1 . If you find yourself crossing one of London’s busy bridges and look down, you may notice that the height of the Thames changes over the course of the day. When the tide (潮水) is out, you may see people move down hidden stairs to walk slowly along the foreshore (前滩). These are “mudlarks” — and they play a key role in preserving the history of the Thames by picking up objects and artefacts (手工艺品) hidden in the river’s mud (泥).

Walking along the foreshore of the Thames is not everyone’s idea of a hobby — it can be cold and dirty. When the tide turns, it turns fast. You must always be aware of your way off of the foreshore. The mud is another hazard. A more experienced mudlark said he had once fallen into the mud. He was lucky to have a bucket to move out the mud.

Historically, being a mudlark was a low station in life. The term came about in the 18th and 19th centuries when the Thames was one of the major ways to transport goods into the city. At this time, the banks of the river would be full of mudlarks, mostly poor women and children. As the tide dropped, they would walk into the mud to pick up lumps of coal, pieces of rope or anything else careless boatmen had dropped overboard that they could sell.

Mudlarking is experiencing a renaissance (复兴). It has never been easier for people to explore the Thames: anyone looking for inspiration just has to follow the mudlarking posts on the Internet. The Thames Discovery Programme, a group of historians and volunteers, run guided tours of the foreshore where experts guide you and ensure that you stay safe and stick to Port of London Authority rules.

3 . At first glance, Huaguoshan kindergarten in Zhuzhou, a city in the southern province of Hunan, looks much like any other schools for kids in China. But it has a year-long waiting list, because of its widely advertised guoxue.

Children at Huaguoshan are taught how to bow, and how to greet each other politely. In some rooms they learn ancient techniques. In others, they recite poems, perform tea ceremonies and play Chinese chess. The school says that mastering skills is secondary to building character. “For example, our children learn to respect their rivals (对手) and accept defeat in chess,” explains one of the teachers.

Of course, the school charges hefty fees. Actually, the guoxue trend has already created a huge demand for education in kindergartens across China. Frost & Sullivan, a data firm, estimated that the market for preschool children was worth $73 billion in 2020, almost doubled its value in 2018.

Strictly speaking, guoxue content has long been part of the curriculums from primary to high schools in China. In 2014, the number of classical texts to be taught in primary schools increased from 14 to 72. In 2017, the government put out new guidelines for more comprehensive guoxue curriculums in primary and secondary schools by 2025. In 2020, more guoxue content was added to the university entrance exam. In May, 2021, the education ministry approved more guoxue classes to strengthen “a sense of belonging to and pride in the Chinese nation”.

Guoxue is the ancient system of thought that emphasizes respect for authority and usually involves learning traditional morals, thoughts, and classical Chinese texts, especially those associated with Confucius, who thought that such values were essential to achieve moral excellence as individuals. He thought that such upstanding citizens would form the basis for social harmony and stability.

After decades of welcoming foreign trends, many Chinese people are now interested in Chinese traditions. Television shows include “Chinese Poetry Conference”, in which participators are quizzed on classical poems. Young people wear traditional clothes in public.

4 . Women in the UK are living shorter lives on average than most other countries in Europe, according to an analysis by Public Health England (PHE).

Spanish women have the highest life expectancy (预期) in Europe, at 86. 3 years in2016. The average for the UK is 83, taking 17th place out of 28 European nations. Men in the UK do better, in 10th place and with above-average life expectancy of 79. 4, but men in Italy, the leading nation, can expect to live to 81.

“We are in the middle of the pack and we would like to be at the top. There is no reason why we shouldn’t be as healthy as anywhere in Europe,” said Prof. John Newton, director of health improvement at PHE.

“It is certain of concern that we have worse outcomes than other European countries,” he added. “We tend to do badly in men with respiratory (呼吸的) diseased and in women with cancer, especially breast cancer. Many of the causes of long term diseases in the UK which shorten lives are preventable.” Obesity (肥胖) is causing a big increase in the numbers of people developing some illnesses. The report shows the numbers with the illness like diabetes are expected to rise swiftly, from just under four million last year to nearly five million in 2035. Along with alcohol, obesity is also one of the factors behind the rise in breast cancer.

