The Year of the Dragon comes with inspiration for creativity and the power to bring big ideas     1    life.

Designer Wang Zijian’s Dragon Out of Water, a creative tea infuser (泡茶器),shines on the wall at the exhibition of the winning works of the 2024 Global Zodiac Design Competition at the Beijing Overseas Cultural Exchange Center.     2     (it) cute dragon design and special function are bound to appeal to young consumers. “It’s     3    unique product, and we expect a positive response from young customers,” Wang told Beijing Review.

The item belongs to China Chic, or guochao, also     4     (know) as “national wave”,    5    refers to products of all sorts including traditional Chinese cultural elements. These products    6     (embrace) by the country’s younger generations in recent years. According to a report by Xinhua News Agency, Gen Z    7     (account) for 74 percent of consumers of China Chic goods in 2022, and the search volume of China Chic products has increased five times over the past decade.

As a young designer, Wang hopes     8     (capture) young consumers with his creative interpretation of dragons. “I’ve been    9    (thorough) studying the dragon’s historical connotations (言外之意) and the     10     (psychology) characteristics of Gen Z consumers,” the 34-year-old designer told Beijing Review.

Chen Yishi, of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, has devoted most of his life to woodblock printing, an ancient art     1     has embodied(体现) the charm of Chinese characters for hundreds of years. In 2006, the traditional craft     2     (list) among China’s first items of national intangible cultural heritage, and Chen has been honored as a     3    (represent) inheritor(继承人).

Known as the “living fossil” of printing, woodblock printing originated in China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Inheritors of the craft follow the ancient ways, using traditional tools     4     (carve) characters and patterns on a wooden block. Next, ink is applied to the carved face, and blank pages of paper, silk     5     other material are pressed down on the ink, picking up the impression. Those pages are then bound into a book.

The passion for woodblock printing     6    (run) in Chen’s family for more than 100 years. His grandfather was a famous Qing woodblock craftsman. Chen     7    (he) has been practicing the craft since he was 13 years old. The Chens and the city of Yangzhou are making efforts to attract more people’s attention through publicity. They have made light covers, fans and other daily items     8     (use) woodblock printing and sold them     9     low prices. “The public will have access to it through these     10     (product),” said Chen Meiqi, Chen’s daughter, “They will get to appreciate woodblock printing, and then protect it.”

In the intersection of Guangdong, Jiangxi and Fujian provinces, there is a city called Meizhou. It is the most     1    (concentrate) area for Hakka people in Guangdong.

The Hakka people have experienced long-term hardship. After achieving     2    (stable), most of them choose to live near mountain s and rivers. The Weilong House is the dwelling place     3     Meizhou people put their hearts at ease. The House, with its back     4     the mountain s and forests, has a semi-circular pond in front of its door. Seen from the sky, the Hakka Weilong House is     5    (rough) oval-shaped, embodying the living form and order of life that heaven is round and earth is square.

The Songkou Ancient Town at the lower reaches of the Meijiang River was the first stop for Hakka people     6    (go) to Southeast Asia after the late Ming Dynasty. In the old street, there are colonial-style buildings that     7    (weather) through the years, and advertisements full of Southeast Asian charm.

The people of Meizhou enjoy a bowl of pickled noodles with a bowl of San Ji Li soup, which includes pork, pi g liver, and pig intestine. This is     8     favorite dish for the people of Meizhou from childhood to adulthood. Hakka cuisine     9    (characterize) by its richness, freshness, and aroma.     10    (dish) like Steamed Chicken wrapped in Lotus Leaf are all part of Hakka cuisine.

It is often time-consuming to travel by car or bus in a country     1     size of China. Consequently, high speed trains make good sense.

An early attempt     2     (find) a technological breakthrough for high speed rail travel in China was the Shanghai Maglev (磁悬浮列车), which opened to the public in 2004．As the first     3     (commerce) magnetic-levitation train in the world, it connects Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport with the Shanghai subway system,     4     (travel) a distance of 30 kilometers in 8 minutes.

In 2007, the Chinese Ministry of Railways began joint ventures (风险事业)     5     four companies (from Canada, Japan, France and Germany) to develop high speed rail within China. As Chinese railway technology     6     (mature), the development of the high-speed rail system became     7     (increase) localized, until the all-Chinese Fuxing Hao (Renaissance)     8     (create) and rolled into production in 2017.

China now has nearly 30,000 kilometers of high speed track. Using high speed rail,    9     used to be a 34-hour journey can now be accomplished in just seven to nine hours. While this is still a long journey, it means you can leave in the morning     10     arrive in the afternoon.

Shoes may not be the first thing one would notice of these 2, 200-year-old Terracotta Warriors,     1     an initial analysis of their footwear showed that these humble accessories might have played a “vital role” in the Qin army. Two Chinese researchers made     2     copy of the footwear using the shoe-making techniques and materials known to be used by the Qin people when the warriors     3     (build). The study found that the replicas provided the wearers with “a more comfortable, stable and efficient”     4     (walk) experience.

    5     (equal) fascinating are the warriors’ clothes: they were candy-coloured. When the Terracotta Warriors were originally created, they were painted a bright array of reds, blues, and greens,     6     are believed to have matched the colours of the clothing worn by the Qin soldiers. In many cases, the paint has not survived the centuries after the warriors     7    (burn) by fires or soaked in floods, but a few of the warriors have been unearthed     8     their original colouring still largely undamaged. A 2019 study found that the colors were mixed with various protein-based binders, such as egg, animal glues and milk, before     9     (paint) onto the soldiers to help secure the paint.

