It’s time to bid farewell to the old, and usher in the new. With that in mind, we look back at some of the major cultural highlights of 2013. It’s certainly been a big year, and our culture express team has selected our top ten most memorable events, many of which we have covered extensively right here.

Rubber duck waddles to Garden Expo

2013 may have been the year of the snake, but the star animal of the year in China has definitely been a rubber duck. The giant yellow duck waddled to Beijing in September and was viewed by more than 3 million people at the Summer Palace and at Beijing’s Garden Expo. The Expo opened in May and was billed as the largest scale international event in Beijing since the Olympics.

Doing the math

And just recently, the Zhusuan, otherwise known as the Chinese abacus, was officially listed as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. The entry marked China’s 30th item to be added to the list. This year, China has sent applications to UNESCO for two more heritages including the "Silk Road" and "The Grand Canal", hoping to be recognized by the organization next year.

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