小城故事〡一個神奇的地方，“讓子彈再飛一下下”（中英文）其它頭條網

Jiangmen: a home town of overseas Chinese along the Maritime Silk Road

江門，位於廣東，別稱”五邑”，地處西江及其支流蓬江匯合處，因兩江之上的煙墩山與蓬萊山對峙如門，故而得名。

Also called “Wuyi”, Jiangmen is located where West River meets with its tributary Peng River in Guangdong. Above the two rivers, Yandun Mountain and Penglai Mountain stand facing each other to form a shape of gate, hence the name Jiangmen (gate of rivers).

江門赤坎古鎮 Chikan Ancient Town in Jiangmen

2010年，電影《讓子彈飛》將江門開平碉樓帶入大眾視野。自明朝以來，為躲避匪徒、洪澇等災害，開平的老百姓在村中修起了碉樓，碉樓的修建在防範匪患、水患中起了大作用，民國時期，許多僑民帶著國外設計師的圖紙，回到家鄉新建碉樓。鼎盛時期這裡的碉樓有3000多座，這些中西合璧，集古希臘、古羅馬等多種風格的碉樓群，現在還留存近2000座。

In 2010, the film Let the Bullets Fly brought watchtowers in Kaiping, Jiangmen under spotlight. Since the Ming Dynasty, people in Kaiping built watchtowers to defend against bandits, floods, and other disasters. Those watchtowers played a significant role in guarding against bandits and floods. During the Republic of China, many overseas Chinese returned their hometown with drawings of foreign designers to build new watchtowers. In the heyday, as many as 3,000-plus watchtowers can be found here, which constituted a complex featuring Chinese, ancient Grecian and Roman style. Today, nearly 2,000 have survived.

走進碉樓，歷史用石料寫下的章節，復刻著江門的過往。

Entering the watchtowers, you can read the history of Jiangmen on the stones.

風格各異的碉樓群 Building complexes of different styles

江門是南海之濱的一顆璀璨明珠，綿延328.7公里的海岸線上，星羅棋佈散落著大小96個島嶼。特殊的地理位置造就了江門的興盛，這裡擁有眾多優良港灣，可供船隻錨泊，是古代“海上絲綢之路”的重要節點，台山上、下川島，烏豬島等近海島嶼，都曾是中西海上貿易的必經之地。早在北宋時期，江門便是廣州通海夷道上的“放洋”之地、國外朝貢船隻停靠之地；元末明初，這裡出現了集市，並逐漸發展成為珠三角地區新貿易中心。明代，上川島大洲灣一帶成為中國瓷器外銷的節點，在中國與葡萄牙的早期貿易和文化交流中發揮著重要的作用。1904年（清光緒三十年）江門設北街海關與外通商，這是廣東八大海關之一。貿易的往來促進了中西方文化在這裡不斷碰撞交融，這也開啟了江門經濟上的第一次騰飛，大量江門人通過”海上絲綢之路”，前往異國他鄉謀生，共同繪就了江門僑鄉的文化底色。

In Jiangmen, a shining pearl along the coast of South China Sea, the 328.7km-long winding coastline is dotted with 96 islands of various sizes. The special geographical location has enabled a booming scene in Jiangmen. Boasting many fine harbors for ships, Jiangmen was a key link along the ancient Maritime Silk Road. Shangchuan Island, Xiachuan Island, Wuzhu Island, and other offshore islands in Taishan had been passages for China-West maritime trade. Early in the Northern Song Dynasty, Jiangmen was a port for ships bound for overseas destinations and a harbor for foreign tribute ships. At the turn of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, marketplaces appeared here and later evolved into a new trade center in the Pearl River Delta. In the Ming Dynasty, Dazhou Bay of Shangchuan Island became a link for Chinese porcelain exported to other countries, and played an important role in early trade and cultural exchanges between China and Portugal. In 1904 (the 30th Guangxu Year of the Qing Dynasty), Beijie Customs was established in Jiangmen for foreign trade, which was among eight customs in Guangdong. Trade exchanges enabled the collision and integration of Chinese and Western culture, and the first economic take-off in Jiangmen. Hordes of Jiangmen people went overseas to make a living via the Maritime Silk Road, adding to the cultural scene of Jiangmen as a hometown of overseas Chinese.

僑民為江門經濟快速發展做出了諸多貢獻

改革開放以來，江門的僑民為家鄉公益事業捐資出力，為江門經濟的快速發展奠定了堅實基礎。

Since the reform and opening up, Hong Kong and Macao compatriots and overseas Chinese from Jiangmen have donated some HKD 5.7 billion for public welfare in their hometown, laying a foundation for the fast economic development in Jiangmen.

江門夜景

如今，地處粵港澳大灣區承東啟西關鍵節點的江門，再次迎來了自身的發展機遇，而僑民與僑鄉的故土情也將寫下新的一頁。

Today, standing at a key juncture connecting the west and east of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Jiangmen is embracing its own development opportunities and will write a new chapter as a land of overseas Chinese.