Natural indigo-dye (靛蓝印染) has a long history in China. 【小题1】 (date) back to the Qin and Han Dynasties (BC 221-220), indigo-dyed cloth had been used 【小题2】 a main material for clothes for at least 1,000 years. Natural indigo 【小题3】 (take) from four kinds of plants. In Chinese, any plant that can be used to extract (提取) indigo is 【小题4】 (general) named as “Lan Cao”. The cloth dyed by these plants always 【小题5】 (keep) a faint fragrant smell and is naturally moth proof (防虫的). Natural indigo-dyed cloth has two pattern categories: one is a white design 【小题6】 (print) on a blue background; 【小题7】 other has blue patterns on white. Patterns on both sides of the cloth developed in recent years. The themes are centered on plants, animals and characters in stories 【小题8】 bear Chinese people’s good wishes for their lives. Nantong in Jiangsu province has been the major 【小题9】 (supply) of indigo-dyed cloth since the Qing and Ming dynasties. In May 2006, the blue dye technique was approved as a national 【小题10】 (culture) heritage by the State Council. In Nantong, the entire process is finished by hand.

Longmen Grottoes

Set on the banks of the Yi River, 12km south of the current Luoyang City, the Longmen Grottoes are ranked first of the Four Great Grotioes in China, together with Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Yungang Grottoes in Datong and Mount Maiji Grottoes in Tianshui. They were also listed in the World Cultural Heritages and Relics by UNESCO in 2000.

【小题1】 (Locate) between the Xiangshan Mountain and the Longmen Mountain, with the YiRiver flowing below, the Longmen Grottoes are 【小题2】 (harmony) with mountains, forests and rivers displaying a peaceful atmosphere. Viewing it at a distance, it looks like 【小题3】 natural gate, which gave it the name “Yi Que (the gate of the Yi River)”. According to legend, 【小题4】 Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty climbed on Mount Mang north of Luoyang, he was very pleased and ordered the eastern capital 【小题5】 (build) here with its palace gate opposite the Yique. Thus, it came to be named, Longmen Gate.

Longmen Gate also houses 【小题6】 (rough) 2860 stele inscriptions (碑刻), making 【小题7】 a treasure for ancient calligraphy study. In total, more than 100,000 Buddhist statues and niches 【小题8】 (carve) into the cliffs by ancient Chinese people ranging from the largest one, the Vairocana Buddha with a 【小题9】 (high) of 17.14 meters, 【小题10】 the smallest one of 2 centimeters.

Wandering in the Longmen Grottoes, one is amazed by the delicate carving skills, deep Buddhist culture and great art achievements of Chinese people.

To pass down Qu Yuan’s deep love of【小题1】 (he) country and wisdom to more young people around the world, Yichang government and China Daily, together with the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, started a worldwide youth art submission (投稿) activity, writing “A Treasured Letter Sent Back in Time” to Qu Yuan.

The activity invited young people worldwide【小题2】 (go) in for “heart conversations” with the well-known poet across space and time. Each letter to Qu Yuan was a respect to【小题3】 (tradition) Chinese culture, and the activity had drawn young attendees from over 20 countries and areas since it【小题4】 (start).

Chen Siyao, a student at China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing, 【小题5】 has been learning calligraphy since she was 5, said she thought of Qu Yuan’s poem Li Sao【小题6】 a treasure (珍宝) she always dreamed about in her practice.

She said she discovered the【小题7】 ( high) interesting and attractive Chinese culture through brush and ink, and saw its “energy“ in the “light and shadow landscape” at【小题8】 opening ceremony (仪式) of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, in 2016.

“Young people should know more about our culture, love our culture, 【小题9】 present a real and beautiful picture of China to the world through heart conversations with visionary (有远见的) 【小题10】 (leader) in the past,” Chen says.