The lion dance has been a traditional Chinese folk art for more than 2000 years. In the lion dance, two performers share a lion costume, one moving the head and the other moving the body and tail. They skillfully cooperate to imitate the various movements of a lion. As the king of beasts, the lion symbolizes happiness and good luck, so people usually perform lion dances during the Spring Festival and other festivals. Lion dances can also be seen on other important occasions, such as store openings and wedding ceremonies, which often attract many people to watch.
Lanterns originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and were at first used primarily for lighting. In the Tang Dynasty, people used red lanterns to celebrate a stable life. Since then, lanterns have became popular in many parts of China. Lanterns are usually made of brightly-colored tissue paper in a variety of shapes and sizes. In traditional Chinese culture, red lanterns symbolize a happy life and flourishing business, usually hung during festivals like the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival and National Day. Today, red lanterns can be seen in many other parts of the world.
Paper cutting is a unique form of Chinese folk art and has a history of more than 2,000 years. Paper cutting probably originates in the Han Dynasty, following the invention of paper. Since then, it has gained popularity in many places of China. The materials and tools used for paper cutting are simple: paper and scissors. Paper-cuts are usually made of red paper, because red is associated with happiness in traditional Chinese culture. Therefore, on festive occasions such as weddings and the Chinese New Year, red paper-cuts are the first choice for decorating doors and windows.
Ships are often sunk in order to create underwater reefs (暗礁) perfect for scuba diving (水肺式潜泳) and preserving marine __26__. Turkish authorities have just sunk something a little different than a ship, and it wouldn't normally ever touch water, an Airbus A300. The hollowed-out A300 was __27__ of everything potentially harmful to the environment and sunk off the Aegean coast today. Not only will the sunken plane __28__ the perfect skeleton for artificial reef growth, but authorities hope this new underwater attraction will bring tourists to the area.
The plane __29__ a total length of 54 meters, where experienced scuba divers will __30__ be able to venture through the cabin and around the plane's __31__ Aydin Municipality bought the plane from a private company for just under US $ 100, 000, but they hope to see a return on that __32__ through the tourism industry. Tourism throughout Turkey is expected to fall this year as the country has been the __33__ of several deadly terrorist attacks. As far as sunken planes go, this Airbus A300 is the largest __34__ sunk aircraft ever.
Taking a trip underwater and __35__ the inside of a sunken A300 would be quite an adventure, and that is exactly what Turkish authorities are hoping this attraction will make people think. Drawing in adventure seekers and experienced divers, this new artificial Airbus reef will be a scuba diver's paradise (天堂).