There are some special traditions in Hawaii. People there are very friendly and always welcome visitors. They give visitors a lei, a long necklace of beautiful fresh flowers. Men wear bright flowered shirts, and women often wear long flowered dresses.
     In Hawaii you may find some traditional Chinese  Japanese and Philippine holidays  Of course  many holidays are from the United States. People call Hawaii the Aloha State. Aloha means both “hello” and “good--bye”. It also means “I love you ”.
     Usually when people from different countries, races or traditions lives together, there are serious problems. But in Hawaii there are few problems, people have learned to live together in peace.
     Hawaiians earn most of their money from tourists, most of whom come from the mainland and from Japan. The families of the first people who came from the U.S. mainland own the important banks and companies. Japanese are  also starting business and buying more and more land.

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.

    On October 31,2016, an Egyptian (埃及的) university held a Chinese movies week with China Radio International (CRI).

    The first movie Go Lala Go was shown at the Suez Canal University in Ismailia. Ismailia is about 120 kilometers northeast of Egypt's capital Cairo, It was greatly enjoyed by over 100 Egyptian students learning Chinese at Confucius Institute (孔子学院) in the university.

    "I would like to thank the Chinese Cultural Center that gave many books to the university, which are important for our students and for the teaching process. I hope everyone enjoys the movie and understands more about China," said Hassan Ragab, a worker of Confucius Institute.

    An 18-year-oid girl student who studies Chinese expressed admiration (崇敬) for the Chinese movie that depicts a woman's efforts (努力) to achieve success. "Since I study Chinese, it's necessary for me to watch such Chinese movies and get to learn about the culture, habits and traditions," she told Xinhua.

    Zhang Li, director of CRI Middle East headquarters (总部), said, "Many Egyptians told me that they liked watching Chinese movies and they found Egypt and China shared similar (相似的) cultures." She added, "The reason to hold this Chinese movies week is that we want Egyptians to know more about modern China, and we also hope to develop the interest of Egyptian students to learn Chinese."

①Eleuthera is a great place for people to enjoy pineapples. There is a big festival—— Eleuthera Pineapple Festival. It has a history of over 30 years. It is in early June on the Island of Eleuthera. The festival of 2024 is from 7 June to 8 June. Every year people from all over the Bahamas and other places come here to enjoy this festival. Delicious foods and drinks are everywhere at the festival. Everyone can find something to enjoy.

②Not only the foods and drinks, there are also many interesting activities(活动) for visitors to enjoy. One fun activity is the pineapple- eating race. People must eat a pineapple without using their hands. The one who eats up the pineapple first wins.

③Visitors can also make different kinds of foods like cakes, salads, juices and ice cream by using pineapples. Some people try the dishes and find the best one as the winner. Another cool activity is the music show. Some musicians sing and play music there. You can watch them sing and dance to the music together.

④For the people who live in the Island of Eleuthera, the festival is also a big thing. They show and se ll beautiful things that are made with their hands. Some people sell food and drinks. Some even ask the visitors to have meals with them.

⑤The Eleuthera Pineapple Festival is a big party for everyone. Do you know other fruit festivals around the world?

I hoped to be set free one day,so I was nice to the Lilliputians.Gradually,     ▲     .Sometimes the children even played hide-and-seek in my hair.

One day,the king said to me,"Gulliver,I invite you to watch an important performance.It is a contest called Rope Dancing".In the contest,a thin rope was tied between two poles very high above the ground.People had to dance on this rope.Each dancer tried to jump higher than the others.I had never seen such a dangerous sport.

"Your Majesty,"I said,"many dancers must fall and be hurt or killed."

"Yes,"he replied,"But I will give the best jobs in my kingdom to the men who are not afraid and jump the highest."What a strange way to choose who will work for the country!"I thought.

Then,as the king watched,I tied each corner of my handkerchief to a strong stick, and pushed the four sticks into the ground.My handkerchief was now under the rope but above the ground.Any dancer who fell would land on the handkerchief and not get hurt. The king was very pleased with my invention.His family and many other people watched the rope dancing.

Would you and the queen like to see better?"I asked the king.I gently put them on my hand and held it beside the rope.They had a good view of the dancers.One very skilled performer held on to the rope and flipped(翻转)his body right over it.The king and the queen clapped loudly and cheered.Later the king told me that he made this man one of his chief(首要的)advisors.

The king and I met often.He seemed to enjoy our conversations.One day,I said again,"Your Majesty, please set me free."This time he answered,"I have talked to my

advisors.We agree that you have been good to our people."