Documentary A Hazy Dream World D from Ancient China has been shown on CCTV-9.

The documentary is based on the ancient Chinese literature work The Classic of Mountains and Rivers, or Shan Hai Jing.     1     (consist) of legends, geography, history, astronomy, animals, plants, medicine, religion and other     2     (subject), the book is regarded as an encyclopedia (百科全书) of ancient China.

It is generally believed that the book originating from folk literature that had been passed down orally     3     (write) before the Warring States Period and then     4     (continuous) revised.

Taking “peculiarity (奇)” as its theme, the 8-episode series     5     (describe) several legendary figures, mythical (神话的) animals and their related myths. Having referred     6     other related historical resources, it combines cartoons, dances as well as on-the-spot video shooting with the interpretation of experts,     7     leads audiences into a fanciful world.

In episodes such as Goddess Nüwa Mends the Sky: Where I Came From and Zhulong: God of Time, the documentary discusses some legendary stories     8     (know) to all Chinese people.

Zhang Yiwu, a professor at Peking University, said, “This documentary has made     9     interesting visualized illustration and given a complete introduction of the important Chinese literature work Shan Hai Jing. It also shows CCTV’s great effort     10     (promote) the traditional Chinese culture.”

Wang De, who is a blacksmith by trade and an inheritor of the 500-year-old art of dashuhua that     1     (literal) means “creating tree flowers”,     2     (live) in Yuxian county of Zhangjiakou.

Wang and his assistants put     3     over a dozen dashuhua performances for villagers and tourists as part of Spring Festival celebrations each year. The folk artist hopes the revival of the tradition can bring more visitors to his hometown of Zhangjiakou.

Dashuhua is a traditional form of fireworks performance that takes place during certain festivals.     4     (create) molten iron fireworks, waste iron is melted to 1,600℃ and thrown against a cold wall. The mix bursts into sparks that look like glittering tree branches.

But the high-risk tradition is still only reserved for     5     brave. Due to the nature of the performance-handling superheated coal and molten iron, it’s easy for performers to suffer injuries. During a performance a few years ago, Wang suffered severe     6     (burn) on his leg and took two months to recover.

There are only four people     7     (leave) in China who have mastered the ancient practice, three of     8     are either middle-aged or elderly. Both Wang’s father and grandfather were blacksmiths. Wang said     9     was his responsibility to pass this craft on to the next generation. Otherwise, it will be lost.

The art of dashuhua requires extraordinary courage, skill and     10     (strong). Now, The molten iron fireworks performance has become a major tourist attraction.

Before moving to the city of Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, Robin Gilbank had     1     (limit) knowledge about the city despite a keen interest in Chinese culture.

“Like many foreigners     2     had never been here, I knew nothing about the historic city except for terracotta warriors at that time,” recalled the 41-year-old scholar from North Yorkshire in Britain.

Enchanted by its profound history and distinctive culture, Gilbank applied     3     a teaching position at Northwest University in Xi’an in 2008. “Shaanxi boasts (拥有) many famous writers. So I decided to translate their works into English so as to provide a new window for the world     4     (get) a glimpse (一瞥) of the real and diversified life here,” said Gilbank.

    5     (work) with Hu Zongfeng, dean of School of Foreign Languages of Northwest University, Gilbank travels     6     (wide) in Shaanxi and learns the dialect from locals to have a deep understanding of customs. They have translated over 30 Chinese novels into English.

The past decade witnesses his deeper friendship with the     7    (native) and the centuries-old city. In 2018, he was awarded as one of the 40 most     8     (influence) foreign experts during the past 40 years since the initiation of China’s reform and opening-up policy.

Since the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was proposed by China in 2013, China     9     (open) wider. Gilbank’s experience is a microcosm (缩影) of the story of     10     increasing number of foreigners settling down in Xi’an. They are kick-starting a new journey in the open and livable city with a population of 13 million.

