Ferrero Michele, an Italian sinologist and expert at Beijing Foreign Studies University, speaks at the opening ceremony. [Photo/WeChat account: chinanewsweekly]

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Grand Canal's UNESCO World Heritage designation, celebrating a millennium-long cultural legacy.

As part of the 2024 Beijing Hangzhou Dialogue, the "A Thousand-Mile Journey on the Thousand-Year Canal" event was launched on June 13 at the North Canal in Beijing's Tongzhou district, inviting foreign participants, including Italian guests, to experience the modern vibrancy of the canal.

Historically, the Grand Canal played a crucial role in East-West exchanges, famously navigated by Marco Polo over 700 years ago. Today, it remains a vital conduit for international cultural exchange.

Ferrero Michele, an Italian sinologist and expert at Beijing Foreign Studies University, has lived in Beijing for 15 years and has a profound understanding of Marco Polo's legacy. At the launch event, he shared stories of Marco Polo's adventures in China, highlighting the dramatic transformation the canal has undergone over the centuries. Michele observed that while Polo's experiences are confined to historical texts, he witnesses a thriving canal where people fish, cycle, paddleboard, and enjoy tea by the water, embodying China's blend of rich history and modern progress.

Zhao Yiqiang, the fourth-generation inheritor of the Beijing intangible cultural heritage "Tongzhou Canal Boatmen's Chant," grew up along the canal. Influenced by his father, he mastered and cherished the boatmen's chants, symbolizing the resilience and spirit of the boatmen. As a "Grand Canal Experience Officer," Zhao expressed his desire to better preserve and transmit canal culture, which once signified labor and survival, but now represents memory and culture.

Zhao Yiqiang (L1) invites attendees to partake in a boatmen's chant. [Photo/WeChat account: chinanewsweekly]