Text / photos by CRI Reporter Wang Shanshan

One night was especially stunning! I saw the northern nights during a time when they seldom occur. That night we were playing cards, when a friend sent a text message, exclaiming "go out quickly to see the Lights!" We rushed outside to see undefined white belts hanging on the dark backdrop of the sky, dancing a slow dance. It looked like the Milky Way. Suddenly, it exploded into yellow and pale purple belts, swiftly passing by, like ships through a choppy sea. We cheered at the spectacle. I had to wonder if it was Santa Claus' reindeer sleigh. Though there was still months to go before his delivery time?  Maybe he's doing some early market research.

To add to the legendary color of my stay, the lake was bathed in mist when I got up the next morning. Roaming around the lake, it felt like walking beside clouds. Suddenly, I understood: "A Walk in the Clouds" was perfectly understandable. Sometimes, heaven and earth are not so far apart.

Sibelius and more...

I visited the famous park at the center of Helsinki, where there are sculptures of the face of Sibeilius and the silver pipe organ. We knew quite a lot about Finland at that point. In our group, five out of six of us knew about the legendary musician and his undiminished creativity until his death, even though Nokia and Sauna is known to millions of Chinese. How much do the Finns know about China? That's the question we hoped to get the answer to.

Two years ago, when I was doing culture, I was told to make a demo of Chinese music for the would-be transmission of our shows in Finland. It soon became a reality. CRI provides sources in English for a local media company in Tampere, who translates them into Finnish and sends finished products to be played in a number of radio stations in the country. During my trip to Tampere, I got to know whom we've been working closely with. I visited their office and studios, seeing scripts of Chinese Idioms on the desk of a studio. The chief editor was a beautiful Finnish blonde, wearing a Qipao, traditional Chinese women's gown, holding a brocade handbag with the same design. In her office, there was a picture of Chairman Mao, which she purchased from a famous antique market in Beijing. On the team, there were a Swedish girl and a French lad. They poured questions at us, for instance, asking eagerly whether the sweet and sour pork, or Gu Lao Rou, was the most famous dish in China, as it toped the menus of Chinese restaurants in Finland. Some of the staff has been to China. They told us what interested them about China, and relayed that to their fellow countrymen.

We met dozens of local listeners. Their interest and knowledge about China impressed me. They talked about Lijiang where Shangri-la is believed to be, and the Naxi ancient music of the land. They were curious about the award-winning Chinese film the Life Show. Cultural interaction is one of the most intriguing legends of human kind.

Legend is how you define it. Each country marks a new point in my pursuit of legend, each with its own distinctive feature. Those things that could not be more common, and are taken for granted in other countries, are recorded as legends in my travelogue... It's worth to be cherished and shared.

(CRIENGLISH.com)

Also on CRIENGLISH Travel

Venice	Turin	Norway	New Delhi	Oxford

Back to "CRI Travel"            More "Travel Stories"