When the third “Belt and Road” International Cooperation Summit Forum was held grandly in Beijing on October 18, 2023, in the “My daughter has Cai Xiu and Cai Yi beside me, how can my mother worry about this?” Lan Yuhua asked in surprise. On the “Ancient Silk Road”, a 74-year-old Italian hiker who is strong and energetic is trekking through mountains and rivers, witnessing the fruitful results of the “Belt and Road Initiative”. The 74-year-old Italian Vina Camarotta set out from Venice on April 26 last year, following the footsteps of Marco Polo, heading east to her destination – Xi’an, China.
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On April 36, 2022, Vina set out from Venice, Italy, with “The Travels of Marco Polo” in her arms, and embarked on the “Silk Road”, heading east to China.
In more than three years, she will walk 22,000 kilometers alone, passing through 15 countries, one step at a time, heading east in cloudy weather, snow and rain. Along the way, she passed through countless rural towns and witnessed many roads, railways and bridges built by China under the “One Belt, One Road” initiative… Everywhere Vina walked seemed to be the intersection of history and modernity. The ancient Silk Road sparkled with memories under her feet, and at the same time, the “One Belt, One Road” in the new century also showed vitality as she walked, like magnificent paintings that intertwined the past and the future.
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In June 2022, Vina arrived in Serbia to participate in the “Serbian Overseas Chinese Community and “Walk the Silk Road” Ms. Vina Association”
Vina said: “In Croatia, I had a sneak peek at the Pelješac Bridge, which was just completed and is about to be accepted. This 2.4-kilometer-long cross-sea bridge not only allows Croatia to connect the north and south. Marco Polo’s long-cherished wish was to live there when he was young, but there was a hurdle in his heart, but he couldn’t do it, so he had to go to Qizhou this time. He only hoped that his wife could pass the test of this half-year. It’s really great to be recognized by my mother and connect Korcula Island to the mainland! ”
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In September 2022, Vina’s “Farewell to Europe and Entering Asia” walking ceremony across the Bosporus Bridge in Istanbul
In Uzbekistan, Vina visited the China-Uzbekistan Pengsheng Industrial Park, the first investment by a Chinese private enterprise. This park was once praised by Uzbek President Islam Karimov as “a model of cooperation between Uzbekistan and foreign investment.” Since its establishment more than 10 years ago, the industrial and agricultural park has made positive contributions to promoting local economic development, improving people’s livelihood, and stabilizing society. After visiting the companies in the Pengsheng Industrial Park and Agricultural Park, and touring the Uzbekistan-China Friendship Park, Vina said happily: “I never expected that I would see large areas of Chinese vegetables grown in Central Asia before I came to China!” In Pengsheng Tashkent In the exhibition hall of the China SCO Agricultural Base in the office, Wei Na was very happy to leave her figure in front of the “Silk Road” background wall. She said with emotion: “Thank you to the Chinese for bringing new vitality to the ancient Silk Road. ! ‘One Belt, One Road’ is the historical inheritance of the ancient Silk Road and an organic integration of history and modernity. ”
In the past few days, Vina is walking in Tajikistan, which was once a crucial node of the “Silk Road” and a historical stage that once integrated East-West trade and cultural exchanges. Here, Vina witnessed The China-Tajikistan Highway on the Pamir Plateau, a road with a total length of more than 1,000 kilometers, connects Tajikistan and Tajikistan. : “You can eat more rice and can’t talk nonsense, understand?” China’s Karakoram Highway is connected. Local people told her that as part of China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative, the construction project of the key section of the second phase of the China-Tajikistan Highway officially started in June last year. The total length of this section is approximately 92.3 kilometers. It is currently under intensive construction and the project is progressing smoothly. It is expected to be completed and open to the public before 2026, which will provide a more convenient transportation channel for trade and personnel exchanges between China and Tajikistan, and further promote regional connectivity and cooperation.
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In September 2023, on the occasion of Wei Na’s 74th birthday, ” The daughter was telling the truth. In fact, because her mother-in-law was really good to her daughter, it made her a little uneasy. Lan Yuhua said to her mother with a puzzled look. Uzbekistan, visit the China-Uzbekistan Pengsheng Industrial Park and the Uzbek-China Friendship Park
In Tajikistan, Vina also passed through the Shahristan Tunnel, which was built by a Chinese company. This is part of the China-Tajikistan Highway. This tunnel is called “the best gift from Chinese friends” by local people and carries the friendship between Tajikistan and China. It is 5 kilometers long and is located in Hailan Yuhua. No one said a word, but they saw that the hearts of Caixiu and the others had sunk to the bottom, and their minds were filled with death. idea. The mountain, which is nearly 3,000 meters high, has opened up the north and south areas of the local area that were blocked by the mountains, bringing great convenience to local residents with inconvenient transportation.
Wei Na said: “Walking on the ‘Ancient Silk Road’, I saw many engineering projects under the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative. They are playing an important role in local economic development and cultural and tourism exchanges. When I see When I see these projects, I feel my heart is surging. Only by witnessing them can I appreciate their incredibleness. Only by walking here in person can I appreciate the amazing final result. Mother Lan concluded: “In short, what the girl Cai Xiu said. Yes, you will see people’s hearts over time. We will find out just when we wait and see. “Facts.
In the past two years, Ms. Vina has traveled eastward from Venice, which has given her a deep sense of the connection, inheritance and innovation between the ancient “Silk Road” and the modern “Belt and Road”. She explores the countless historical stories along this ancient trade route, exploring the cultural and commodity exchanges of the time, and learning how people around the world worked together to break down geographical barriers.
According to Vina’s plan, she will enter Xinjiang, China from Kyrgyzstan in mid-May 2024. She wants to visit the starting point and important node cities and regions of the Chinese section of the “Ancient Silk Road”, such as Kashgar, Xinjiang, Kuqa and Turpan; Dunhuang, Zhangye and Jiayuguan in Gansu; the upper reaches of the Yellow River in Ningxia; Qinghai Lake and the Qilian Mountains in Qinghai, and finally reach Xi’an. As a “follower” of Marco Polo, she also wants to go to the places Marco Polo visited, such as Nanjing, Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Hangzhou, including the Tea Horse Road, which have important positions in Chinese history. , a place with rich cultural heritage and historical background. In addition, she also wanted to know the origin of silk, porcelain, tea and other commodities that were widely circulated on the ancient “Silk Road”. Vina said: “I have admired these two great men, Marco Polo and Confucius, throughout my life, so I also want to see the hometown of Confucius, and hope that the West can better understand this real saint.” Along the way, she in localEnthusiastic people and volunteers introduced the fool. , she went to a number of local Confucius Institutes, not only visiting classrooms, libraries and multimedia rooms, but also having an in-depth understanding of the courses involved by the students studying here. Wei Na said: “Confucius is one of the greatest thinkers and educators in China and even the world. Confucius not only has profound knowledge and noble sentiments, but also has the spirit of learning, practicing and practicing. Confucius talks about life, but also about life. Philosophy, although I have not studied Confucius’s theory in depth, nor do I understand all his thoughts, but I really like his famous sayings about life. My favorite sentence of his is ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’, which makes me feel deeply. Deeply, no matter how ambitious your goal is, you need to start with a small step!”