Runner’s World Challenge

It’s hard to imagine a more inspirational place for a marathon or half marathon than Marrakech in Morocco. With one of the fastest     1     (route) in the world, this is a race not to be missed. You can be there     2    (run) and explore the city on this great Runner’s World holiday.

We’ve teamed up with Intrepid Travel,     3     leading expert in small group holidays to the world’s most fascinating destination, to bring you a unique eight-day travel plan from January 24th to 31st, during     4     you will explore the ancient sites of Morocoo and take part in the 31st edition of the thrilling International Marathon of Marrakech.

You will join expert guides and also feed     5     (you) soul and stomach on a foodie tour of the market of Marrakech     6     the open air, visit a vineyard, and spend time in the walled city of Essaouira, all in the company of other Runner’s World readers. After the race, you     7     (enjoy) a hammam (土耳其蒸气浴室) treatment and a relaxing massage (按摩) to help you regain energy. However,     8     (race) the Marrakech Marathon’s flat route, along narrow roads lined with palm trees, through lush orange and olive woods and past the 12th-centuty red-tinged city walls is     9     (real) the most attractive. You will remember this     10    (impress) adventure for a lifetime and form friendships that will last just as long.

3 . China.org.cn here provides a list of some popular Chinese destinations for winter tourism in 2023 and explores how they plan to make the most of the legacy (遗产) of the Winter Games.

Shenyang started a Winter Olympics-themed travelling season from December 2021 to March 2022 and introduced 86 activities covering folk music, a traditional Chinese ice game festival, an ice sculpture exhibition (冰雕展), and ice and snow festivals.

Zhangjiakou in Hebei was the co-host city of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and hosted most of the skiing and biathlon events. The city has built nine ski facilities (设施), with over 164 kilometres of ski runs. So far, Zhangjiakou’s winter sports activities have attracted over 6 million players.

Known for its long winter season that can last up to eight months a year, Altay Prefecture in Xinjiang attracts skiers worldwide with its huge area of natural powder snow. The data shows that the ski places of Altay Prefecture received 2.45 million visits in the 2021-2022 winter season, with tourism revenue (收入) reaching 1.63 billion yuan, up 25.3% and 23.4% year on year. During the Spring Festival holiday last year, the place saw more than 6,000 skiers on a daily basis, 60% of which came from outside Xinjiang.

Snow and ice sports and winter tourism activities have been heating up in Xinjiang since Beijing 2022. The growth index (指数) of Urumqi’s winter tourism listed first in China in early 2022, according to the online tourism platform TravelGo. Xinjiang has unique ice and snow tourism resources with a snow season for nearly five months.

7 . Paris, the capital of France, has some attractive bridges. These are four of the most beautiful bridges in Paris: some in iconic (标志性的) places you’ve seen in the movies, and others in quiet places that you’ll delight in discovering.

Connecting the Louvre Museum to the Institut de France, the Pont des Arts, first built by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804 and reconstructed in the 1970s, is a bridge only for people walking that is beloved by tourists and locals alike. In the spring and summer months, Parisians and visitors come here for lazy picnics overlooking the Seine.

This lovely but little-known bridge is a gateway between the Marais district on the right bank and a natural island on the Seine River. The current stone structure dates to around 1670, following a fire on its wooden structure that destroyed much of the original bridge and the houses that once stood on it. It has remained much the same since the 18th century, making it one of Paris’ oldest bridges.

The Pont Alexandre Ⅲ is probably the most attractive of Paris’ many bridges. Built between 1896 and 1900, it connects the des Invalides with the gardens of the Petit Palais. It’s after dark that you can best appreciate its delicate statues and other decorative elements.

First built in 1578 by King Henry Ⅲ, Pont Neuf has seen numerous reconstructions and changes over the centuries. But it conserves its Roman-inspired arch (拱形) structures. This is a lovely bridge that offers easy and picturesque access to the left and right bank. Have some ice cream, explore the lovely riverside paths and enjoy views of Notre Dame Cathedral.

9 . For students or teachers who are planning an educational trip to China, or parents who want to arrange educational and meaningful things to do in China for children, here we offer travel tips on what to do and learn for educational tour in China.

▶How to make dumplings. Dumpling is the most common food in China, and it has so many fans in the world for its deliciousness, and has become a must-order food in a Chinese restaurant for foreigners. Dumpling in China is easily home-made food, and most families would make it by themselves. While having an educational trip to China, you could learn how to make dumplings.

▶How to make Chinese traditional handicrafts (手工艺品), like Chinese knots (结), and paper-cutting. Small fine Chinese traditional handicrafts are very beautiful and have blessings (祝福) for life, thus people would like to make them and put them in houses. Chinese knot is made by strings through special weaving, and it has blessings of safety, health and happiness, and you could hang it in houses or cars. Chinese paper-cutting is pasted on window glass, and used to decorate houses in Spring Festival, and it could be designed into different shapes, such as animals, flowers, and letters. You could totally get this two skills, and make Chinese knot and paper cutting to decorate houses.

▶How to make terracotta warriors (兵马俑), china, and pottery. When visiting Terracotta Warriors, you would admire its greatness and excellent skills. But please remember, you could make your own terracotta warriors and bring them home. Outside the Terracotta, there are stores for you to experience how to make terracotta warriors. Besides terracotta warriors, you could also go to experiential stores to learn how to make china and pottery.

10 . Guangzhou has long been famous for various kinds of flowers and local people have developed their enthusiasm for flowers since the time of Nanyue King in the Western Han Dynasty, which was founded over 2,000 years ago.

According to historical records, in the Western Han Dynasty, blooming flowers were seen everywhere in ancient Guangzhou, also known as Canton. Many people, whether men or women, wore flowers as decorations (装饰). There were even more varieties of flowers and plants grow n in the royal garden owned by Zhao Tuo, the founder of Nanyue Kingdom.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, Huadi, the land of flowers in Chinese, located in present-day Fangcun area of Guangzhou, was where Datong Port (港口), a major harbor for foreign trade, lay. Many businessmen from different places brought various flower seeds to the port by sea, turning a large wetland into flower fields. Besides, Cantonese farmers also grew flowers on the farmlands of thirty-three villages located south of the Pearl River.

The flower trade also contributed to the boom (繁荣) of Canton, which was the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road (海上丝绸之路). As early as the Western Han Dynasty, people of Lingnan region had sailed to Sri Lanka. In the Tang and Song dynasties, a shipping route of over 14,000 kilometers was established, allowing people to travel to as far as the Persian Gulf. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, several ocean-crossing routes had connected Canton with many other parts of the world. In the period of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, Canton was served as the only port open for foreign trade.

Starting off from the Lingnan region, all kinds of flowers found their way to the West, including camellia and Chinese rose, which were developed into more varieties in only 300 years.

The ancient Maritime Silk Road played a key role in supporting the selling of locally-grown flowers of the Lingnan region to other countries. It also brought special foreign flowers from countries and regions along the route to Canton, which promoted the city’s fame for giving people excellent views of blossoms of flowers in all seasons.