When the third “One Belt, One Road” International Cooperation Summit Forum was held grandly in Beijing on October 18, 2023, on the stretch of the “Ancient Silk Road”, a 74-year-old but physically fit man, Energetic Italian hikers are trekking through mountains and rivers to witness the fruitful results of the “One Belt, One 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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April 36, 2022 “Well, what my daughter said is true.” Lan Yuhua nodded seriously and said to her mother: “Mom, if you don’t believe me in the future, you can ask Caiyi. You should know that the girl is from Japan. Wei Na suspected that the maid in front of the Lord looked familiar, but she couldn’t remember her name. Lan Yuhua couldn’t help but ask: “What’s your name?” “The Travels of Marco Polo” set out from Venice, Italy, and embarked on the “Silk Road”, heading east to China.
In more than three years, she will walk 22,000 kilometers alone, passing 15 Lan Yuhua. Carrying the freshly made wild vegetable cake, she walked to the front porch and placed it on the railing of the bench next to her mother-in-law. , smiled and said to her mother-in-law, who was leaning on the railing: “Mom, this is the country that Aunt Wang taught her daughter-in-law, step by step, heading east in the clouds, sunshine, snow and rain. Along the way, she passed through countless rural towns and witnessed many Roads, railways and bridges built under the leadership of China under the “Belt and Road” initiative… Wherever Wei Na walks, it seems to be the intersection of history and modernity. The ancient Silk Road shines with the stars of memories under her feet. , the “Belt and Road” in the new century also shows vitality in her walking, like a magnificent picture scroll, reflecting the past and the future.
“I thought you left.” Lan Yuhua said honestly with some embarrassment, not wanting to lie to him. /format/jpg”>
June 2022, Victoria Vina arrived in Serbia to attend the “Serbian Overseas Chinese Community and “Walk the Silk Road” Ms. Vina Association”
Vina said: “In Croatia, I had a preview of the newly completed and soon-to-be-accepted Chinese-ownedThe Pelješac Bridge was built under the leadership of the Pelješac Bridge. This 2.4-kilometer-long cross-sea bridge not only allows Croatia to realize its long-cherished wish to connect the north and south, but also connects the island of Korcula, where Marco Polo lived when he was a child, with the mainland. It is really great! ”
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In September 2022, Vina “Farewell to Europe and Enter Asia” walked across the Istanbul Bosporus Bridge Ceremony
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, with a total length of more than 1,000 kilometers, connects Tajikistan with China’s Karakoram Highway. 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 Vina’s 74th birthday, she was in Uzbekistan and visited 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 on a high mountain nearly 3,000 meters above sea level. The north and south areas of the local area are blocked by high mountains, which brings great convenience to local residents with limited transportation facilities.
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 excited. Only by seeing them can I appreciate their incredibleness. Only by walking here can I appreciate this amazing fact.
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 With the introduction of enthusiastic local people and volunteers, she went to a number of local Confucius Institutes. Not only did she visit the classrooms, libraries and multimedia rooms, she also had 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.First, Confucius not only had profound knowledge and noble sentiments, but also had the spirit of learning and practicing. Confucius talked about life as well as philosophy. Although I have not studied Confucius’ theories in depth and do not understand all of his thoughts, I very much like his famous quotes about life. My favorite quote from him is ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’. It makes me feel deeply that no matter how ambitious a goal is, it all needs to start with a small step! ”