During the “Charm of Jiangsu” Tourism Promotion Event at the 3rd Grand Canal Culture and Tourism Expo held in Suzhou last week, a dedicated magazine and a virtual tour experience were officially launched. As the partnership between Suzhou and Venice welcomes its 40th Anniversary, Michelle Cecchi, Counsel General of Italy in Shanghai, commented that the canals in both countries have been serving for millennia and facilitating the flowing of ideas.
在苏州举办的第三届运博会“水韵江苏”文旅主题推介会上，“千年运河·水韵江苏”英文特刊和“水韵江苏”3D入境游线路正式发布。今年也恰逢苏州和威尼斯缔结友城40周年。正如意大利驻沪总领事Michele Cecchi接受采访时所说：中意两国的大运河流淌数千年，至今仍发挥作用，促进着人们思想的流动。
（意大利驻沪总领事Michele Cecchi接受江苏国际频道记者采访）
700 years ago, Marco Polo the Italian explorer traveled to Jiangsu and spoke highly of the region. Now, Jiangsu Tourism Italy Promotion Center organized a cultural tourism experience for the Italians to enjoy food and scenery, following Polo’s path along the canal.
700年前，意大利旅行家马可·波罗Marco Polo来到在江苏，对这里大加赞赏。现在，江苏旅游意大利推广中心（Jiangsu Tourism（Italy）Promotion Center）为参会的意大利友人组织了一次“水韵江苏”文旅考察，让他们重温先辈足迹，去品美食、赏风光，体验繁荣的运河夜经济和美丽的新乡村。
Cuisines are a highlight of the Canal Expo this year, which contains both ways of life and intangible cultural heritages. The Italian friends visited "Xucheng Mansion", which is famous for its delicious food, and tasted the authentic "Aozao noodle" a traditional delicacy of more than one century for the people of Suzhou history. Here they met Pan Xiaomin, a master of Suzhou cuisine. An Italian chef found this meeting very informative.
“运河美食”是此次运博会的一大亮点，它们既是生活，也是非遗。苏州“奥灶面”有着一百多年的历史，是苏州老百姓的传统美食。活动期间，意大利友人们来到了以美食出名的酒店“胥城大厦”，见到了“苏帮菜大师”潘晓敏。在美食的交流中，一位意大利的五星级酒店行政总厨还萌发了拜师学艺的念头。
“I’m very lucky to meet distinguished Master Pan. I saw the difference in our ways of preparing food, but common grounds lie within it. I hope there’s more chances for me to communicate with him and learn the essence of Suzhou noodles,” said Gian Filippo Murari, Executive Chef Parkyard Hotel Shanghai.
上海博雅酒店行政总厨Gian Filippo Murari说：“我很幸运地遇见了我非常喜爱、尊敬的潘大师。我看到了他和我制作美食的不同之处，但不同之中也有着思想的共同点。我希望在未来还能有机会与他有更多的交流并有机会向他学习苏州面食的奥秘与精髓。”
Apart from tasting the noodles, they also received cultural and creative gifts from the time-honored delicacy store Qian Shengyuan and the Suzhou Museum-a bowl of noodles disguised as a "book".
在这里，意大利友人们不光品尝到了地道的“奥灶面”，还收到了百年老字号乾生元和苏州博物馆的文创作品——一碗“书”州面。
（老字号乾生元负责人向意大利友人赠送一碗“书”面）
（文创品里苏州博物馆馆藏清·雍正青花矾红寿山福海纹碗和“胥城大厦”奥灶面）
As an icon of Zhenjiang, Hengshun Vinegar has become a local feature and city emblem for international tourists. In the three workflows and 40 steps of vinegar manufacturing, similarities in Chinese and Italian culture were discovered.
“镇江三怪”之一的恒顺香醋早已融入当地的地方文化，成为镇江不可缺少的传统特色文化和对外交往的城市名片。三大流程、40多道工序，让以美食为傲的意大利友人找到了两国民间文化共通点。
（品尝11年恒顺香醋）
While nighttime economy is emphasized in both Suzhou and Zhenjiang, the two cities present varied charm of modernity and traditional leisure to the participants.
苏州金鸡湖畔的夜色时尚繁华，镇江西津渡的夜景古朴悠闲。“姑苏八点半”和“润州明月夜”的江苏炫彩“夜经济”让意大利友人直呼：爱了，爱了！
（苏州月光码头感受“姑苏八点半”）
（镇江西津渡文化街区感受“润州明月夜”）
In his travel logs Marco Polo noted that Taizhou was a city not large but full of earthly joys. Xinghua region of Taizhou has now become a must-see destination in countryside tours, with rich water resource and unique Duo fields, an agricultural heritage with over 8 centuries of history.
《马可·波罗游记》写道：“这城不很大，但各种尘世的幸福极多！”说的便是泰州。泰州的兴化如今成为乡村旅游的网红打卡地。里下河地区丰富的水资源和800多年历史的农业遗产——“垛田”描绘出一幅梦里水乡的景色。
（兴化千垛景区）
（兴化李中水上森林景区）
（千垛春季的油菜花花海和秋季的菊花格桑花花海）
As the Grand Canal Expo has been held for three consecutive years, “Charm of Jiangsu” is also evolving. The Canal Expo and its ongoing influence will provide an opportunity for the world to know more about Jiangsu with more stories to come.
“运博会”已经连续举办了三年，“水韵江苏”的魅力也不断翻新。“永不落幕的运博会”是江苏与世界对话的窗口，这里的故事将一年更比一年精彩！
（Marzio Tomasini在运博会期间接受采访）
“Jiangsu is a very special province that reminds me of Lombardy in Italy. Its architecture, industry and regional rich real estate, such large-scale cultural tourism activities and there are many other excellent cultures waiting for us to discover which is very rare,” said Marzio Tomasini, and Italian participant of the tour.
意大利友人Marzio Tomasini说：“江苏是一个非常特殊的省份，举办运博会这样的大型文化旅游活动，有很多其他的优秀的文化等待我们的发现，跟随者江苏旅游的发现，依依被挖掘出来，这是非常难得的。”
（Gagliardi夫妇在运博会期间接受采访）
“We have been to 22 provinces in China and Jiangsu has always been our favorite place. We are luck to get to know more about the culture here because of the Grand Canal Expo,” said Francesco Gagliardi, one of the participants.
意大利友人Francesco Gagliardi说：我们已经去过中国的22个省份，江苏一直是我们最喜欢的地方。因为运博会，我们更深度的了解了这里的文化，这是非常幸运的。
