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Sardinia captures the elixir of life

IN ancient China, emperors sought the fabled Elixir of Immortality. One story goes that during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), Qin Shi Huang sent Taoist alchemist Xu Fu with 500 young men and 500 young women to the eastern seas to find the elixir, but he never came back.

Maybe he traveled around the world and ended up in Sardinia.

Today, Sardinia - home to second longest life expectancy in the world (after Japan) - has arrived in China with its recipe for the "Quintessence of Life." While comprised of many elements, topping the list is the island's unspoiled nature, which promises a high-quality lifestyle, relaxed pace and inner peace.

The island seems like a paradise with its 24,000 square kilometers of forests, endless beaches, dizzyingly high cliffs, sheltered coves, white sand and intense aromas. Visitors are attracted not only by the famous beaches of the main island, Costa Smeralda and Costa Verde, but also by many smaller pearls in the Mediterranean, like the archipelago of the Maddalena. Magnificent species of fauna, such as the pink flamingo, the Mediterranean monk seal, Caretta Caretta turtles, the ponies of Giara and the Anglo-Arabian horse, populate this wild and charming landscape.

UNESCO has listed the Nuraghe (an ancient complex of buildings) in the Sardinian city of Barumini as a World Heritage Site, and it includes the "Canto a Tenore," or Sardinian pastoral songs, in its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Surrounded by the dynamic World Expo Shanghai environment, the Sardinia Regional Exhibition focuses on the quality of life.

The official opening for the exhibition was held yesterday morning at the Italy Pavilion in the presence of the Deputy Minister for Regional Environment and Tourism of Sardinia, Giuliano Uras, and the Secretary General for the Commission of Italy for the World Expo 2010 Shanghai Maria Assunta Accili.

When visitors set foot into the Sardinia exhibition room, it is as if they have dived into the crystal-blue Mediterranean Sea; immediately they feel how "Better City, Better Life" contributes to "longer life."

The calming beauty of this exhibition makes clear that in Sardinia, the secret to a long life lies in harmony and a peaceful society.




 

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