    10     (reconstruct) based on this research seem to suggest the Qin fashion-at least in the army-was to clash colours (撞色).

The painting Prosperous Suzhou, ink and color on paper, 1,241cm in length and 36.5cm in width, is     1     (current) housed in the Liaoning Provincial Museum.The painting     2    (complete) in 1759 during the Qing Dynasty.     3    (paint) in hand scroll format (手卷) with cavalier perspective painting methods, the entire piece vividly illustrates     4    urban life of Suzhou during the High Qing era, with lively trades, countless businessmen and various goods. The whole scroll describes the local conditions and customs in the southern     5    (region) of the Yangtze River, including the landscape of lakes and hills, city wall and     6    (it) gates, ancient ferries and rowing boats, towns along the river, folk customs, and shops of all trades, all of     7    reflect the prosperity (繁华) of Suzhou in the mid-18th century. Therefore, it     8    (hold) extremely high historical and artistic value.       

China Post issued a set of six special stamps based on this painting     9    May 18,2022. This set of stamps, designed by Xing Wenwei, fully reproduces the artistic conception of the original painting,     10     (create) a unique visual effect.

“Xixi Tonight”, a reimagined performance at Hangzhou’s Xixi Wetland Park,     1    (return) with a fresh, multi-sensory experience recently.     2    (base) on Song Dynasty(960-1279)and local Hangzhou culture, the show tells the tale of the Hong family during the Southern Song era,     3    (highlight) Hong Hao’s diplomatic missions and his wife’s     4    (devote) to their children’s education. The show used the natural scenery of the park as a backdrop     5     modern technologies to emphasize     6    (it) unique beauty, applying digital technology, indoor-outdoor performances and     7    (engage) audio-visual effects. In the viewing area, visitors could feel the fresh air     8     watching the show. This innovative combination of art and nature     9    (perfect) creates an exceptional tourism attraction, which offers visitors a unique encounter     10     the beauty of both culture and wetland ecology.

The Chinese culture of Fengshui has a long history     1     is an important discipline in ancient Chinese civilization. Fengshui explores the relationship between humans and their environment, believing that geographic     2     (surround) and layouts have a profound impact     3     one’s life and fortune. It is believed that by arranging things     4     (appropriate), one can harmonize the energies of the natural world. One of     5     core principles of Chinese Fengshui is the theory of Yin and Yang, and the Five Elements. According to this theory, the natural world     6     (classify) into five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Fengshui makes use of these elements to balance the energy of the environment, hereby     7     (enhance) people’s well-being and fortune. Additionally, Fengshui     8     (emphasis) the selection of directions and layouts to bring     9     (significance) changes to one’s life and fortune. Hence, in the construction and layout of houses, people plan and design     10     (base) on the principles of Fengshui.

Following Zibo and Harbin, Tianshui, an ancient Silk Road city in Northwest China’s Gansu Province, became the latest place that has caused     1     nationwide craze thanks to its malatang, or spicy hot pot. Tianshui spicy hot pot     2    (make) by cooking raw ingredients(原料) —meats, vegetables and noodles, in a pot of boiling broth. Then they are rolled into a large steel basin, drizzled with garlic sauce, sprinkled with Tianshui peppercorns and crushed peanuts,     3    (brush) with bright red chili oil, and colored with coriander and green onions. Fragrant and     4    (visual) appealing, it provokes(刺激) taste buds on the tip of tourists’ tongue. Different     5     Sichuan cuisine, the secrets to the unique flavor and attractive appearance of Tianshui malatang come from local speciality ingredients in Tianshui—Gangu chili peppers and Maiji peppercorns, both     6    (belong)to local speciality agricultural industries. Unlike the peppers used throughout Sichuan, the Tianshui pepper is fragrant and juicy. It     7    (burn) in the mouth but is smooth in the stomach.

Tianshui not only has delicious spicy hot pot food, but also stands out for its distinctive     8    (region)culture. Its grottoes and murals(石窟与壁画) are among the most famous art     9    (form) in Gansu. The Maijishan Grottoes,     10     are home to 221caves and more than 1,000 square meters of ancient murals, are known for their impressive beauty.

Short-form videos, which gained popularity on the Chinese platform Douyin, have given rise to a new trend in entertainment: ultra-short (超短) dramas.     1     (tailor) to our fast-paced lifestyles, ultra-short dramas are far more likely to attract people to try them out than traditional television series. In the past, committing     2     a show meant investing upwards of 40 minutes, but with ultra-short dramas, only a few minutes is enough for     3     taste.

Despite the initial success of ultra-short dramas, Chinese authorities     4     (tighten) regulations and intensifying monitoring on them. Currently, most of these ultra-short dramas revolve around clichéd (陈词滥调的) romantic plots, often     5     (feature) a wealthy individual getting together with a poor person. This narrative trend bears the potential     6     (shape) young minds’ perceptions of reality and their approaches to real-life challenges.

What’s equally concerning is     7     ultra-short dramas are designed to catch the viewers’ attention with bite-sized runtimes. In a world dominated by smartphones,     8     attention spans are already declining, frequent     9     (expose) to ultra-short videos can only worsen the issue.

It’s natural for us to seek entertainment. But it’s also worth pausing to consider the consequences     10     diving into ultra-short dramas.