Do you like Chinese traditional painting and dance? They are two important parts of the traditional Chinese art. But what about when they meet each other?

This year, a dance drama titled Poetic Dance: The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting (《只此青绿》) was staged on CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala and became popular.

According to CCTV, this poetic dance program was inspired by the 900-year-old Chinese painting A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains (《千里江山图》). Created by Song Dynasty painter Wang Ximeng at about 18, the painting is amazing in its sweeping size, rich coloration and the expressive details, reported CCTV. It shows a Chinese blue-green landscape: “mountains and groupings of infinite (无限的) rise and fall between cloudless sky and rippling (涟漪的) water”.

When the dancers moved elegantly, audiences seemed to be looking at the moving mountains and rivers. “It brings me a pure experience of beauty. It is not only a drama but also an exhibition. Vast mountains and rivers are coming to life!” Internet user Mo Weisha wrote in a review. “More than a thousand years later, green mountains and rivers still impress people as they did long ago.” Some people even decided to watch the dance again when it was staged in the theaters later. In fact, in recent years, more and more modern shows feature Chinese traditional culture and have received warm welcome. As for the reason, it is due to people’s great love for traditional culture.

“The younger generations have grown up with a more open mind. They accept Chinese culture and are proud of it.” Yao Wei, director of Henan TV Station’s Innovation Center, told China Daily.

Tom Costello Jr. was once afraid of homeless Americans. That changed seven years ago after his wife, a volunteer at a homeless shelter, persuaded him to help with a holiday dinner for shelter residents.

Tom Costello remembers going to a store and buying socks for the residents. He knew many of them were in need of clothing. At the shelter, Costello said, he dropped a pair of socks into a bag for a woman. “She started to cry and told me that nobody had ever given her socks before,” Costello said. “Then she reached out and gave me a hug.”

That experience at the shelter helped Costello end his fear of the homeless. It also led him to set up a group called “The Joy of Sox.” The Joy of Sox collects socks from donors and gives them mostly to shelters in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area, where Costello and his wife Nacy live. But the group has been expanding its reach, now providing socks for homeless shelters in 21 states and three countries: Mexico, Afghanistan and Uganda.

Why socks? Costello explains that some Americans give food, coats and other clothing to shelters, but donating socks is not something most people think about. And, he says, socks are very helpful in keeping people warm in cold weather. A man named Kiwi, who has lived in homeless shelters, explains that socks are important to people who spend a lot of time outdoors. Kiwi says most of the time he can find enough food through shelters and soup kitchens, but socks are much more difficult to get.

Costello says his hope for “The Joy of Sox” is to be the best sock charity in the world. He also wants the group to give six pairs of socks to every homeless person in the United States each year.

Arthur Phillip High School, located in Parramatta, New South Wales (NSW), Australia, will be NSW’s first public high-rise high school. When it opens, the school will be different from anything else we’ve got across the system.

Students will eat lunch in courtyards overlooking city rooftops, before continuing their lessons in sound-proofed music rooms, science labs or atriums ( 中 庭 ) with eight metre-high ceilings. The specialty rooms, such as science labs, will be on the top floors. There will be large lifts, but students will be encouraged to use the stairs. There will be a gym, a play ground and play space on each floor.

The building will be run more like an office block than a traditional school, with a plant room used for the operation of the sprinklers（洒水装置）, air conditioning and elevator systems. In addition, people will be seen cleaning the windows while students are studying.

“We’re going to have to get kids used to that,” said Sylvia Corish, an executive director of school performance for the NSW Department of Education. “That’s going to be a unique experience.”

“This   is   a   very   different   concept,”   said   the   chief   executive   of   School   Infrastructure   NSW, Anthony Manning. “While it has been challenging at times, the end product is going to be really amazing and impressive.”

“I am very surprised and happy to see how creative this learning space will be for students in the Parramatta region for years to come,” Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said.

The Herald visited the new high school, as construction of the ambitious project enters its final phase and students at the original school across the road prepare to begin testing its state-of-the-art facilities. In the next few months, students and teachers will visit the school to help ensure a smooth transition （过渡）. “It will be a matter of testing how people can move around the building,” Mr Manning said.