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Pondering the similarities of Venice and Hangzhou
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TO promote Hangzhou as a world-class tourism destination and lure more foreign visitors, the Hangzhou Tourism Commission organized Hangzhou China Global Tour 2015. Two families, one from China and the other from the US, were selected as Hangzhou ambassadors to tour seven countries while promoting Hangzhou.
The tour started on August 1 and lasts 30 days. The global tour includes a visit to Dunhuang in northwestern China’s Gansu Province and then moves west along the Ancient Silk Road. It also includes stops on the Greek islands of Mykonos and Santorini, Dubrovnik in Croatia as well as Venice, Geneva, Paris, Boston and New York.
Shanghai Daily invited the Capaldi family, the US ambassadors, to write a weekly column during the trip. Today we carry their second article about their world tour.
This week on the Global Tour we stayed in Venice, Italy. Undeniably one of the world’s most legendary and beautiful cities, Venice is known as a centerpiece of great art, classical music, romance and, of course, as the home of Marco Polo.
We walked through the many tiny, winding walkways that make Venice so interesting, to a very old courtyard called the Corte Seconda del Milione, which was the title of Marco Polo’s memoirs, and which is reputed to be where his house once stood. Experts believe they have located the actual foundations of the ancient house, and a small marble plaque commemorating the site can be found with just a little search.
In the courtyard, while we were filming, Domenick noticed that one of the name plates of the apartments in the buildings contained a Chinese name — strange, yet very appropriate.
We had a wonderful meeting with the vice mayor of Venice, Luciana Colle, in the city chambers, which are on the Grand Canal within sight of the Rialto Bridge. We exchanged gifts, viewed videos of both Venice and Hangzhou, and posed for official photographs. The vice mayor was very charming, and we enjoyed discussing the many similarities, and differences, between the two sister cities.
The visitor to Venice must enjoy a ride in a gondola, certainly a time-honored tradition. It is one of the great experiences in travel, and is, of course, even better when it is shared with someone you love. While doing so, we were reminded of our visit to the Xixi Wetlands, where we also cruised peacefully in a boat through colorful canals. However, we would never think of catching fish for our dinner in Venice, as we did in the Xixi Wetlands.
We filmed some more sequences, in the Piazza San Marco (St Mark’s Square), for the music video that will accompany the global tour’s official theme song “It’s A Great Big World,” which Domenick began composing during our layover in Shanghai airport. We danced and sang, all while trying to avoid stepping on the hundreds of pigeons that inhabit the square.
When our time in Venice sadly came to an end, we mused on Marco Polo, and how his visit to Hangzhou must have reminded him of his hometown when he encountered the water, the many boats and bridges, the exotic food, and the warm, welcoming people. It is very clear that he saw the vast economic opportunities in the preponderance of silk, ceramics, tea, and many other things that Hangzhou had to offer, and for that matter, still does. It is that splendid combination of history and contemporary culture that positions Hangzhou as a fascinating destination for today’s modern Marco Polo.
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