1 . Peter is a high school student and he lives in Suzhou. His family often take a trip to cities, such as Nanjing and Hangzhou. But Peter always hoped to visit Shanghai. This year, his dream finally came true.

On June 22nd, Peter’s family took the train to get to Shanghai. Their first destination was Zhujiajiao Ancient Town. After arriving there, they tasted many delicious foods first. Then they watched Kunqu Opera performances and hanfu shows.

On the second day, Peter’s family went to Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park. They not only watched many animals, but also joined in some traditional activities about the Dragon Boat Festival. For example, they made zongzi and joined in a boat race. Peter also played an ancient game — touhu. This was the first time he had tried the game. It was so interesting. They also went to At Life Hub@ Anting Square.

On the last day, Peter’s family enjoyed the old Shanghai songs and guofeng music at the concerts. They also went to Jiabei Country Park. They had fun at a music festival and took many photos at a Chinese art show.

“The three-day vacation was a great experience for me,” Peter said, “I learned a lot about Chinese traditional art and history.”

2 . The black cloud rising every day at sunset in the Chihuahuan Desert went largely ignored for thousands of years. Native Americans noticed it, but did not track its source. Cowboys thought the cloud was smoke pouring from the earth, and avoided it.

In June of 1901, however, a teenage cowboy named Jim White happened to see the large, black cloud. He was curious and went to investigate. Instead of finding a volcano, as he had imagined, he discovered something equally amazing. It was a big mass of bats. Two days later, he returned with a lantern to explore further. It took him so long that his lantern went out. He managed to refill it with just enough oil to find his way back to the entrance.

The next time Jim White went to the cave, he brought a friend and supplies. They explored for three days and returned with descriptions that were so fantastic that few people believed them. The cowboys on nearby farms and the people in the tiny town of Carlsbad treated Jim’s stories as tall tales and nothing more.

After years of exploring the caves and finding no one to believe his stories, Jim White decided to create his own tourist attraction. He established trails (路线) along the paths he had found. One day in 1915, two men asked Jim for a tour. After seeing the caves, the men returned with a professional photographer named Ray V. Davis. Local doubts were finally put to rest by the photographs of the hidden beauty that Jim had discovered. All 13 locals of Carlsbad finally took a tour of the caves, which came to be known as Carlsbad Caverns.

In 1923, the government sent an official named Robert Holly to tour the caves. Later that year, the caves were stated a national monument (古迹), and in 1930 they became a national park. Jim White lived to see the Carlsbad Caverns become world-famous. Today, tourists can hike to and tour some of the 100 known caves in this huge natural wonder, thanks to the cowboy from New Mexico.