More young people are trying their hand at farming the soil. Guo Lan, 29, works in a vegetable greenhouse on his organic farm     1     (locate) in the suburban district of Hefei, East China’s Anhui province. It is the eighth time this summer that Guo has failed to grow vegetables     2    using chemicals. Despite trying various homemade pest solutions, such as plant ash and mixtures of pepper and alcohol, the vegetable     3     (leaf) were still being eaten by insects. “I will not give up     4     (try),” the 29-year-old accountant-turned-farmer says. He is determined to turn his farm into     5     organic one, cultivating fruits and vegetables with the same flavors as those from his childhood memories.

“Growing tasty and healthy food     6     (be) my dream since I was a teenager. I know     7     challenging it can be, but if you take the soil     8     (serious), I believe it will pay off,” Guo says. He adds that farming is not a business that can make quick money, but for him, it has become an uplifting activity that brings back memories of spending time on the farm with     9     (he) parents as a child. Guo’s passion for organic farming and commitment to producing healthy food will surely inspire more young people to explore     10     (sustain) agriculture.

Every year for over a millennium, fishermen have braved the subzero temperatures, biting winds and deep snow to search for     1     underwater fortune at Chagan Lake — one of the biggest freshwater lakes in our country.

Chagan is the only place in China     2     you can still find fishermen using a Mongolian fishing method that dates back centuries and has     3     (bare) changed over time. Holes are drilled in the ice     4     (lower) a 2-kilometer-long net into position underwater. Once it fills up with fish, the net is pulled out of the water using a giant wheel     5     (turn) by Mongolian horses. The largest fish in the     6     (season) first catch is believed to be lucky, and will go to the highest bidder at the auction (拍卖).

To ensure that this tradition can continue     7     damaging the lake’s ecology, fishermen keep nature in mind throughout the process.     8     (avoid) the use of modern vehicles helps reduce the chance of polluting the lake water, and the number of fish that can     9     (catch) is capped to ensure that there will be fish for years to come.

Also, over the past few years, the money from the auction has been invested into protecting the lake and surrounding environment. And during the summer, private fishing without     10     (permit) is strictly prohibited. These preservative measures have kept the tradition alive for thousands of years and certainly will be passed on to future generations.

Asia’s first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) world champion Weili Zhang knocked out Poland’s Joann a Jedrzejczyk to win the chance     1     (challenge) for the women’s strawweight title at UFC275 on June 12, 2022 in Singapore.

The fight     2     (set) off wild celebrations on Chinese social media so far. The 32-year-old is seen as a genuine star. She became China’s first UFC champion in 2019. “Together we put girl power on display in the Octagon (八角笼). We’ve proved to people     3     said we cannot do certain things that we can.” Zhang said after the fight when     4     (interview) on stage.

Zhang’s fighting dream began young. Her childhood hero, Bruce Lee,     5     (inspire) her to take up kung fu when she was 6. Later, she learned sanda. But at 17, her sanda fighting career ended because of     6     (injury). Over the next six years, she tried different jobs, like a kindergarten teacher, a saleswoman     7     a bodyguard.

However, she still dreamed of being     8     fighter. In 2013, she started learning MMA. Many people think that the sport isn’t     9     (suit) for the “weaker bodies” of women. But Zhang     10     (strong) disagrees. “Anything men can do, women can do, too—and we can do it just as well as them.” Obviously, she has proved it’s true!

As a pioneer bullet train (动车) driver, Li Dongxiao, 52, is part of the history of China’s high-speed railway network. In 2008, he drove China’s first high-speed train,     1     (reach) 350 kilometers per hour, between Beijing and Tianjin.

    2     number on Li’s bullet train driver’s license is 0001, which led the media to give him the name of China’s “first” bullet train driver. “Over 14 years, the length of the network has grown     3     zero to more than 40, 000 kilometers, and more varieties of Fuxing bullet trains have been developed and adopted, ”he said.

