St. Mark's Square
On July 24th, the professional players from both China & Japan and also some of the nonprofessional players from other countries had an organised visit to Venice. We had heard a lot about the city and also seen it many times on TV or magazines before we came to Italy. So when we got there we felt as if we were visiting an old friend.
Our tourist guide was a beautiful young lady who didn’t speak much English. Although she was giving explanations all the time, we couldn’t understand most of what she said. She held a half-folded umbrella over her head and asked us to follow her. There were so many tourists everywhere in the city, which reminded me of Beijing, the capital city of the country with the largest population in the world. On the way we got lost two or three times. It was that umbrella which helped us back to our tourist party. It served as a beacon, guiding us in the seas of people. Writing here, I’ll tell you a secret. Our professional player Mr. Fang Tianfeng always took a compass with him when he went out for a walk for the first days in Abano. He bought a map and put it on the floor, and then squatted down with his compass in his hand and began seriously studying the directions. We depended a lot on him to tell the way with the help of the compass until one day he led us into a private courtyard. Then we asked to forget about his compass.
| Now come back to our trip. I really enjoyed feeding the pigeons on the St. Mark’s Square. They came to eat corn from my hand. Then an “evil” idea came into my mind: “Maybe I can catch one.” Interestingly enough, the thinking just flashed for a second then it seemed that the pigeons knew it and became alert. No matter how hard I tried to trap them, they just kept a distance. Could they read my mind? Did they have a sixth sense? Then a gigantic ugly, yet lovely and gentle dog caught our sight. We asked to take photos with it in. His master, an old man, pleasantly agreed, and petted it to cooperate with us. After taking the pictures we thanked the old man. But he stretched his hand and said, “Five Thousand.” We were a bit surprised. Mr. Fang was about to pay when the old man burst into loud laughter. He was joking. |
St. Mark's Square |
The churches there left us with a deep impression. The outside and inside are so thoughtfully and carefully made. The towers and sculptures on the pillars are so beautiful and splendid. When in the churches, we saw many marvellously painted oil paintings. Who did them? What is the story behind each one? We wished we had more time to explore and to appreciate the crystal wisdom of the Italian people.
The most interesting thing about the trip is that we took a tour by gondola, a narrow small boat similar to our dragon boat. The boatman was a strong handsome young guy. He wore a special hat and looked like a cowboy. He charged us 100 USD. We tried to cut down the price but in vain. We asked how long the tour would take. The answer was “about 20 minutes.” It was too expensive. Mr. Huang and I decided to give up, but Mr. Fang insisted by saying, “Do you think in the future you will pay to travel here again just for a boat tour?” It is said that if you didn’t travel by gondola you can’t say that you have been to Venice. That’s an important symbol of the city. It is just like in China. If you don’t make a trip to the Great Wall, then people would say you haven’t been to China, although you have. That’s a cultural symbol. We were convinced that the short tour proved to be worthwhile.
 Gondola | The gondola was beautifully equipped with bright red velvet-covered chairs for five people. It was so narrow and small, so that we had to be careful to balance. The driver indicated the buildings passing by: The fishing market, which was empty; a building inhabited by a famous playboy or great lover, as he said. Then he pointed to a building marked “Marco Polo”. That’s a familiar name. He had been to China. I think all Chinese know the name. |
The water in the canal was not clean, but didn't smell fortunately. There are so many small bridges connecting buildings. There is a city called "Little Venice" in the south of China. It also has many small bridges and canals but the water is dirty and smells.
When we were about to turn a corner, the boat driver sang loudly. I thought he was singing Italian opera for us. But he stopped suddenly. Soon I found out that it was the way they try to tell if another boat is coming from an unseen corner. At a crossing, they even have a mirror to reflect the boats in the canal. So steamboats, rowing boats and gondolas are their transportation vehicles - either “buses” or “taxes” for this special city. All the time the city seemed to be crowded and it was except for the moments when we were sitting on narrow water between buildings. Now and then you might hear a cry or two of a baby from a distance. Bathing in the sunshine, watching the water softly kissing the hard stones of the buildings, you may feel the harmony, peace and satisfaction. It was like a sweet dream. Whenever I recall this trip a smile will appear on my face.
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