Most of the strategies to combat obesity are aimed at children. “In many ways it is easier to intervene,” said Newton. “We have a duty to care for children. But it is equally important that adults are encouraged to eat a better diet.”

There is strong policy support for childhood obesity programs, he said, such as the sugary drinks tax, restriction on advertising junk food to children and pressures on food companies cutting the sugar, salt and calories in their products. There is little directed specifically at adults. However, Newton said, “Nearly all of the measures will also improve adult obesity.”

A journey enriched with cuisine and culture

As reported by China Tourism News, the combination of culture and tourism has inspired several cities in China to explore their cooking heritage while transforming food tours into cultural experiences.

Recently the sharp increase in popularity of Zibo barbecue is a clear proof to this effort. Zibo,     1     (locate) in East China’s Shandong province, was not     2     (wide) known as a tourist destination. However, over the past three months, the industrial. city’s delicious barbecue     3     (gain) large popularity and attracted a massive arrival of visitors who have turned it into a tourist hot spot.

“I never expected Zibo barbecue     4     (become) so popular all of a sudden!” said Zhang Linlin, deputy director of the business management department at Shandong College of Tourism and Hospitality. “With the recent much publicity, many of my young colleagues have rushed to try     5     out. They all praised its great taste and reasonable price. “

Zhang is researching the Zibo barbecue craze to identify sustainable strategies     6     can promote youth tourism and support the recovery of the tourism industry.

China boasts a diverse range of cuisine, and     7     (region) throughout the country have been actively exploring the potential of food as a catalyst (催化剂) for tourism growth.

Food plays a vital role in driving tourism spending and     8     (win) a traveler’s heart. Wu Liyun, an associate professor at the China Academy of Culture and Tourism of Beijing International Studies University, illustrated this point by reflecting     9     her own experience: “The attractive skewers (烤肉串) of Dujiangyan, the tasty Yimeng stir-fried chicken of Linyi and the pleasant grilled oysters (蚝) of Guangzhou were not only among the most memorable and important components of my plans, but they were the     10     (great) motivators for me to return,” Wu said.

9 . Although they face the future with a certain degree of anxiety, more than 55 percent of Chinese young people believe that hard work and diligence can improve their prospects, according to a new survey.

Data for the Survey Report on the Social Mentality of Young Chinese Netizens (2022), which was published on Thursday, was abstracted from posts and comments by nearly 5,500 active young Internet users on social media website Sina Weibo and video-sharing website Bilibili over the past two years.It said that many young people devote a great deal of effort toward improving their situation and they prefer not to put too much peer pressure on their counterparts, while they like to offer each other encouragement in their online comments.

Among the youths who clearly expressed anxiety in their social media posts 77 percent of them said they were concerned about their studies and work, while 30 percent were anxious about their health and 18 percent expressed concerns about their appearance. Those with a postgraduate education expressed a higher level of anxiety than those without, according to the survey.

As uncertainties rose in the job market due to the impact of the pandemic over the past three years, many young people expressed concerns about their future career prospects. They hoped to make the right career choices in advance but lacked real experiences in the job market, which intensified their level of anxiety.

Bilibili data shows that videos about various work skills, guidance on writing an apressive resume, and sharing job interview experiences have become increasingly popular on the platform in recent years.

A 31-year old media worker in Shanghai, who wanted to be only identified by her name Hu, said that young people in her age group in big cities face huge pressure such as finding a job with a higher sense of accomplishment and better pay as they climb the career ladder.

“In the meantime, I’m afraid that a better job will scare some potential boyfriends away. This is a dilemma for me. Also, I found from my friends and colleagues that women shoulder higher pressure in terms of appearance compared to men,” she said.