Italian grandmother puts her best foot forward

Hiker retraces route of Marco Polo as she continues her mission of inspiration and benefits from kindness of strangers, Yang Feiyue reports.

On the surface, Vienna Cammarota is a simple grandmother in her Italian hometown. But initial impressions can be misleading. The mother of three in her 70s is a well-known hiker, who intrepidly explores what the world has to offer.

Beginning in Venice on April 26,2022, Cammarota arrived in China last month, the last stop of her journey to the East, trekking more than 20,000 kilometers.

The moment she set foot in China on Aug 29, she was warmly greeted by people who presented her with a wreath, symbolizing friendship and blessings, and put on traditional dance and singing performances for her arrival via Irkeshtam, the country's farthest-west land port in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Inspired by Marco Polo, who traveled to China along the ancient Silk Road in 1275, Cammarota set off from the legendary explorer's hometown of Venice to retrace the route on foot.

Marco Polo lived in China for 17 years and in his travelogue provided detailed descriptions of the country, which allowed Westerners to learn about the allure of this Eastern nation for the first time, Cammarota says.

She adds that she hopes to see more of modern China by following in Marco Polo's footsteps.

"I want to compare the China described by Marco Polo over 700 years ago with the China of today through my journey. I also hope to share my experiences and observations in China with my fellow Italians," she says.