However, all those     4     (impress) achievements came from the ground up. Driving at high-speed is among certain     5     (profession) that require strict training. In March 2008, Li, along with some of China’s best train drivers,     6     (select) to undergo training to operate bullet trains at the manufacturer, China CNR Corp. He participated in more than 200 test runs and created a guidebook for bullet train drivers,     7     was named after him as the “Dongxiao Manual”.

China’s high-speed rail network     8     (see) rapid development over the past 20 years. Li’s development has been intertwined with the evolution of China’s high-speed railway system. He no longer     9     (operate) bullet trains himself, but is now head of the Huairou North locomotive depot (机务段) in Beijing, which is the center of train operations, repair and maintenance. Even more importantly, it is     10     all the drivers receive their training.

March has barely turned the mountains of the Qinling Range green, but Tianshui,     1     small city at the foot of the Qinling Range has already exploded in popularity for its spicy hot pot, or malatang. In recent days, Tianshui has welcomed approximately 40,000 visitors daily.

The     2    (explode)in popularity of the local spicy hot pot in Gansu is closely associated     3     the local eating habits. The local northwestern Chinese cuisine primarily     4    (consist)of boiled beef and mutton, as green leafy vegetables are hardly found in Gansu or its cuisine. In places like the Hexi Corridor, if one attempts     5    (find)leafy greens, the best option would be to visit a Sichuan restaurant.

However, the local spicy hot pot restaurants also provide diners with     6    (variety)vegetables to choose from. In places like Tianshui,     7     cuisine has been influenced by Sichuan and Chongqing traditions, the hot pot’s flavor     8    (enrich)using bean sauce and Sichuan peppercorns, adding a spicy fragrance(香味)to both meat and vegetables.

The history of Gansu’s spicy hot pot is     9    (relative)short. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was merely known as spicy noodles, later     10    (develop)to achieve its present form.

Traditional arts and crafts are outstanding samples of Chinese     1     (culture) heritage. China Daily is running the series     2     (show) how master artisans (工匠) are using dedication and innovation to add new life into these age-old heritages.

Zou Yingzi,     3     expert of Su embroidery (刺绣) which originates     4     the garden city of Suzhou in Jiangsu province once     5     (work) more than one year on a large piece of Su embroidery. She says “Only when I take the needle out and touch the silk thread, I feel     6     (full) comfortable.” Just the day before the interview, A piece     7     (measure) around half a meter can take her one year and a half to complete. In fact, from Zou’s mother to her grandmothers, all the women in her family are good at needlework, particularly Su embroidery,     8     features complex stitches (针脚) and the creative use of silk threads     9     (dye) in various colors.

Thanks to     10     (skill) embroiderers (刺绣工), these elegant arts and crafts can evolve to fit modern Chinese lifestyles.

When it comes to ancient Chinese detectives, the name Di Renjie, a famous judge and administrator of the Tang Dynasty (618—907), often     1     (spring) to mind. For centuries, Di has been portrayed as a heroic investigator in popular novels and stories throughout ancient China, who was     2     (high) logical and dialectical (辩证的), and much adored by his contemporaries. Today, this tradition lives on in Chinese entertainment, with numerous TV and film adaptations of Di’s detective stories.

The new TV series “Judge Dee’s Mystery” records the life of Judge Dee. While solving various criminal cases in different places     3     he serves during the early stages of his career, Dee also uncovers the mystery     4     (surround) his own birth.

    5     traditional Chinese detective fiction, which often combines supernatural elements, the new series emphasizes logic, reason, and realism. Facing a tangled web of cases, Judge Dee and his assistants employ reasoning skills to crack mysteries. “    6     (compare) to other adaptations of Di Renjie’s stories, our drama stands out for its     7     (diverse) and inclusiveness,” said Li Yunliang, the director of the series.

However, the series never intends     8     (pursue) a faithful recreation of the Tang Dynasty     9     offers a modern interpretation of the classical stories that still strike a chord with contemporary audiences.

Li believes that every audience can gain     10     unique insight into Judge Dee’s character and the cultural roots of Chinese civilization. “Judge Dee shows traditional Chinese virtues that deserve to be admired by the Chinese people.” he adds.