China Youth Daily Client News (China Youth Daily, China Youth Network reporter Ma Ziqian) "Silk Road Hiker Sharing Meeting" was recently held online. Chinese traveler Lei Diansheng on foot, and Veena Camarotta, an Italian traveler who retraced the Silk Road, were invited to attend the sharing meeting as the dream ambassadors of the fifth "Silk Road Youth Dream Hub" to talk with the young people of the Silk Road and tell their encounters, experiences and insights during the journey.
700 years ago, Marco Polo walked through the Silk Roads, promoting the integration of different cultures with practice and action, and letting Europeans understand Chinese culture, history and products through trade. 700 years later, with a noble feeling for world peace and a love for nature, 73-year-old Veena Camarotta resolutely embarked on her trekking silk road. In her large rucksack of more than 20 kilograms, in addition to clothes, Marco Polo's Travels, compasses, solar panels, video cameras, satellite phones, first aid kits and other items, it is also filled with her dreams, passion, perseverance and worry.
Since April 26, Veena has been walking for 47 days, walking an average of 20 kilometers a day, and has walked through Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia. Talking about the feelings of travel, Weina said that she expanded her horizons during the trip, feeling the cultural connotations of different ethnic groups and the friendliness of the people. Her dream is to find similarities between different countries, cultures and peoples, to enhance exchanges and mutual learning, and to build bridges of friendship, so as to avoid war and keep the world at peace. She is confident of trekking to Beijing, China, in 2025.
Italian traveler Veena Camarotta (left) and Zhu Yuhua (right), president of the China-Italy Exchange Association, who retraced the Silk Road.
Influenced by Xuanzang, Xu Xiake, Zhang Qian, and Marco Polo since childhood, Lei Diansheng had the idea of traveling throughout China. He worked hard to exercise, raise funds, plan routes, and after 10 years of preparation, Lei Diansheng began his trekking trip to China in 1998.
In 10 years and 20 days, Lei Diansheng wore 52 pairs of shoes, walked more than 81,000 kilometers, and traveled to every province, autonomous region and municipality directly under the central government in China, including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, realizing his dream. Adhering to the walking concept of "environmental protection, ethnicity, and exploration", Lei Diansheng learned about the ecological environment of every place in China during his travels, visited 56 ethnic groups, explored no man's land, and advocated more people to pay attention to ethnic unity and environmental protection.
After walking through the map of China, Lei Diansheng did not stop. In 2015, he walked from Xi'an to the border of Kazakhstan; In 2016, he measured Greece with his feet; In 2017, he traveled to Sicily, Venice, Pisa, Rome and other places in Italy. Lei Diansheng said that by 2025, when Weena walks to the Chinese port, he will greet Weena with Chinese hiking enthusiasts and accompany her to complete the Chinese section.
Trekking Chinese traveler Lei Diansheng.
As The Silk Road Youth Dream Ambassadors, both guests hope that while studying and working diligently, young people can go outdoors, walk into nature, love nature, feel nature, and advocate nature, so that the body and mind can get a sense of tranquility and health.
As one of the series of theme activities of "Looking at China Today, Seeking Global Development", the fifth "Silk Road Youth Dream Fair" was guided by the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee and co-sponsored by the Association for the Promotion of International Exchanges of Chinese Non-Governmental Organizations, the Silk Road City Alliance, the China Friendship and Peace Development Foundation, and the Beijing Silk Road Cooperation and Development Promotion Association. The event was divided into different forms of competition content such as walking, speech, music, photography, sand painting, intangible cultural creation, etc., to provide a stage for young people from different backgrounds and beautiful visions to display their talents and share their dreams.
Source: China Youth Daily client