We are waves of the same sea,

leaves of the same tree,

flowers of the same garden.

--Seneca (ancient Roman philosopher)

Hangzhou's Bus 1314, which has been decorated to honor Chinese-Italian cooperation, has had the phrase "Forza, Italia!" (Stay strong, Italy!) painted onto it.

First introduced in August 2019, Bus 1314 is decked out with Chinese and Italian love stories and legends. It stops at most scenic spots in the West Lake Scenic Area and between Park No.1 and Songcheng.

The bus has been nicknamed zhongyi (中意, meaning "to be pleased with or fond of") in Chinese, a phrase made up of the first character in 中国 (China) and the first character in意大利 (Italy), giving it multiple layers of meaning.

Over the past seven months, Bus 1314 has served a large number of passengers, many of whom are couples. It recently changed its look in order to support Italy in the country's fight against COVID-19.

As one of the world's hardest-hit countries, many Chinese people are showing great concern for the people of Italy.

The colors red, white, and green, representing the Italian flag, have been painted on the bus along with images of Three Pools Mirroring the Moon (a famous scenic spot in Hangzhou),Italy's Roman Colosseum, and the phrase "Forza, Italia!" in both Italian and Chinse. The slogan is printed both outside and inside the bus, as well as on handrails and on the backs of seats.

Part of a poem from the renowned Italian opera Turandot is also printed on the bus: "Vanish, o night! Fade, you stars! Fade, you stars! At dawn, I will win! I will win! I will win!"

The tricolored bus has gone viral on the internet, with many Italian netizens commenting "Grazie" and expressing gratitude on Twitter under a post from the Chinese Embassy in Italy.

Italian news website Fanpage.it wrote about the Sino-Italian bus in Hangzhou, saying "A bus colored white, red and green, the colors of the Italian flag, slowly arrives at a bus station, standing out from other buses with its unique syle. Buses in the city have recently redone their bodywork to support Italy in the fight against the coronavirus."

A few days ago, on March 20, Italian news website L'Arena published words of gratitude extended by Federico Sboarina, Mayor of Verona, to CPC Secretary of Hangzhou Zhou Jiangyong, who wrote a letter in support of Hangzhou's sister city of Verona, offering the city advice and medical supplies.

On March 26, Hangzhou donated 10,000 face masks to Verona, Italy and Budapest, Hungary, its two European sister cities, to help them combat COVID-19. The words "Tough days don't last, tough people do" were printed on the packages.

A total of 320,000 masks will be sent by Hangzhou to its 28 sister cities in hard-hit countries to repay them for their aid when China was hit by the outbreak.

By February 29, the cities of Gifu, Hamamatsu, Mugo, Matsue, Fukui, and Sayama in Japan, Dresden and Heidelberg in Germany, and Indianapolis in the US, as well as former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, had donated a total of 119,700 masks, 705 medical protective suits, and 50 sets of protective medical goggles to Hangzhou, which were valued at more than 200,000 yuan.

In Hangzhou's West Lake scenic area, a Friendship Garden filled with crabapple trees has been set aside for Hangzhou's sister cities to plant friendship trees as part of the annual Hangzhou International Sister City Mayors Conference.

The friendship trees are now in full bloom, reminding people of Hangzhou's close relations with many areas around the world.

In addition, a tree planted in Verona last September when the two cities first partnered is now blooming for the first time.

"The friendship tree that binds Verona with Hangzhou has blossomed," Daniel Epolato, Councilor of the Municipality of Verona, wrote of a photo of the tree on Instagram.

Loads of protective supplies donated by Hangzhou residents have now been shipped abroad, and logistics companies such as Cainiao have chartered flights to ship the supplies.

Zhejiang University, one of China's Top 3 universities, sent letters of sympathy and solidarity to its sister universities around the world and had received nearly 20 replies as of March 27. ZJU also shared with the rest of the world China's experience fighting the virus by offering free access to the e-version of the Handbook of COVID-19 Prevention and Treatment. Written by doctors from the university's First Affiliated Hospital of the School of Medicine, some of which served in Wuhan, the book offers professional guidance to both medical workers and ordinary people.