1 . When it comes to travel, sometimes wandering is one of the most exciting things you can do. In a time when travellers are both more adventurous and eco-conscious than ever, it’s no surprise that there’s a wealth of new vocabulary to describe how we travel, when we travel and how the experience makes us feel. Here are eight of our favourite travel words that you may not have heard before.

We’ve kicked off a blog with the staycation, “a holiday in one’s own country”. The term first became popular in the mid-2000s, when the global financial crisis meant people had less income to spend on flash holidays and instead searched for cheaper local choices. Since 2020, the staycation is experiencing a revival (复兴). Benefits of staycations include cheaper travel costs, no spending hours in the airport and, of course, no need to worry about whether your passport expired (过期) last year.

Once upon a time, if you wanted to meet new people on your travels, you could stay at a hostel or with a host on Airbnb. Now, you can couch surf. And not just in “the staying at various friends’ houses until you find a new place to rent” sense: couch surfing is quickly becoming a hot new travel trend. Travellers can now choose to couch surf all across the world via a website which treats travel as a cultural exchange, allowing people to connect with willing hosts and crash on their sofas.

Given that single-use and climate strike were selected as the Collins 2018 and 2019 Words of the Year respectively, it’s clear that the climate crisis is very much on everybody’s mind. This desire to make more sustainable choices is also affecting the way we spend our vacation days. Ecotourism is another popular travel trend, defined as tourism that is designed to contribute to the protection of the environment. Examples of ecotourism include ditching short-haul flights, staying at eco-friendly resorts, or booking a staycation.

Reconstructed in the 14th century, the Ancient City of Pingyao,     1     (locate) in China’s Shanxi Province, is     2     exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional Han Chinese city. The property includes three parts: the entire area within the walls of Pingyao, Shuanglin Temple,     3     Zhenguo Temple.

The Ancient City of Pingyao is an outstanding example of Han cities in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It retains (保留) all features of the Han city and it is of great value for     4     (study) the social form, economic structure, military defense, religious     5     (belief) and so on.

Pingyao     6     (construct) during the reign of King Xuan of the Western Zhou Dynasty. King Xuan’s     7     (origin) purpose of building Pingyao was     8     (fight) against the nomads (游牧民族) from the north. Afterward, Pingyao was developed     9    a multi-functional city, the starting place of commercial business in Shanxi and the birthplace of China’s first rudimentary (初步的) form of a modern bank. Pingyao also retains most of     10     (it) ancient charm in buildings like the Temple of Confucius, the Qingxu Temple and a great number of residential buildings.

On Oct 2, 2023, the fourth day of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday, a rural coffee shop in     1     eastern province of Zhejiang sold more than 7,100 cups of the drink. It broke     2     (it) own record of selling more than 5,100 cups during the Labor Day holiday in May.   

The Dark Blue X Cafe in Hongmiao village, Meixi town, Anji county, was built on the grounds of an     3     (abandon) mine that     4     (be) idle (闲置的) for more than 10 years. The scenery attracts tourists from nearby cities such as Shanghai, Hangzhou, Zhejiang’s capital, and Huzhou, also in Zhejiang.

Described by netizens as an “Iceland-like site in Anji”, the heart-shaped mine shaft (矿井) is 108 meters deep and filled with rainwater, which reflects the deep blue sky.

There are more than 300 coffee shops in Anji, a mountainous county     5     a population of about 580,000 in the north of the province, surpassing Shanghai in terms of per capita cafes. The county was declared by Lonely Planet magazine as “China’s City of Coffee in 2022.”

Local authorities spent a long time planning the transformation of the mine into a new business opportunity. For example, Shen Yongtian, secretary of the local Party branch, made a fact-finding visit to Shanghai’s Zhujiajiao Water Town,     6     the camping industry was growing rapidly.

According to Shen, early last year, a group of college students proposed building a cafe in     7     (cooperate) with the village. Their diligent research and innovative plan set them apart from all other competitors. “Their detailed proposal was rather     8     (persuasion) and convincing,” Shen said.

    9     (promote) rural vitalization (振兴) further, villages in Anji have widely adopted a model called “Two investments and three returns”, in which residents and the village     10     (collective) invest capital and resources, and in return they earn rent, wages and dividends (分红) from operations managed by cooperating companies or entrepreneurial teams.