Yi Jinhong (top) of Beijing Royal Fighters is tossed by teammates to celebrate the victory after the 51st round match between Beijing Royal Fighters and Jilin Northeast Tigers at the 2023-2024 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league in Beijing, China, April 2, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Lili)
Firefighters work at the site of a fire in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 2, 2024. The death toll in a fire on Tuesday in Türkiye's largest city, Istanbul, has risen to 29, according to the Istanbul governor's office. The office said the fire broke out during renovation works in a nightclub in the basement of a 16-story building in the Gayrettepe neighborhood of the Besiktas district on the European side of the city. (Photo by Safar Rajabov/Xinhua)
An aerial drone photo taken on April 1, 2024 shows tourists viewing cherry blossoms at a park in Huai'an City, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Photo by Zhao Qirui/Xinhua)
A Long March-2D carrier rocket carrying the Yaogan-42 01 satellite blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 3, 2024. The rocket blasted off at 6:56 a.m. (Beijing Time) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center and sent the Yaogan-42 01 satellite into the preset orbit. (Photo by Yang Xi/Xinhua)
A bee flies among blooming tulips at a park in Brussels, Belgium, April 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)
Wu Lingyun prepares for a performance in Yingze District of Taiyuan, north China's Shanxi Province, Feb. 2, 2024. Jin Opera, originated in the central area of Shanxi Province, is a representative genre of opera in Shanxi. It was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006.
Wu Lingyun, a representative inheritor of Jin Opera, was born in a family of Jin Opera actors and entered the opera troupe at the age of 12. In 1985, when he was 21, Wu started to play the role of Guan Yu, an ancient general known for his loyalty and bravery in battles and widely revered by the Chinese. In order to play the role well, Wu went through books on the history of Three Kingdoms period (220-280 A.D.) of China, learned from experienced actors and other genres of Chinese operas, and drew inspirations from sculpture, painting, shadow play and other art forms. After years of accumulation, the role of Guan Yu has become Wu Lingyun's representative performance.
Decades of stage career have left unique marks on Wu's face. Wrinkles extend to his forehead and sideburns for he wears the head ornaments for a long time which pulls his facial skin.
At the age of retirement, he still feels the heavy responsibility of inheriting and promoting this excellent traditional culture. "I would love to keep on performing as long as the audience applaud," Wu said. (Xinhua/Yang Chenguang)
An aerial drone photo taken on April 1, 2024 shows a ro-ro ship departing from Zhifu Bay Area of Yantai Port in east China's Shangdong Province. In recent years, Yantai Port has stepped up efforts in building a logistic hub for commodity vehicles with its unique geological advantages. It has now opened up 14 global commodity vehicle logistics lines that reach more than 30 countries and regions. The multi-mode handling volume of commodity vehicles of Yantai Port reached 174,000 in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 25.1 percent over the same period in 2023. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng)
