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Li Na and Venus Williams take night tour in Li's home city

(Xinhua)    10:18, September 25, 2019

WUHAN, Sept. 24 -- The legendary Li Na, China's tennis icon, was thrilled to watch a grand tennis-themed light show along the Yangtze River -- a "colorful" greeting and congratulations to her entrance into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

As a Chinese two-time grand slam champion, Li Na is determined to spare no effort introducing tennis and her birthplace, Wuhan, in Hubei province.

In a live show at night, broadcast to millions of fans all over the world, Li shared her childhood memories of Wuhan and the development of sport in China over the few past decades.

Together with Li Na, Venus Williams, the seven-time Grand Slam singles winner and former Wuhan Open champion, learned to play a Hubei drum, a renowned Chinese traditional musical instrument which has been developed in Hubei since the 1950s.

Known as the "city of rivers and lakes", Wuhan is the biggest city in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, with the Hanjiang River also running through the city.

With 11 Yangtze River bridges and hundreds of historical buildings lit up, Wuhan is staging a world-class international sports gala with colorful nights, ahead of the 7th Military World Games.

Both Li Na and Venus were thrilled to see the light show. "Wuhan is amazing, people here are nice," Venus said, also revealing that she is a fan of the architecture along Yangtze River highlighted by the Wuhan Open light show.

"Tennis takes a lot of time, traveling around China is a dream of mine," Venus added. She also said that she hopes Li Na can invite her to Wuhan a lot in the future and maybe Li can bring her kids next time.

LED lights echo the details of centuries-old buildings, such as the Yellow Crane Tower that of great cultural significance. The tower was first built some 1,800 years ago, but has been destroyed and rebuilt many times over centuries.

Venus also recited an ancient poem describing the beautiful sceneries of Yellow Crane Tower in Tang Dynasty.

Li was the first Asian player to win a Grand Slam title when she triumphed in the French Open in 2011. She then added a second major title at the Australian Open in 2014 before retiring in September that year due to chronic knee injuries.

(For the latest China news, Please follow People's Daily on Twitter and Facebook)(Web editor: Wen Ying, Bianji)

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