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[Cultural Heritage, Modern Tourism, and Scientific Breakthroughs in China]-[Macao launches POP MART tourism event to attract global fans]

Special English · B1 · 2025-06-23

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📋 Summary

Preserving the Historical Hexi Corridor

China has launched an ambitious 10-year plan to develop a national heritage route along the Hexi Corridor in northwest China. Aimed at strengthening the "protection, inheritance, and utilization" of cultural assets, the project will invest 610 million yuan into 120 specific tasks. As noted by He Xiaozu of the Gansu Provincial Culture and Tourism Department, this initiative encompasses 52 representative cultural sites and 20 intangible heritage projects. By adhering to the principle of "minimal intervention," the route intends to serve as a vital platform for "exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations," highlighting the corridor’s significance as a stretch of the ancient Silk Road.

The Intersection of Culture and Pop Culture: Macau and Suzhou

Cultural tourism is evolving through modern collaborations. In Macau, the Tourism Office partnered with PopMart to launch a city-wide initiative featuring iconic characters like "Labubu" and "Baby Molly." This strategy leverages the brand's global fan base to encourage visitors to explore the city's iconic locations. Similarly, the Suzhou Silk Museum has seen a massive surge in popularity, with visitor numbers doubling last year. Curator Qian Zhaoyue attributes this to the "rise of interest in traditional Chinese culture" among the youth. The museum is successfully blending tradition with technology, collaborating with the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications to digitize ancient patterns. Beyond tourism, silk is finding modern applications in skincare, automotive interiors, and even space exploration, where a silk-based pattern was designed for the mascot "Rabbit Star."

Scientific Milestones: Coral Restoration and Paleontology

Significant scientific progress is being reported in marine and geological fields. A team from Guangxi University has achieved a breakthrough in coral conservation off Weizhou Island by mastering the technology to trigger "large-scale coral spawning." After 11 years of research, the team has transitioned from planting to active breeding, creating a "Noah's Ark" for corals through liquid nitrogen storage of reproductive cells. This is crucial as coral reefs support over a quarter of all marine species yet face threats from global climate change and coral bleaching.

Additionally, paleontologists from the China University of Geosciences Beijing have made a historic discovery in Guangdong Province: a combination of mammaliaform and dinosaur tracks in Cretaceous strata. The discovery of a 1.8 cm mammaliaform track—the first of its kind in South China—suggests that these small, mouse-like creatures possessed broader "ecological adaptability" than previously thought. Alongside these, the team identified theropod and sauropod tracks, providing new "insight into the diversity and paleoecology of vertebrates" during the Cretaceous era. These findings underscore China's dual commitment to preserving its ancient natural history while actively engineering a sustainable future.

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📖 Transcript

The world is changing fast, but you can learn it at a slower pace.
Special English You're listening to Special English.
Here's the news. China plans to build a national heritage route along the historically significant Hexi Corridor in northwest China within the next 10 years.
The route is part of the country's goal to strengthen the protection, inheritance, and utilization of cultural and natural heritage.
According to He Xiaozu, head of the Gansu Provincial Culture and Tourism Department, Gansu will implement a series of projects focused on heritage protection and utilization, infrastructure construction, tourism industry layout, and international exchanges and cooperation.
These projects will encompass a total of 52 representative cultural and natural heritages and 20 national -level intangible cultural heritage projects along the Hexi Corridor.

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