural and historical elements with the latest audio-visual technologies.     4    .

Nowadays, guochao is moving to the next stage. No matter how the trend evolves, Chinese people’s positive attitude toward the country’s development and their recognition of and growing confidence in national culture won’t change.     5    . Seen from a broader perspective, guochao mirrors the rise of China, a country eager to make its presence felt globally. Guochao is a style, but more importantly, it transmits culture and values.

The 13th United Nations Chinese Language Day under the theme of “Chinese Language: Together for a Bright Future” has taken place,    1    includes a series of events in celebration of the third International Chinese Language Day. Beijing Dance Academy     2    (launch) an online event to mark the day on April 20, featuring six original dance works of different    3    (style), such as ballet, contemporary dance and classic Chinese dance.

Six art schools from five countries joined in the online event with dance works     4     (specific) created for the special occasion. One of the highlights is     5    new dance piece, titled Tong, or Together, which was created and performed by Beijing Dance Academy and dancers from Brazil, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Poland. It was inspired by the classic Confucius philosophy of datong,     6     (refer) to great unity and grand harmony.

Language Days at the United Nations seek    7     (promote) equal use of all six official languages throughout the organization as well as to celebrate multilingualism and cultural     8    (diverse). Under the initiative, UN duty stations around the world celebrate six separate days, each devoted     9       one of the organizations’ six official languages. The date for the Chinese day     10     (select) from Grain Rain, which is the sixth of 24 solar terms in the traditional Chinese calendars.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention (《世界遗产公约》), Beijing held    1     event titled “The Next 50 Years: World Heritage Where Challenges and Development Coexist”, during which experts discussed how    2       (make) the sites more accessible and sustainable for future generations.

Since joining the World Heritage Convention in 1985, the number of world heritage sites in China    3     (grow) to 56, including the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the Grand Canal,    4     (allow) the nation to rank second in the world. And over the past decade, China has added 15 new world heritage sites, six of    5     have been included in the relevant lists of intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产).

Chinese experts said that the 56 listed world heritage sites reflect the country’s    6     (abundance) heritage and that China’s cultural heritage achievements over the past 10 years can be seen in many aspects.

For example, in 2013, the Tianshan Mountains    7     (list) on the World Heritage List. The beauty of Tianshan lies    8     its snow-capped mountains and glacier-capped peaks. It is really an outstanding example of a mountain ecosystem with a    9     (diverse) of landform features and ecosystems.

Experts said that the world heritage application is just a means to perform better protection. We should behave more    10     (responsible) to conserve the heritage of all humanity.

The inhabitants in Zhanglang Village in Yunnan Province, all of the Blang ethnic group, who build their houses in the forest,    1    (maintain) traditional methods of growing and making tea for generations.

The village has almost no access to public transportation,     2    its isolation has allowed it to maintain much of its original culture. Locals also continue the ancient rituals of praying to and warshiping the God of Tea.

Zhanglang’s younger generations have followed    3    their parents’ and grandparents’ footsteps,    4    (stay) in the village to grow and process tea. By using different processing methods, the leaves from one tree can be turned into multiple types of tea, two of    5    are white tea and pu’er tea.

Warm and humid Yunnan provides    6    great climate for tea growth and some tea trees in the province are more than 1000 years old. Their continued    7    (present) is evident of the long history of tea growing in Yunnan.

79-year-old Su Guowen has spent decades working to protect old tea trees and guiding villagers    8    (plant) tea in a more organic way. He    9    (star) in the video used by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to apply for the inscriptions onto UNESCO’s intangible heritage list. In the video, he said, “We have taken care of the tea trees, forests and ecology as    10    (care) as we take care of our eyes.”