Tickets

Children at or under 120 cm tall don't need to buy tickets to take the train, but they cannot take the train by themselves. Children above 124 cm must buy a full-price ticket.
If you buy a round ticket, you can get on the train at Longyang Road Station or Pudong Airport Station, and get off at the other station. The return part of the ticket must be used on the same day.

Last Friday, for our weekly event, we watched Peking Opera at the Qingdao Grand Theatre. As a young man from the United States, it was my first time to watch live Peking Opera, and it was special.

    Peking Opera, also known as Beijing Opera, is called “京剧 (Jingju)” in Chinese. It is a traditional Chinese opera and has a history of over 200 years. It is an art form that combines music, vocal performance, dance and acrobatics(杂技). The works of Peking Opera are mainly based on Chinese history and traditional stories and customs.

The performance we watched that night was called Meeting the Queen and Hitting the Dragon Robe (长袍) The story is from a Chinese classic literature. Bao Zheng was one of the most well-known ancient Chinese government officials in Chinese history. One day, he met an old lady on his way back home. The old lady claimed herself as the mother of the emperor and had been set up by others. After checking that the old lady was the emperor's mother, Bao Zheng helped her to get back to the capital and she blamed the emperor for all the misery she had suffered. She ordered Bao Zheng to punish the emperor and Bao Zheng hit the dragon robe instead of hitting the emperor in order to save himself from being punished.

When the opera started, we were amazed by the unique sound made by the musical instruments. They were in perfect cooperation with the singing of the performers. Also, the costumes the performers wore were extremely beautiful and attractive as they have several colours and patterns on each one of them. The performers also "told" the story by their movement. For example, a walk around the stage would mean they took a long trip somewhere. Even though it was kind of hard for us to get used to the music and to follow the story, we were glad that we decided to join the event! We look forward to such an event again. It really helps us know more about Chinese culture.

    In America, just as in Europe, men usually open doors for women, and women always walk ahead of men into a room or a restaurant, unless the men have to be ahead of the ladies to choose the table, to open the door of a car or do some other things like the above. On the street, men almost always walk or cross the street on the closer side of the ladies to the traffic. But if a man walks with two ladies he should walk between them. If a host or hostess or both of them drive to get their guest for dinner, the guest should sit at the front seat and leave the back seat though there are no people sitting on it

During the Spring Festival of 2024, many Chinese parents bought their children bright red sets of Chinese New Year's clothing. A recent report showed that the order for traditional clothes went up a lot. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Young people dressed in such clothing have often been noticed at popular restaurants, parks, places of interest and so on.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} First, it cleverly connects traditional and modern parts, creating a special and stylish look. Second, it includes intricate embroidery, bright colors and high-quality cloth, which makes it stand out from western styles. Besides, social media also have an influence on Chinese young.

What was popular only among the old people has now become a hit among the young. Many people regard this as "bloodline awakening." In the past, people might think that only in clothing with famous brands could they show good taste. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} You can find those people while visiting the British Museum as well as when traveling in the United States.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} It mixes the ancient beauty of traditional Chinese tea with modern designs, like fancy tea sets. This has gradually become a lifestyle. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Young people are more pleased to express their personality with traditional culture, reflecting their pride of being a Chinese.

A tornado (龙卷风) is a kind of strong storm with air which moves in a circle quickly. They can move over 200 miles per hour and cause a lot of damage. As they move across the land, they can easily pick up cars, trucks, and even houses, and then throw them very far. It is important to find a safe place if a tornado gets close. 

A safe place could be a basement or the lowest floor. If you are in a home without a basement, try to find a first-floor bathroom or a small room without windows in the middle of your house. You should curl up (蜷缩) into a ball and cover your head and neck with your hands. 

But there are some people who actually want to get close to tornadoes. They are scientists who want to learn more about tornadoes. One of the best ways to do this is to get as close as possible to the tornado. They use special tools to measure (测量) what is happening in and around a tornado. 

One special tool is called a tornado probe (探测仪) . Inside the tornado probe, there are sensors (传感器) to measure wind speed, temperature, pressure, and direction. Some probes even have cameras, so the scientists can see and understand what it's like to be in a tornado.

To be able to get these measurements, the scientists have to get a tornado probe near or into a tornado. Scientists will try to guess where a tornado will go next. Then they drive to that location and put down the probe. If they do not guess correctly, they pick up their probe and r another place. If they are right, the tornado will go near or even right over the probe. Then they take all of the measurements from the probe and use them to predict where future tornadoes may form and travel. And they can give people some warning to keep away from a dangerous tornado. 

Do you know the Mid- Autumn Festival? It is a popular and {#blank#}1{#/blank#} festival in China. It is celebrated on the 15th day of the {#blank#}2{#/blank#} month in the Chinese lunar calendar. This day is in the exact midst (中间) of autumn, so it's called the Mid- Autumn Festival. To celebrate it, people usually have a day {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. 

There are some {#blank#}4{#/blank#} at the Mid- Autumn Festival. For example, family members usually get together to have a big dinner and enjoy the full moon. Eating moon cakes is a {#blank#}5{#/blank#} of reunion(团聚). Moon cakes are in the shape of a full moon. As time goes by, they are much more expensive than before, but their meaning remains. 

I like the Mid-Autumn Festival because all my family members always enjoy ourselves on that day.