Recently, Guangzhou has successfully hosted the “Understanding China” International Conference 2023, the 5th World Media Summit, and other significant events, once again highlighting its role as    1    window for the world to comprehend China’s high-quality development. So,     2    Guangzhou? Let’s find out.

    3    (gain) a deeper understanding of China, one must experience its history and culture. With a history of over 2, 000 years and a rich cultural heritage, Guangzhou offers a variety of historical and cultural    4    (treasure). In this city, you can sip a cup of coffee while watching Cantonese opera in Yongqingfang or taste Cantonese dim sum while gazing at Western-style architecture on Shamian Island.

Economy is another crucial aspect in understanding China. In recent years, Guangzhou has    5    (active) participated in the Belt and Road international cooperation, gradually    6     (establish) a comprehensive, multi-level, and wide-ranging pattern of opening-up. As a thousand-year-old commercial city known for the Canton Fair, Guangzhou has drawn    7    (globe) attention with its open genes and prosperous economy.

Connecting with the world also requires a highly    8    (develop) transportation network. Guangzhou has constructed a modern three-dimensional transportation system that links airports, seaports, railway ports, and digital ports, providing easy access    9    both domestic and foreign participants.

Guangzhou’s openness, inclusiveness, vitality, and innovative spirit make it an ideal choice for hosting international events, which, in turn,     10     (help) the economic and social development of the city.

The Qiaoxi Historical and Cultural Block in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, is perfect for visitors     1     (experience) China’s rich culture. The area is known     2     “Qiaoxi,” which means to the west of a bridge. Because its     3     (locate) is on the western side of Hangzhou’s famous Gongchen Bridge, an ancient structure     4     (lay) across the Grand Canal.

Once a busy market for local trade in ancient times and     5     industrial area in modern times, the Qiaoxi Block has now become a tourism district. Visitors can enjoy Chinese culture up close through a blend (混合) of     6     (tradition) business trade, scenic spots and residential areas. It is also a place     7     several museums meet together, including the China Knives, Scissors and Swords Museum, the China Umbrella Museum, and the China Fan Museum and so on.

    8     (walk) along the street, visitors can encounter street performances featuring local folk arts, or take their children to a Chinese medicine workshop,     9     try their hand at gaining cultural heritage skills at the Handicraft Dynamic Museum.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal     10     (list) on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014, where the two heritage sites of the Gongchen Bridge and the Qiaoxi Historical and Cultural Block were included in the project as well.

In some parts of northern China, “dikengyuan” in Mandarin, which means “ground hole courtyards,” is a type of cave dwellings (“yaodong”) commonly     1     (find) in the Loess Plateau in northern China. Academic literature mentions they came into     2     (exist) about 7,000 years ago.

The soil of the Loess Plateau,     3     these cave dwellings are built, is an effective substance that can keep people warm during the winter. More     4     (important), the yellow earth of the Loess is not only soft and easy     5     (dig) into, but also strong enough that it can hold together even without support.

While the size of the courtyard     6     (vary), the cave dwellings can go up to 12 meters long. After a ground hole is dug for the courtyard, the rooms     7     (carve) out from the four walls of the sunken courtyard.

Some scholars outside China consider the dwellings to be a natural adaptation to the climatic patterns in that region, with     8     (freeze) and long winters, and extremely burning summer heat.

While these houses have been around for thousands of years,     9     government only listed them as part of China’s intangible cultural heritage in 2011.

Many of these ancient homes, especially in the Shanzhou district of Sanmenxia City in China’s Henan province, have been restored and turned     10     tourist attractions.

Potala Palace (布达拉宫) is the highest ancient palace in the world. The palace,     1     (name) after a holy hill, is said to be used for greeting a Han princess. Legend has it that in the 7th century,     2     (greet) his bride Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty, Songtsen Gampo built a palace with a thousand rooms up on the Red Hill and named it Potala. The palace was     3    (main) made of stones and woods, and decorated     4     special local tree branches. Later, the ancient palace     5     (destroy) in wars.     6     we see at present is the architecture of the Qing Dynasty and the continuous expanding work outcome since the 17th century.

The Palace has two parts, the Red Palace as the center and the White Palace as two wings. The Red Palace is the highest part in the center that is completely devoted to     7     (religion) study. It was painted red to represent power. It consists of different halls and     8    (library)on many levels with winding passages. The White Palace,     9     once served as the office building of local government makes up the living quarters, and     10     (it) wall was painted white to convey peace and calmness.

Think of travel in Greece, and your mind may wander to images of ferries cruising(巡航)across the Aegean Sea. Taking to the water is essential if you plan to travel between the Greek islands, but there     1     (be) plenty of other ways to enjoy Greece’s amazing landscapes, including planes, trains, buses     2     bicycles.

Cycling in Greece is growing in     3     (popular), best done in spring and fall rather than high summer. Strong leg muscles are     4     must to tackle the mountains, or you can stick to some of the     5     (flat) coast roads than the mountain roads. Some are bicycle-friendly, but others have such steep roads     6     cycling is not recommended.

Overall, cycling infrastructure around Greece leaves something to be desired. Bicycle lanes are rare to nonexistent, and there is a real danger from speeding cars —     7     (drive) by locals and tourists alike.

Bicycles may be carried for free on some ferries, while on others, there may be a fee, or they may not be allowed at all because of a lack of space on board.

You can rent bicycles in most tourist hangouts, but they are not as     8     (wide) available as cars and motorcycles. Prices range     9     €10 to €20 per day,     10     (depend) on the type of bicycle. Always make sure the rental cost includes the use of a helmet.

Imagine you’re climbing a mountain, and along the way you start to get hungry or thirsty. How cool it would be if you could just stop at a     1     (convenient) store there. Climbers in Pingjiang, Hunan province, don’t have to imagine this. For them, such a store built on a cliff has become     2     reality.

The Shiniuzhai scenic area is famous for its     3    (tower) cliffs, deep canyons and unique rock formations. The 2-square-meter store about 120 meters above the ground    4     (construct) in 2017 and opened a year later.

Visitors coming to experience the scenic area’s rock climbing program are usually     5    (amateur), so they often get hungry and thirsty along the way. The park authority decided to build the store     6    a refreshment center for them. The drinks and food at the store are carried up by staff members every day. It generally     7     (take) the climbers nearly one-and-a-half hours to make it to the top.

Despite the location and laborious     8     (deliver) of the products, the prices are similar to those at ordinary store. Some netizens joke that it is the “    9    (little) convenient convenience store”, while others say they find it adorable and     10    it would be “very cool” to work in the store.

Nowadays, with the increasing variety of travel options, conventional group tours,     1     going to scenic spots and taking photos is a big thing, can no longer satisfy a person     2     (look) for a more personalized and differentiated travel experience and eager to find more information about every part of a city in a more immersive (沉浸式的) way.

City-walk, which is all about doing whatever you want in your own     3     (explore) of a city, can meet all these needs, and     4     (consider) the best way to rediscover a city.

Compared with     5     (tight) scheduled travel plans and picture-taking tours, city-walk focuses on the free, casual and spontaneous (心血来潮的) experience. It allows people to see     6     whole different side of a city, permitting them to experience urban life with no transportation other than     7     (one) legs and feet.

    8     a kind of slow-paced and low-carbon lifestyle, city-walk provides people with fresh new insights into the culture and landscape of a city as well as its beautiful natural scenery, and     9     (catch) the public’s eye on various social media platforms during the past months. The search for city-walk is reported     10     (be) on the increase and more people tend to share their city-walking experiences online.