What does the high-speed rail link from Hong Kong to mainland China mean for Hong Kong?
香港和大陸的高鐵通車
評論翻譯
Cody Shirk, Partner @ Explorer Equity Group
Answered 8h ago
Just a week ago, this trip took two hours or more. Really, it’s a distance of about 30 miles, but throw in a couple border crossings and some traffic, and the trek from Hong Kong to Shenzhen can take a long time.
一週之前，香港和深圳之間還需要兩個小時以上的通行時間。二者的距離其實只有30英里，但是要經過多個邊檢以及人流，所以挺耗時間的。
Not any more.
現在不存在這個問題了。
The high speed rail network that criss-crosses all over mainland China is now connected to Hong Kong, making the entire area easier to access than ever before.
現在貫通全大陸的高鐵開始鏈接香港，讓整個地區變得比以往任何時候都更加容易進出。
You can buy your ticket in the terminal at one of the desks where a representative will help you out, or you can buy from an automated machine. You can also buy tickets online before your trip and then just print your tickets out in the terminal using a confirmation code. (I chose the latter option.)
There are a variety of different payment methods accepted.
可以在售票處買票或者自助機器上買，也可以網上預訂，然後現場打印車票，而且支付方式多種多樣。
Once you receive your ticket, you then walk to security, which looks exactly like an airport. In true Hong Kong fashion, this process is efficient and painless.
票到手後，去安檢，看起來像機場。這才是真正的香港風格，整個過程高效輕鬆。
Once you pass through security, things get a bit interesting. The area that you walk into is what has outraged the people of Hong Kong. The actual land that is inside the train station is managed by the Chinese government. This is because you pass through Chinese customs before you board the train, even though you are still in Hong Kong.
通過安檢後就很有意思了。你所步入的區域正是激怒香港人的地方。火車站內的這塊區域由中國管理。因為你登上列車前要先進入中國海關，雖然那裡依然屬於香港。
To explain what this means, think about when you go to the airport in your home country. Imagine that you are flying from the United States to Russia. However, before you board your flight, you have to go through an area of the airport, that is operated by the Russian government, even though you are inside of the United States.
舉個例子，想象一下你來到自己國家的機場，從美國飛去俄羅斯。然而在你登機之前，你必須經過機場裡的一塊由俄羅斯政府運營的區域，雖然你依然在美國境內。
All of the seating is pre-assigned, so you have to make sure you know which rail car to go to before finding your seat.
所有座位都是提前預訂的，所以要先找到車廂，再尋找自己的座位。
The train itself is spotless and very comfortable. I bought the cheapest ticket I could find, which was about $5 USD, as I was only taking a 10 minute trip. I don’t know why you’d buy a first class ticket for any trip less than an hour, as the seating in second class was very comfortable and had plenty of room. The ride was amazingly smooth, even though we were traveling at almost 200 km/h.
列車本身非常乾淨和舒服。我買了最便宜的，5美元，因為只要10分鐘車程。我認為乘坐時間小於一小時的都沒必要購買一等座，因為二等座也非常舒服，空間夠大。運營過程非常平緩，雖然時速幾乎達到了200公里。
Once we arrived in China, the train stopped and I got off at the first stop, which is Futian. The train station there is unbelievably clean and connects directly to the very well run Shenzhen subway system.
抵達中國後，我在福田站下車，車站非常之乾淨，直接連接深圳地鐵系統。
Overall the trip was very easy and I will definitely be using this system again when I return. English was spoken everywhere and it’s impossible to get lost. (If you get lost, you’ve got bigger problems going on…)
總之，整個過程非常簡單，我會再次乘坐的。到處都有英語標誌，不可能迷路。
So, that was the process and experience of the trip. Now, what does this all mean from a bigger picture point of view?
那麼，從更廣泛的角度看，高鐵開通意味著什麼？
While this may seem like just another train somewhere in Asia, the reality is that this new route will have major repercussions for the Asian economy.
雖然只是一條高鐵，但是會對中國經濟產生重大影響。
Today, in the US, we take the roads and highways for granted. But, what we don’t realize is that this vast network of roads has enabled the US to thrive due to the free flow of commerce.
今天，在美國，我們認為道路和高速公路是理所當然的東西。但是我們沒有意識到這巨大的公路網絡是美國得以繁榮的原因，因為它促進了商務的自由流動。
If we look at Hong Kong, which is the heavyweight of Asia’s financial and economic system, it’s easy to see how this wealth can be spread throughout China and the rest of Asia.
再來看看香港，它是亞洲金融和經濟系統的重量級選手，它的財富可以通過這條高鐵抵達中國和亞洲其他地方。
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