1 . A short video showing a member of the cleaning staff at the Summer Palace in Beijing explaining Buddhist scenic spots drew a lot of traffic on different social media platforms recently, with netizens     1    (impress) by his mastery of traditional Chinese culture.

In the video, the worker, Zhang Xu, 40, explains the cultural connotations of the sites     2     several tourists, who were doing research.

    3     makes it special is his recitation of a list of dozens of Buddhist sites, which are hard     4    (pronounce). He speaks with     5     ease and confidence that it seems he is doing a tongue twister. People thought he must be a tour guide or expert,     6     he was wearing the uniform of a janitor and holding a broom. After his     7    (explain), Zhang smiled and returned to his work as though nothing had happened. The video     8    (post) by the researchers on social media platforms on Oct 7 and immediately became a trending topic online. Zhang was even given the name of “the most powerful cleaning monk” by netizens, one of the     9    (character) in Louis Cha’s (金庸) novel Tianlong Babu.

Zhang said     10     never occurred to him that he’d become famous online, as he only wanted to help the tourists who seemed puzzled. Zhang joined the cleaning staff at the palace in late 2021 and walks about 40,000 steps inside the palace every day, so he knows a lot about it.

2 . With the return of tourists, some of the world’s most popular tourist destinations are flat-out, telling tourists to stay away in 2023.

Lanzarote, Spain

Lanzarote has long been a top getaway choice for the British, making up around half of the island’s overseas visitors. However, the days of budget drinking until dawn is over, as the Spanish President wants to attract “higher quality” visitors to spend more and drink less. The island declared itself a tourist-packed area early in 2023.

Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona has it all: modern art, a massive beach, all-night parties, and the food, culture and sunshine you want from a European city break. It’s also full of tourists. In 2022, the city took steps to limit the size of tour groups and introduce noise restrictions. The city will further limit numbers to ensure better life quality for locals.

Santorini, Greece

The Greek island attracts two million visitors annually, a significant number considering the island’s year-round population of around 10,000. While tourism is a large part of the economy, the island started restrictions in 2019, when passengers were limited to 8,000 per day and tourists weighing over 100kg were banned from riding donkeys.

Amalfi Coast, Italy

In 2022, Amalfi Coast took number plate system for visitors. Cars with odd (奇数的) number plates were allowed access to the coast on one day, while cars ending in an even number were permitted to enter on the next. Local residents and public transport were exception. The coast also featured on Fodor’s list of places to avoid visiting in 2023 for its over-tourism.