Located in Liping County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture of southwest China’s Guizhou Province is the Zhao-xing Town, one of the largest ethnic Dong villages in China. The Dong people have resided in this region for centuries and have preserved their native language in both its oral and written form. Their culture has three unique treasures: drum towers, wind and rain bridges, and their own brand of polyphonic music. The region home to the Dong people has been hailed as the “home of poetry and sea of music.”

On March 20, 2021, the latest archaeological discovery at the Sanxingdui ruins site gripped the public’s attention: more than 500 ancient artifacts were unearthed in the six newly discovered sacrificial pits, including a bronze portrait with painted eyes, a gold mask, and a bronze holy tree sculpture. After 34 years since the last finds, these new items become part of the Sanxingdui collection.

Children choirs not only train children how to sing but also nurture in them a collaborative spirit which benefits them for the rest of their life. Their young voices harmonize gloriously and the happy faces of the Baby Snail Choir clearly show that they enjoy singing. Yet the group of children in the choir face a major challenge that belies their vocal ability. They were all born with severe hearing impairments. Even with cochlear implants, the world they hear is different from ours.

Hu Chunqing is perhaps the most well-known person in the business of hanfu, the traditional clothing of China’s Han ethnic group, in Daji Township, Caoxian County of Shandong Province in east China. Holding a Ph.D. in metal materials, he decided to return to his hometown and joined his wife in the clothing business in 2018.

“Today there are nearly 300 million people learning to play guzheng (a Chinese plucked zither) in China, but the number of people learning konghou is less than 500,” Wu Qian said. Thus by contrast, konghou, a multi-stringed plucked instrument of the harp family, proves to be the one only for a selected few.

In the western suburbs of Xiahe County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province right at the foot of the Fengling Mountain lies the exquisite Labrang Monastery. A world renowned institution of higher learning for Tibetan Buddhism, it is one of six major monasteries of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism.

With a history of at least 600 years, Tibetan opera has been dubbed “the living fossil of traditional Tibetan culture.” Having been inscribed on both the national intangible cultural heritage list of China and UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list, the ancient opera has gained many modern devotees.

Antonino Scordo, a 38-year-old Italian, is an executive sous chef at Jinling Hotel’s Restaurant Pacific Grill in Nanjing. He is affectionately called “Nino” by his friends. Having a passion for culinary arts, he often walks out of the kitchen and interacts with the diners. For him, cooking is more than just a simple act of preparing a dish. More importantly, it helps express the emotion of the chef and his or her unique understanding of the world. During Nino’s days of living and working in China, the warm-hearted people around him have made him feel quite at home.

In recent years, traditional Chinese art forms have caught the attention of more and more young Chinese, due to their innovative nature. One of the most popular among young people right now is Suzhou pingtan, a folk ballad about the art of story-telling.

On November 25, 2020, the late French sculptor Jean Cardot’s artwork Taureau lumière [Cattle in the Sun], donated by Académie des Beaux-Arts of France to the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC), was set up and unveiled in the Sculpture Park of the latter.

With the arrival of spring rains, the mountainous Nujiang Grand Canyon in the northwest of Yunnan Province is covered in clouds of mist. The blending of mist and mountain scenery creates a mystical ambiance that heralds the change of seasons.

Jade enjoys a high cultural status in China. It is regarded as a symbol of virtue and nobility. A popular proverb says, “For a man of true nobility, it’s better to be a broken piece of jade than a whole tile.” It means that a man would rather die in glory than live in dishonor.

Emperor Xuanzong (685-762) of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) has been renowned for his versatility, particularly in music. There are many anecdotes about the talented emperor.

“Today there are nearly 300 million people learning to play guzheng (a Chinese plucked zither) in China, but the number of people learning konghou is less than 500.”