Qiang Shuping was so busy making cloth shoes__(1)__ she didn't even rest during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. The woman from Baipu County, Jiangsu Province, __(2)__ (make) shoes since she was 19 years old, and this year marks her 31st year making cloth shoes.
She spends the entire day in her tiny studio, which __(3)__ (measure) less than 10 square metres altogether, filled with cloth shoes in __(4)__ (variety) stages of completion.
Nowadays, many stores make cloth shoes __(5)__ (use) machines, but Qiang sticks to the technique of making shoes entirely __(6)__ hand. She says the shoes __(7)__ (produce) by machine are not of the same quality as handmade ones. The handmade cloth shoes are more durable (耐用的) and comfortable, __(8)__ (soft), and absorb sweat better.
Some people buy cloth shoes out of nostalgia (怀旧), while others trust __(9)__ (they) quality. Making shoes isn't a profitable job, but Qiang still insists as she wants to preserve the craft and pass it down to the younger generation.
Handmade cloth shoes are also called qian ceng di (shoes with a thousand layers), __(10)__ can date back to the ancient Zhou Dynasty (1046—256 BC). In 2009, the making technique of qian ceng di was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage.