正文翻譯
原創翻譯：龍騰網 http://www.ltaaa.com 翻譯：超級涼快 轉載請註明出處
FAMILY VISIT I: BEIJING
家庭旅行1:北京
Did you miss me? I am back after two weeks of holidays! I’ve been visiting several cities in China with my parents, my brother, his girlfriend, two aunts, an uncle and a cousin. And C.!
你們想我了嗎？在度過兩個星期的假期後，我回來了！我和C.，還有我的父母，我的弟弟和他的女朋友，兩個姨，一個叔叔和一個表哥一起去了中國的幾個城市。
The first stop in our route was Beijing. I lived there for 3 years so the city has a special place in my heart. I like going back and checking how things have changed (or not). This time I noticed there were more trees and the city was way greener than I remembered. The air was filled with that cottony thingie from the trees (I guess allergic people were not very happy about this).
我們的第一站是北京。我曾在那裡住了3年，所以這個城市在我心中佔有特殊的地位。我喜歡回去看看它是否發生了變化。這次我注意到城裡有了更多的樹木，城市比我記憶中的更青翠了。空氣中瀰漫著那種從樹上飄下來的棉花般的東西(我想過敏的人對此不會很高興)。
Our hotel was in Huguosi hutong, a street very popular for its restaurants. It was a nice street, and the hutongs were cute.
我們的酒店位於護國寺衚衕，那裡的餐館很受歡迎。那條街很棒，衚衕也很可愛。
There were old men sitting on those chairs and chatting with their neighbours almost all the time!
老人們坐在那些椅子上，不停地在和他們的鄰居聊天！
I am not a big fan of the Temple of Heaven, but for some people it is a must see. At least it’s quite big so it doesn’t feel very crowded.
我並不是一個天壇的粉絲，但是對於一些人來說，它是一個必看的景點。至少它很大，所以不會讓人覺得很擁擠。
I really wanted to revisit the Summer Palace. I think the last time I went there was in 2009. It’s a beautiful place.
我真的很想重遊頤和園。我想我最後一次去那裡是在2009年。這是個美麗的地方。
We were super lucky with the Great Wall. In the end I decided to go to Huanghuacheng (黃花城), a part I had never visited before. It is located in a very pretty area with lots of greenery and a lake. And there was basically no one else! I had never seen the Great Wall so empty.
我們非常幸運地遊覽了長城。最後我決定去黃花城，那是我以前從未去過的地方。它位於一個非常漂亮的區域，有許多綠色的植物，還有一個湖泊。基本上沒有人來這裡遊覽！我從未見過長城上如此空曠。
The day we went to Tiananmen and the Forbidden City.The Forbidden City is also not one of my favourite places in Beijing, but it’s a must for tourists. It was indeed crowded, with many tour groups, even though it was not a holiday. And I read that from October on they will only sell tickets online, so prepare in advance if you are planning to visit!
那天我們還去了天安門和紫禁城。紫禁城不是我在北京最喜歡的地方之一，但它是遊客的必去之地。那裡真的很擁擠，有很多旅遊團，即便不是假日期間。而且我聽說他們從十月份開始只在網上賣票，所以如果你打算參觀的話要提前做好準備！
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FAMILY VISIT II: JINAN
家庭旅行2:濟南
The second stop in our trip was Jinan. My main obxtive when designing the route was avoiding domestic flights (because they are always late), so I chose places we could reach with the fast train and that were around the Beijing-Shanghai line. And one of the obvious choices was Jinan, which is 2 hours south of Beijing.
我們這次旅行的第二站是濟南。我在設計路線時的主要目標是避免國內航班(因為他們總是延遲)，所以我選擇了我們可以搭高鐵到達的地方，以及北京-上海沿線附近的地方。其中一個顯而易見的選擇是濟南，它在北京以南，大約2小時車程。
In the city center there is an old street called Furong Jie which is very popular for snacks. We went there for dinner and it was packed! It was similar to the night markets in Taiwan. We ate stinky tofu (it had a cumin sauce and was very yummy), grilled squid, lamb skewers, spiralling fried potato, rolled frozen yogurt… I think it was quite an adventure and very fun for my family! Behind that street I saw a lot of small bars where interesting music was being played, and also some vintage clothes shops, which I had almost never seen in China.
在市中心有一條名叫芙蓉街的老街，裡面滿是很受歡迎的小吃。我們去那裡吃晚飯，結果發現人滿為患！這和臺灣的夜市很相似。我們吃了臭豆腐(上面有孜然，非常美味)，烤魷魚，羊肉串，螺旋炸土豆，冰酸奶捲...我認為這對我的家人來說是一個相當有趣的冒險！在那條街的後面，我看到許多小酒吧，裡面播放著有趣的音樂，還有一些老式服裝店，我在中國幾乎從來沒有見過。
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FAMILY VISIT III: QUFU
家庭旅行3:曲阜
The third stop in our trip was the town of Qufu, also located in Shandong province and only 30 minutes away from Jinan by fast train. Qufu is famous for being the hometown of Confucius as he was born somewhere nearby and his temple and family home were later established there. His tomb is also there. These three places, the Temple, Mansion and Cemetery of Confucius are included in UNESCO’s World Heritage list and can be visited within a day. The entrance ticket (for the three places) is quite expensive: 150 RMB! Not many foreign tourists come here, but the place is swarmed with Chinese tour groups as this is a very important place in their culture.
我們這次旅行的第三站是曲阜，也在山東省，從濟南乘坐高鐵只需要30分鐘。曲阜因為是孔子的故鄉而聞名，他出生在附近的某個地方，供奉他的寺廟和他的家後來都建在那裡。他的墳墓也在那裡。這三個地方，即孔廟、孔府和孔林被列入聯合國教科文組織的世界遺產名錄，你可以在一天之內遊覽完。這三個地方的門票很貴:150元人民幣！來這裡的外國遊客並不多，但這裡到處都是中國的旅遊團，因為這裡在中國文化中是一個非常重要的地方。
The Temple of Confucius is quite big and it reminded me of the Forbidden City in Beijing. There are several pavilions and hundreds of engraved stone steeles, souvenirs from all the emperors that came here to make rituals in veneration of Confucius. Every time an emperor visited (and it seems most of them did), they would give money so the temple could be expanded and erect an steele.
孔廟很大，這讓我想起了北京的紫禁城。這裡有好幾個亭子和數百個石碑，是所有來此舉行祭孔儀式的皇帝的見證。每次皇帝來訪(似乎大多數皇帝都來過)，他們都會捐錢擴建廟宇，並豎立一個石碑。
Many of the trees here are more than one thousand years old.
這裡的許多樹都有一千多年的樹齡了。
In one of the bigger pavilions there was a performance of the rituals done in honour of Confucius in old times.
在一個較大的展館裡，進行了一場為紀念孔子而舉行的儀式。
Near the temple’s exit there was a shop where you could rent emperor style clothes and take pictures. Some people had a lot of fun there:
在孔廟的出口附近有一家商店，你可以在那裡租到皇帝式的服裝並進行拍照。有些人在那裡玩得很開心:
So many stairs, and it was so hot! The ice cream sellers were having a great day though.
這麼多的樓梯，還有如此悶熱的天氣！不過，賣冰淇淋的小販們今天倒是過得很愉快。
After the mausoleum we visited another spot in the same area: the mausoleum of the first Ming dynasty emperor (who died in 1398 AD). I had never been here before and although the entrance ticket is quite expensive (70 RMB), I quite liked it. Partly because it was not too crowded, but also because some parts of the mausoleum complex were not restored at all. In many cases, in China restoring means knocking everything down and building it from scratch again, and adding a layer of bright red paint so it looks even newer. It was a nice surprise to find something untouched, with greenery growing all over, and it reminded me of the temples in Cambodia.
在參觀完這個陵墓之後，我們去了同一地區的另一個景點:第一個明朝皇帝的陵墓(他死於公元1398年)。我以前從沒來過這裡，但我很喜歡，雖然門票很貴(70元人民幣)。一部分是因為這裡不是很擁擠，另一部分是因為陵墓群的某些部分根本沒有得到修復。在許多情況下，在中國修復意味著拆除一切，重新從頭開始建造，並塗上一層亮紅色的油漆，使它看起來更新。發現一些沒被人工修復的古蹟，周圍到處都是綠色的植物，我感到很驚喜，因為它讓我想起了柬埔寨的寺廟。
You don’t really get to see the tomb itsef, which supposedly is in the hill behind the mausoleum. Actually, I don’t know if the tomb has been found and opened.
你不會真正看到陵墓本身，據說它就在陵墓後面的小山上。事實上，我不知道墓穴是否已經被發現並被打開了。
Another part of the mausoleum complex is the Sacred Way, over 1.5 km long and with many stone statues of different animals and warriors/ministers that protect the way to the tomb.
陵墓群的另一部分是神道，全長超過1.5公里，有許多不同動物和武將/大臣的石像保護通往墳墓的道路。
After quite a long walk, crossing a park, to get to the subway, we headed to the city centre, the area around Fuzimiao. It is a very touristy area, lively and with many shops and restaurants. The type of place locals never go to, haha.
走了很長一段路，再穿過一個公園，我們乘地鐵前往市中心，也就是夫子廟周圍的地區。這是一個旅遊勝地，很熱鬧，有許多商店和餐館。不過當地人從不去那種地方，哈哈。
The second day the weather changed, as I said above. It was cold! I think it was the only day we really needed to use the jackets. We visited the Jiming Temple and it was lovely, even in the rain. I loved the bright yellow buildings and the pagoda. I didn’t love so much the profusion of shops selling super expensive Buddhist trinkets. From the back door of the temple you can access directly the Nanjing city wall and that is what we did. This city wall is one of the best preserved in China. Most cities had their walls torn down in the 50s. After walking for almost 2 km on the wall, we left through another gate and went to have lunch in one of my favourite restaurants, Bellagio. It’s a pity we don’t have this restaurant in Suzhou yet!
第二天變天了，就像我上面說的那樣。天氣很冷！我想那是我們唯一需要穿夾克的一天。我們參觀了雞鳴寺，即使在雨中，那裡也很美麗。我喜歡那些明亮的黃色建築和寶塔。不過我不太喜歡那些商店裡大量出售的超級昂貴的佛教飾品。從寺廟的後門你可以直接進入南京城牆，我們就是這麼做的。這堵城牆是中國保存最完好的城牆之一。大多數城市的城牆在50年代被拆除了。在城牆上走了將近2公里後，我們穿過另一個大門，去我最喜歡的百樂門吃午飯。可惜在蘇州還沒有這家餐館！
There are many more things to see in Nanjing, like all the museums, the Presidential Palace and the Massacre memorial, but we didn’t have more time. Our Nanjing visit ended after lunch and we headed to the train station to get to our next destination: Shanghai.
在南京有很多東西可以看，像所有的博物館，總統府和大屠殺紀念館等等，但我們沒有太多的時間。我們的南京之行在午餐後結束，我們前往火車站去我們的下一個目的地:上海。
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FAMILY VISIT V: SHANGHAI
家庭旅行5:上海
The last stop in our China tour before going to Suzhou for the wedding was Shanghai. Our mini Shanghai adventure started in Duolun Cultural Street, which, to be honest, I had never heard of, but it was mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide so we went to have a look. Duolun Cultural Street is in Hongkou district and during the 1920s and 30s many writers and celebrities lived there. Now it is a pedestrian street where you can see the houses from that time and statues of the writes who used to live and meet there. There are also some antique bookstores and even an al fresco “free reading space” with books.
去蘇州參加婚禮之前，我們中國之行的最後一站是上海。我們的迷你上海之旅始於多倫文化街，老實說，我從來沒聽說過，但孤獨星球網站的指南曾經提到過，所以我們去看了一下。多倫文化街位於虹口區，在20世紀20年代和30年代，許多作家和名人都住在那裡。現在它是一條步行街，在那裡你可以看到那個時代的房屋和曾經在那裡生活和交流的作家的雕像。還有一些古董書店，甚至還有一個露天的“免費閱讀空間”。
The next day we visited the Yuyan bazaar. I had not been here in years! I always avoided it when I lived in Shanghai because it is very touristy and crowded. But in the morning of a weekday it was bearable. The bazaar and small malls are a bit like Taobao, as you can find anything there. Once, when I had just started working in Shanghai, I went there with my boss and another colleague to buy Christmas decorations for the office. There was a whole mall just for Christmas decorations, it was crazy! (And I hope it is seasonal, because I don’t think many people buy that kind of thing the rest of the year). In Yuyuan there is also a garden, but we did not visit it this time as it is basically the same as the gardens in Suzhou. I bought a dress in the bazaar and we visited the small City God Temple next to it. Our last meal in Shanghai was in one of the favourite restaurants: 外婆家 Grandma’s Home. This restaurant has several branches in Suzhou but I never go because there is always a ridiculously long line, as the food is good and cheap.
