Yesterday I was invited to the celebration of 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, hosted by the municipality of Shanghai. After a cycling tour of half a year across 18 countries to get there, my arrival at this trans-Eurasian destination, hasn’t been left unnoticed (to say the least), and I’m grateful to the Shanghai people who welcomed me in various ways. In a brief chat with the Municipal Party Committee Leader, I could share how the historical context of my itinerary ranged between the timeless beauty of nature – to the emergence of ancient civilizations - to the waves of modernity - to the founding of new nations - and even the terrifying turbulences on the actual world stage.
昨天，我受邀参加了由上海市政府举办的中华人民共和国成立75周年庆祝活动。经过半年的骑行，跨越18个国家来到这里，我的这段横跨欧亚的旅程并没有被忽视（至少可以这么说），非常感激上海市民以各种方式热情接待我。在与上海市委领导简短交流时，我分享了自己行程中的历史背景：从自然的永恒之美，到古代文明的兴起，再到现代化的浪潮、新国家的建立，甚至包括当前世界局势的动荡不安。
As contemporary China is in the middle of transforming its identity from being a project for its people, to an anchor for a “shared future for mankind”, I shared my motivation to contribute to the cultural dialogue which is the only way to give this effort a chance of global success. Whatever challenges, it was great to experience that the Euro-Asian music mix played that night, already bridged the gap to a considerable degree.
当代中国正从“为人民服务”的国家建设，逐步转型为“人类命运共同体”的全球支柱。我表达了自己愿为文化对话贡献一份力量的愿景，因为我深信，只有通过交流与合作，这一全球使命才有可能实现。尽管未来挑战重重，但让我倍感欣慰的是，当晚的欧亚音乐已在某种程度上成功地缩短了两者之间的文化差距。
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