Han Xiaoli presents a headwear piece he made. (Photo by Huo Yan/chinadaily.com.cn)
Han Xiaoli, a 55-year-old craftsman from Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, can make more than 100 kinds of headwear for a local opera.
The unique headwear plays quite an important role in performances of qinqiang opera, a typical Shaanxi folk opera that requires performers to sing at a high pitch.
Han needs at least three days to finish a hand-made headwear piece. (Photo by Huo Yan/chinadaily.com.cn)
"Due to its complicated production process and low income, fewer young people are willing to learn the traditional skill," he said. "I hope it can get more attention from the government as well as the public, passing the tradition from generation to generation."
Sun Mingjin has applied for a high-speed train key, even though he didn't get a chance to work on these trains. (Photo by Qu Xiaoxi for chinadaily.com.cn)
Over the past 38 years as a train attendant at China Railway Shenyang Group, Sun Mingjin has collected 16 different types of keys to train carriage doors, which he has kept as souvenirs of a rapidly changing era.
The 53-year-old has witnessed China's railway development from steam locomotives to diesel and electric models and now bullet trains.
Sun Mingjin presents his collection of train keys. (Photo by Qu Xiaoxi for chinadaily.com.cn)
"At the beginning of my job as an attendant on steam locomotive trains, I needed several keys to open different doors, as the locks were not designed according to a unified standard."
Sun Mingjin opens the door of a green train carriage. (Photo by Qu Xiaoxi for chinadaily.com.cn)
The situation has improved since 1997, when most steam locomotives in China were replaced by diesel models, installed with air conditioners.
"On a diesel train, one key could open all the doors," he said. "The speed of the train also increased to 140 kilometers per hour, which seemed unimaginable in the past."
Sun Mingjin has applied for a high-speed train key, even though he didn't get a chance to work on these trains. (Photo by Qu Xiaoxi for chinadaily.com.cn)
In 2007, high-speed trains came into operation, opening a new chapter for the country's railway development.
"I didn't get a chance to work on high-speed trains, but I applied for a key," he said. "I will retire about two years later, but I hope I can keep all the keys."
Robotic arms prepare dishes at a hot pot restaurant in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 5, 2018.
After customers order their dishes with a tablet computer, robotic arms in the kitchen get all dishes ready and then the delivery robots sent the dishes to the tables.
Hani people in Southwest China's Yunnan Province attend a long-table banquet to celebrate their week-long new year festival on Nov. 30, 2018. (Photo by Li Min/For chinadaily.com.cn)
To celebrate the festival, one of the group's most important festivals, people from the province's Honghe county arranged a long-table banquet, which extended for about 3 kilometers and included over 4,000 tables.
The Hani people celebrate their new year in October of the lunar calendar, as their new year begins in that month. During the week-long festival, pigs are slaughtered and special glutinous rice balls are prepared. Relatives and friends visit each other, matchmakers are busy bringing couples together, and married women visit their parents.
Workers assemble lighters at a community factory in Yuping Dong Autonomous County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Dec. 6, 2018. Yuping encourages local enterprises to set up factories in communities of relocated impoverished residents to help with poverty alleviation. (Xinhua/Hu Panxue)
A student conducts machine tool practices at the Dingzhou vocational education center in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Dec. 5, 2018. The center advocated a combination of vocational education and in-service training, and optimized a demand-oriented educational system. (Xinhua/Zhu Xudong)
Students learn to play the electronic keyboard at the Dingzhou vocational education center in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Dec. 5, 2018.(Xinhua/Zhu Xudong)
Students learn auto repair under the instruction of a teacher at the Dingzhou vocational education center in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Dec. 5, 2018.
Long March-2D rocket carrying two Saudi satellites was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 12:12 p.m. BJT on September 7, 2018. The satellites, Saudi SAT 5A and Saudi SAT 5B, were developed by Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). The rocket also carried 10 small satellites developed by Chinese research institutes.(Photo provided to China News Service)
A man braves the cold in Mohe, China's northernmost city, in Heilongjiang province, on Dec 5. The temperature dropped to-42.7 C in the morning. CHU FUCHAO/FOR CHINA DAILY
A model of the Chinese Hall at the World Expo made of Lego items is seen at its flagship store in Shanghai. [Photo/IC]
A 5-meter-tall Lego model of Shanghai Tower, a Shanghai World Financial Center model, and a Tomorrow Land Building model are seen at a Lego's flagship store in Shanghai.
