On: streets of Chinese cities, young people can     1     (increasing) be seen wearing clothing with “neo-Chinese elements”. This style featuring traditional Chinese elements such as qipao or hanfu     2     (combine) with modern designs has a sharp re in popularity among. younger generations, who have more confidence than ever in traditional Chinese culture.

With its harmonious combination of urban and casual style, exquisite (精致的) detailing and traditional charm, the “new Chinese style” of clothing, suitable for all occasions,     3     (meet) modem aesthetic (审美的, 美学的) demands successfully in recent years.

On China’s lifestyle-focused social media platform Xiaohongshu, a search for “new Chinese style of clothing” could produce over 2 million results, with the most popular     4     (receive) 150, 000, “likes’. During the past Spring Festival shopping festival from January 13     5     28, the sales, of the new Chinese clothing style increased more than 21-fold compared with the same period last year, with most     6     (buyer) being young people.

Analysts say     7     rise of the new Chinese style is in line with the Generation Z’s aesthetic. More youths are willing     8     (express) their individuality with traditional culture, reflecting their cultural confidence and cultural identity. Their     9     (fascinate) and love for traditional Chinese culture have made “China-Chic” a growing trend     10     has gone global.

The 38th Qinhuai Lantern Festival Lights Up China

On the evening of February 2, the 2024 “Light Up China” event, the 38th annual China Qinhuai Lantern Festival lighting ceremony,     1    (begin) at the Bailuzhou Park in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. The Qinhuai Lantern Festival,     2     is also known as the “Jinling Lantern Festival”, is a folk cultural activity spread in Nanjing in history. It is usually held during the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival every year. It is the most famous lantern festival in China and it is included in the national intangible cultural heritage list.

With the Bailuzhou Park, the Confucius Temple Scenic Area and the Laomendong District serving     3     main display venues, this year’s Qinhuai Lantern Fair has set up 7 exhibition areas with 330 lantern installations.

    4    (compare) to previous years’ lantern festivals, one of the major highlights this year is the remarkable “the Year of the Dragon” theme. For instance, at the front of the Linxing Gate of the Confucius Temple in Nanjing, the lantern display features twin dragons winding around pillars, blowing out dragon pearls, symbolizing auspiciousness (吉祥) and reunion. Meanwhile, the Bailuzhou Park takes     5    (inspire) from the “Illustration of Lanterns in the Shangyuan Festival” as its creative theme, showing     6     total of 68 sets of lanterns in various sizes and forms, recreating the splendid scene of observing lanterns during the Ming dynasty as described in the ancient artworks.

The Lantern Festival in Nanjing this year not only celebrates the traditional customs of the Lunar New Year but also highlights the city’s cultural heritage and     7    (innovation) spirit, drawing visitors from across the nation     8    (participate) in the joyous celebrations.

A local elderly person said to a news reporter     9    (proud), “It has the reputation of No. 1 Lantern Festival in the world and the Qinhuai Lantern Festival     10    (be) the best in the world. It is the only large-scale comprehensive lantern festival in China that integrates lantern exhibitions, lantern festivals and lantern markets.”

China is known as Xia for its grand etiquette (礼仪) culture, and known as Hua for its beautiful attire (衣裳). With the     1     (change) in society, economic development, and cultural development, clothing has evolved over thousands of years. However, while the forms may have been changed, the essence (本质)     2     (remain) constant.

“In ancient China, emperors like Huangdi. Yao, and Shun brought peace to the world through their clothing.” Clothing holds     3     significant place in Chinese culture. It is not only used for daily wear,     4     (cover) the body and protect it from cold but also as an instrument of management. In ancient Chinese society, there were strict rules and dress codes about clothing. The presence of clothing distinguished civilization     5     barbarism (野蛮), while changes in color and style     6     (gradual) developed into a form of etiquette. Their design conveyed behavioral norms and     7     (they) patterns were rich in cultural significance. Moreover, ancient attire were also an important carrier of morality. China has always been known as a nation     8     values formal attire and etiquette.

What is the Chinese style? It is something that makes people think of China as soon as they see it. For example, the horse-face skirt, which     9     (favor) by international brands and Chinese people for many years, will continue to be attractive. Chinese clothing, as a classical style. has been known to the world overnight with good opportunities. It’s not just a traditional costume style but also a source of     10     (admire).