第二天我們參觀了豫園。我已經很多年沒來過這裡了！我住在上海的時候總是儘量避免去那裡，因為那裡遊客很多，也很擁擠。但是在工作日的早晨，這還是可以忍受的。市集和小商場有點像淘寶，因為你可以在那裡找到任何東西。當我剛開始在上海工作時，有一次我和我的老闆以及另一個同事去那裡為辦公室採購聖誕裝飾品。那裡有一整個商場都是賣聖誕節裝飾品的，太瘋狂了！(我希望這是季節性的，因為我不認為會有很多人在其它的時間裡買這種東西)。在豫園裡也有一個花園，但是我們這次沒有去參觀，因為它基本上和蘇州的花園一樣。我在集市上買了一件衣服，參觀了旁邊的小城隍廟。我們在上海的最後一餐是在最受歡迎的餐館之一:外婆家。這家餐館在蘇州有好幾家分店，但我從來不去，因為那裡的食物又好又便宜，總是排著長得離譜的隊。
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A TEMPLE IN CHANGSHU
常熟的一座寺廟
Last Sunday we went to Changshu, a small city one hour north of Suzhou. Well, small for Chinese standards as it has a population of over one million. I had never heard much about this city and I was expecting the usual normal-going-to-ugly Chinese mid size city. I love when I’m wrong! It reminded me of Hangzhou and a quick search told me there are several interesting places to see, like a mountain-park, several gardens, temples and even a square pagoda. I made a mental note for next time, as our visit was going to be brief (we were having lunch with C.’s colleague) and it was quite sunny and hot (not my favourite weather to be outside).
上個星期天我們去了常熟，一個距蘇州一小時車程的小城市。嗯，對於中國的標準來說太小了，因為它只有一百多萬的人口。我從來沒有聽說過這個城市，我以為會是一個普通的中國中型城市。但我發現我錯了！它讓我想起了杭州，通過快速的搜索，我發現有幾個有趣的地方可以參觀，比如一個山間公園，還有幾個花園，寺廟，甚至還有一個方形的寶塔。我在心裡規劃了下次的行程，因為我們的時間很緊(我們和C.的同事一起吃午飯)，而且天氣也非常曬和悶熱(這不是我喜歡的戶外天氣)。
We’ll have to go back to Changshu and see the rest of the views in the autumn!
我們一定會在秋天回到常熟，並看看其他的風景！
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MY CHINESE MOTHER IN LAW – PART II
我的中國婆婆——第二部分
A long time ago (5 years!) I wrote a post about how nice my mother in law was. At that time, I still had people who would sometimes tell me that she was okay because we were not married / did not have children, and that she might completely change after those events. I was scared that she would want to organise my wedding and invite 300 of her friends; I was afraid she would start nagging me about having children one minute after getting married; I was fearing she would go crazy when I got pregnant and try to force me to eat weird things or follow strange customs; I was terrified she would pester me to do the Chinese postpartum; I was dreading she would try to raise my baby as if it was hers… because that was what other people told me happened to them.
很久以前(5年前！)我寫了一篇關於我婆婆有多好的帖子。那個時候有人會時不時地告訴我她很好，因為我們沒有結婚也沒有孩子，不過她可能會在那些事發生之後完全改變。我害怕她會對我的婚禮指手畫腳，邀請她的300個朋友;我害怕她會在結婚一分鐘後就開始嘮叨要孩子的事情;我害怕她會在我懷孕的時候發瘋，試圖強迫我吃奇怪的東西或遵循奇怪的習俗;我害怕她會纏著讓我去做中國的產後護理;我害怕她會試圖像撫養她的孩子一樣撫養我的孩子....因為別人告訴我，這些事情就發生在他們身上。
Guess what… None of that happened.
不過你猜怎麼著...什麼都沒發生。
My mother in law didn’t even try to do anything regarding our wedding arrangements. (Maybe I should be offended? Haha!). I don’t remember if she invited any friends, but if she did, it was just a few. She invited more for the baby’s 100 days party and I was completely fine with that. My Chinese wedding was organised by my husband (and a wedding planner) and I loved it.
我的婆婆甚至沒有試圖對我們的婚禮作任何的安排。(也許我應該生氣嗎？哈哈！).我不記得她是否邀請了什麼朋友，但就算她邀請了，也只是幾個而已。她邀請了更多人參加我的寶寶的百日宴，我對此完全沒意見。我的中國婚禮是由我的丈夫(和一個婚禮策劃人)組織的，我很喜歡。
My mother in law didn’t nag me about having babies, even though I was already over 30 years old and at that age many Chinese believe it’s already impossible to conceive because your womb is old and almost mummified. I think only once she mentioned that “we should start thinking about the big decisions of life”. She didn’t even want to say it directly.
我的婆婆也沒有對我嘮叨要孩子的事，儘管我已經30多歲了，許多中國人認為在這個年齡已經不可能懷孕了，因為你的子宮已經老化了。我印象中她只提到過一次“我們應該開始考慮人生中的重大決定”。她甚至沒有直接說出來。
I feel really lucky. Without her, my mum life would definitely be way harder. Turns out, there are good mothers in law too.
我覺得自己很幸運。如果沒有她，我媽媽的生活肯定會更加艱難。事實證明，也有很多好的婆婆。
How’s your relationship with your mother in law?
你和你的婆婆的關係怎麼樣呢？
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