Every summer, thousands descend on Xinghai Square with beer in plastic bags and blankets spread across the lawn. The square is built on reclaimed coastline in the south of the city, and by early evening the crowd is thick enough that finding a patch of grass takes real effort.
每年夏天,成千上万的人涌向星海广场,手提塑料袋装着的啤酒,在草坪上铺开毯子。这座广场建在城市南部一片填海而成的海岸线上,到了傍晚时分,人群密集到想找一片空地坐下都要费一番功夫。
Roughly seven kilometres north sits Zhongshan Square, laid out by Russian planners at the turn of the 20th century. The European-style buildings ringing it now house Chinese banks; the square dates from the years when Dalian was called Dalny, under Russian lease, before Japan took control of the city following the 1904-05 war.
大约七公里外便是中山广场,由俄国规划者在二十世纪之初设计而成。环绕广场的欧式建筑,如今多已改作中国银行的营业场所;这座广场建于大连尚被称作”达里尼”、由俄国租借统治的年代,而在一九零四至零五年那场战争之后,日本随即接管了这座城市。
A Harbour City Rebuilt around Its Views
一座围绕风景重建的港口城市
Founded in 1899, Dalian grew from that same naval and railway concession into one of northeast China’s principal ports; today the sub-provincial city administers seven districts, two county-level cities and one county, spread across a coastline stretching nearly 1,906 kilometres and dotted with roughly 260 islands and reefs.
大连始建于一八九九年,由同一处海军与铁路租借地发展而来,成为中国东北主要港口之一;如今这座副省级城市下辖七个区、两个县级市和一个县,海岸线绵延近一千九百零六公里,散布着约二百六十座岛屿与礁石。
The sea surrounds the city on three sides, and the climate stays milder here than elsewhere in Liaoning as a result. Winters are cold, dry and windy; summers warm and humid enough to fill beaches such as Golden Pebble and to support the Dalian International Beer Festival each July and August.
大连三面环海,气候因此比辽宁其他地区都要温和。冬季寒冷干燥、多风;夏季温暖潮湿,足以让金石滩等海滩人潮涌动,也支撑起每年七八月举办的大连国际啤酒节。
Ships, Software and Seafood
造船、软件与海鲜
Dalian’s shipbuilding industry traces back to 1898, when Russia began work on a yard beside the port, before it was later reorganised as the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company; the yard went on to build China’s first 10,000-tonne ship, its first guided-missile destroyer and, decades later, the country’s first aircraft carrier. The company still employs thousands and has delivered more than 3,000 vessels in total.
大连的造船工业可追溯至一八九八年,当时俄国在港口旁开始建造船坞,后来重组为大连船舶重工集团;这家船厂先后建造出中国第一艘万吨级轮船、第一艘导弹驱逐舰,数十年后又建成中国第一艘航空母舰。该公司如今仍雇佣着数以千计的员工,累计交付船舶超过三千艘。
Alongside the shipyards, the city has spent two decades pushing into software outsourcing and finance, and Dalian has repeatedly hosted the World Economic Forum’s “Summer Davos” meeting since 2007.
除了造船厂,这座城市过去二十年也在软件外包与金融业上持续发力,自二零零七年起,大连已多次承办世界经济论坛”夏季达沃斯”年会。
Seafood markets along the waterfront do a steady trade regardless of which industry is having a good year; sea cucumber, abalone and scallops travel from Dalian’s coast to restaurant tables across the country.
滨海一带的海鲜市场生意始终稳健,无论哪个行业当年景气与否;海参、鲍鱼与扇贝,从大连的海岸一路运往全国各地的餐桌。
Tourists come for reasons that have little to do with any of that industry; for the promenade along Binhai Road, and for the horseback-riding policewomen occasionally seen patrolling near Xinghai Square.
游客来到这里的理由,大多与这些产业无关;他们为的是漫步滨海路,也为了偶尔能在星海广场附近看到骑马巡逻的女警。
Getting to Dalian is straightforward; the city is served by its own international airport, by high-speed rail links running the length of the Liaodong Peninsula up to Shenyang and beyond, and by ferries connecting across the Bohai Sea.
前往大连十分便捷;这座城市拥有自己的国际机场,高铁线路沿辽东半岛一路延伸至沈阳及更远处,渤海对岸还有轮渡相通。
The crowds still gather at Xinghai Square each evening regardless, spreading blankets on the same stretch of grass, waiting for the same fountain to start.
尽管如此,每晚人群依旧会聚集在星海广场,在同一片草坪上铺开毯子,等待同一场喷泉开演。
