40,000 people cross Tower Bridge each day. Now you can see inside it.

The Glass Floor measures 11 metres long and 1.8 metres wide, including panels (嵌板) weighing 530 kilograms each. It is no wonder the installation (安装) took a 20-strong team to complete it!

See London life through the Glass Floor, from a unique viewpoint 42 metres above the River Thames, and 33.5 metres above road level. Watch the hustle and bustle (熙熙攘攘) of the city right beneath your feet.

Immerse (沉浸) yourself in this atmospheric space, where exciting interactivities, films and photographs will explore and explain the role of this workplace at the heart of Tower Bridge.

Our family activities are FREE with entry and are offered throughout the day. Drop in and join in on the flu. It is open to children of all ages but is particularly appropriate for those aged 6 to 10.

Once a month on a Saturday. We host Relaxed Opening for anyone who would like to explore the Bridge in a atmosphere, including people with autism (自闭症) and any other needs.

Time: 10:30, 10:50 and 11:10. Please note that Tower Bridge will open to the general public again at 11:30 but you are welcome to stay for as long as you like.

Open daily from 9:30 to 18:00.

3 . Inakadate, a Japanese village of around 7, 000 people, is considered the home of a rice field art form. In the early 1990s, local authorities realized that youths were moving to big urban centers in large numbers, and started brainstorming for ways of breathing new life into the village. One of the proposed ideas was an art form inspired by the local’s traditional rice planting, done by hand for hundreds of years. Called Tanbo Art, it involved the use of different rice varieties to turn local rice fields into giant canvases (画布).

The first rice field artwork was displayed in 1993, when purple and yellow rice plants were used to create a detailed picture of Mt. Iwaki. The project was such a huge success that Inakadate authorities decided to turn it into a yearly event. Nowadays, a viewing platform is often set up somewhere above the rice field, from which people can admire the unique artwork.

To create the impressively massive field artworks, the locals use a technique unique to Japan, which involves surveying the rice fields, perspective drawing, and the planting of various types of rice plants to create the desired visual effect. Tanbo Art has come a long way in the last three decades, with designs gradually becoming larger and more complex.

Some of the most elaborate (精心制作的) rice field artworks created in Inakadate have required the use of no less than 10 rice plants in color. The process starts in the spring months, and by early summer, the fruits of this labor become clearly visible. July and August are the best months to visit this famous Japanese village.

There are many locals who say that rice field art has saved Inakadate, bringing in impressive numbers of tourists from all over the world every year, and boosting the local economy. The success of Inakadate inspired other rice cultivating communities to borrow the Tanbo Art concept, and today you can find this sort of impressive rice field artworks all across Japan.

Copy and paste schools

How will geography affect your future? For some children around the world, the environment they grow up     1     has a huge impact on their lives. For example, children in Madagascar now stand to benefit from the large amount of sunlight their country receives. One non-governmental organization (NGO) is building 3D-printed schools     2     run on solar power.

Maggie Grout was just 15 years old when she founded her NGO-Thinking Huts. Now 22, she is celebrating the     3     (complete) of her NGO’s first 3D-printed school in Madagascar.

She     4     (lead) the entire process from start to finish, working with a professor from the university supporting her NGO. First, they scouted (搜寻) several locations and ultimately decided on Madagascar due to     5     need for schools and ability to provide     6     renewable energy source. Then Grout drew a design layout for the school considering many elements.

Next, Grout had to find the right architect and 3D printing firm for the job. Using an architecture-scale 3D printer, the school was built layer by layer form the ground up. This method of construction decreases the need for concrete (混凝土)     7     up to 50 percent and emits less CO₂,     8     (mean) the school can be completed with in a week.     9     (increase) sustainability, the process included sourcing local materials to build doors, windows and roof.

What’s more, the NGO employed a local labor force and trained them to use a 3D printer so that they can build more schools on their own in the future. She plans to print another school in a     10     (remote) part of the country where one in five children don’t have the chance to attend primary school.

7 . China’s most attractive museums

Right next to the capital’s art centre 798 Art District, Beijing Minsheng Art Museum took over a decommissioned (停止使用的) electronics factory, reopening after being redesigned by Chinese architect Zhu Pei. Funded by China Minsheng Bank, the museum has already hosted a lot of big-ticket exhibitions.

Fans of London’s Tate Modern will immediately spot the similarities with Shanghai’s Power Station of Art, a huge riverside box with a 165-metre chimney. It started life as the Nanshi Power Plant three decades ago before becoming the Pavilion of the Future at the 2010 Shanghai Expo. In 2012, it became China’s first state-owned contemporary art museum, with six floors of exhibition space.

Design Society in Shenzhen serves as a showcase for local and international design, given serious standing by its partnership with London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, probably the most famous design institution in the world. On show are 250 objects from the collection in London, telling how design represents a two-way exchange of ideas and culture.

Positioned on a hillside in Laoshan National Forest Park in Nanjing, this private art museum is actually a group of diverse buildings, each designed by outstanding architects and artists. The centrepiece is a boxy gallery space protruding (突出) from the mountainside and seemingly súspendedin mid-air, designed by American architect Steven Holl.

8 . There is no better way for a foreigner to understand China and its people than firsthand experience.     1    

The experience of traveling around China has paid off handsomely, both in aspects of personal enrichment and in my ability to do my job well as an editor. When news articles mention places in China, I can often visualize(视觉化) them.

There was an article, for example, about the people of Guoliang village, built on the top of a remote cliff(悬崖) in Henan province.     2     They used hand tools to dig an amazing tunnel through hard rock to achieve that goal.

I have seen that tunnel and, having done so, acquired a vivid understanding of that incredible task. But what has stuck with me above all other memories of China was an experience at Beijing’s Temple of Heaven.

It was a pleasant summer evening, just at sunset. My wife and I were walking through the gate of the temple park to enjoy the dusky calm. Suddenly, I heard what sounded like distant voices raised in song.     3     The sound grew louder as I approached until I finally came to the source—a group of maybe 30 ordinary people gathered in a loose circle, singing joyfully.

    4     But I could follow the melody(旋律) and harmony, taking advantage of a small amount of vocal training and practice from my distant past. And so I joined in, adding my voice to help send the sound to heaven.

The Chinese people standing nearby offered smiles of welcome. It was a moment of unity. The politicians might call it a people-to-people exchange. For me, the group represented a feeling of love, like a family.

It was over all too soon, and everybody left.     5     I couldn’t help but wonder. If whole nations could sing together, wouldn’t the world be a better place?

The wilderness(荒野) is one of Canada’s treasures and the Canadian national parks are the system through     1     the Canadian government protects, preserves and displays some of the country’s most     2     (impress) territory for the benefit of residents, visitors and the environment.

Every national park in Canada is a little bit different, but the majority are     3     (heavy) forested areas with mountainous landscapes that get snowy in the winter. Most national parks can be used     4     hiking, cycling and camping, as well as skiing during snowy months.

All of Canada’s national parks     5    (run) by the Canadian federal government and many have unique rules that must be obeyed. In theory, any park can be visited,     6     many national parks do not permit camping outside of campsite areas, or require campers     7    (get) permission to camp in advance. While the majority of national parks have government facilities within them, such as visitor centers or ranger stations(护林站) to provide emergency     8    (assist) for visitors, many do not,     9    (mean) visitors may be taking     10     serious personal risk when exploring. Canada is famous for its wild animals, which tend to be numerous in national parks.