A brief meeting about the “China-France Year of Culture and Tourism in 2024” was held at the Palace Museum in Beijing on Thursday,     1     has released a variety of upcoming activities featuring cultural legacy and arts.

2024 marks    2    60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and France. The meeting’s place, the Palace Museum, was chosen for a reason. Starting from April 1, an art show co-planned by the Palace Museum     3    the Palace of Versailles (凡尔赛宫) in Paris, will debut (首次亮相) on site. A pocket watch that once     4     (witness) the friendship between France’s King Louis XIV and the Emperor Kangxi of China’s Qing Dynasty will     5     (display) among 181 other items.

The rare objects will introduce visitors       6       the cultural interactions that took place between the two countries       7     (date)back to the second half of the 17th century through the 18th century.

Compared to       8     (field) such as painting, music and film, “cultural legacy” is a rather novel field in China-France cooperative exchanges.       9     (they) efforts in areas like legacy conservation will inspire the world to see how the growth of humanity is independent from different cultural contexts.

Besides shows in China, more than 10 programs will be       10     (specific) launched in France to bring Chinese culture to locals in 2024. More than 20 Tang Dynasty treasures will be selected and then exhibited at the Guimet Museum in France in November.

The Wandering Earth is China’s biggest sci-fi film to date.    1    (direct) by Frant Gwo of My Old Classmate and starring Wu Jing of Wolf Warrior 1 and 2, The Wandering Earth was one of    2    most anticipated films of 2019. The film is based on a short story by Liu Cixin,    3     flagship work The Three Body Problem was     4    (original) supposed to receive the cinematic treatment before production issues shelved the movie.

The film    5     (release) on Feb. 5, 2019. It is set in a future Earth, whose inhabitants prepare to escape from the solar system as the sun expands into a red giant phase,    6    (threaten) to engulf (吞没) Earth in flames. As the expanding sun changes the climate of the earth, the governments of the world unite    7    the leadership of the UN Security Council to build massive engines to push the planet out of the solar system and towards nearby Proxima Centauri. At the same time, the    8     ( resident) of Earth move to underground cities for the thousands-year-long transit.

However, just as the Earth begins on    9     (it) journey across the galaxy, it gets trapped in the gravity well of Jupiter—after which it’s up to Wu Jing’s character Liu Peiqiang, his father, his son, his adopted daughter, and a number of Chinese soldiers and scientists    10     (save) the world.

Who owns a photo taken by a monkey? That may seem like a strange question. But photographer David Slater and an animal rights group argued about it for nearly two years. They finally reached an     1     (agree) in September.

In 2011, Slater photographed endangered monkeys     2     (call) crested black macaques (黑冠猕猴) in Indonesia. Slater also set up a camera on a tripod (三脚架),     3     (hope) the monkeys would take photos of themselves.

His plan worked. One of the photos became famous after it     4     (post) online. Slater also included the monkey selfie (自拍照) in a book he published in 2014 titled Wildlife Personalities.

But the following year, the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) charged Slater. The group declared that Slater couldn’t publish and sell the photo because he didn’t take     5    . PETA argued that the monkey that took the picture was     6     (actual) its true owner.

The two sides made     7     deal in September. Slater     8     (donate) 25 percent of the money he makes     9     future sales of the photo to groups that protect crested black macaques in Indonesia. Slater says he is happy to help the monkeys,     10     was his intention from the start.

When you hear the word “shapeshifting” (变身), you may think of sci-fi movies, and not the climate. But that’s     1     animals are doing to deal with climate change. A new study shows that some animals are     2     (gradual) growing larger beaks, legs and ears. In this way they can lose heat more easily     3     (cool) themselves down as Earth gets warmer. “A lot of the time when we talk about climate change, we ask ‘Can humans overcome this?’ or ‘What technology can solve this?’ But we should know that animals also have to adapt     4     these changes,” said the study’s author Sara Ryding, from Deakin University, Australia. If animals fail to control     5     (they) body temperature, they can overheat and die. In one example, the beaks of some Australian parrot species     6     (grow) 4 to 10 percent larger since 1871. The study says it’s closely related to the     7     (rise) summer temperatures over the years. Similar examples include wood mice. They have longer tails, and bats in warm climates have bigger     8     (wing).

Although the changes are still small, Ryding said they could be     9     (obvious) as the days become hotter. “Body parts like ears are predicted to be bigger,     10     we might end up with a live-action Dumbo (big-eared elephant from a Disney cartoon) in the near future,” Ryding told BBC.