A tale of two cities

During the Spring Festival, the Fuzimiao (Confucius Temple) area is often packed with tourists. You You/For China Daily

In the Tang (AD 618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties, Nanjing was a gathering place for poets, many of whom produced works that reminisced about the city's opulent past.

During the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, the city was the official imperial examination center for the region south of the Yangtze River.

Its best-known tourist attractions include the Fuzimiao (Confucius Temple), the former Presidential Palace of the Republic of China and the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum.

The two cities are also endowed with significant rivers.

Boat trips on Nanjing's Qinhuai, a branch of the great Yangtze River, are a main tourist attraction.

Those aboard can enjoy views of traditional southern Chinese houses, markets, restaurants with red lanterns and teahouses. They may hear Kunqu Opera along the way.

Florence's Arno River is Italy's second-most important river, after the Tiber, and one of the city's biggest attractions is the Ponte Vecchio that crosses it.