Saying goodbye to 2022 in Nanjing, and indeed in all of China, can be seen as being punctuated by the dramatic turn in the fortunes dealt our way by the year’s final weeks. It’s a turnaround begging reflection, perhaps more so than any other year, for good, bad or indifferent.
It may be surreal to consider these words now, with the world coughing and sniffing all around, but cast your mind back to March of this year, when the prospect of district or city-wide lockdowns loomed as a constant in our daily lives. What was responsible? A few score cases of COVID, of course. Gyms, libraries, museums, cultural centres, art galleries, monuments and other cultural venues found themselves shuttered. Schools moved to online learning once again and parts of the Nanjing Metro were completely shut down.
现在考虑这些话可能有点超现实，全世界都在咳嗽和嗅嗅，但把你的思绪回溯到今年三月，当时地区或全市范围内的封锁的前景在我们的日常生活中不断出现。负责什么？当然，有几十例新冠肺炎病例。体育馆、图书馆、博物馆、文化中心、美术馆、纪念碑和其他文化场所都被关闭。学校再次转向在线学习，南京地铁部分线路全面停运。
Once again though, we prevailed. But while everything else gradually opened up, there was still one big closure to come. With hindsight, perhaps it could have been seen as the beginning of the end, confirmation of the fact there will one day be a time after COVID. After putting 920,000 jabs into Nanjingers’ arms, almost 10 percent of the city’s population, it was the second week of June which saw the Wutaishan Sports Centre in Nanjing close out its role as a mass vaccination site.
不过，我们再次取得了胜利。然而，尽管其他一切都逐渐开放，但仍有一个重大的封闭即将到来。事后看来，也许这可以被视为终结的开始，证实了新冠疫情过后终有一天会到来的事实。在向南京人（几乎占该市人口的 10%）进行了 92 万次疫苗接种后，南京五台山体育中心在 6 月的第二周结束了其作为大规模疫苗接种点的角色。
Once again, we hoped we were finally COVID clear, and many decided to head south for a summer holiday. Some will perhaps not remember 2022 so fondly, being among the thousands of Nanjingers who were to end up being stranded in Sanya, many for several weeks, before evacuation flights in a “closed loop” finally brought them home to face quarantine.
我们再一次希望新冠病毒终于痊愈，许多人决定去南方度暑假。有些人可能不会如此怀念2022年，数千名南京人最终被困在三亚，其中许多人滞留了数周，然后“闭环”的疏散航班最终将他们带回家接受隔离。
It was a hot, hot summer in 2022, the hottest on record by some measures. While another reason for almost everyone to stay home with the blinds down and the air-conditioning on full, it also inevitably led to fire. On 9 August, the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge experienced its first serious structural accident in its 74-year history. Very possibly the result of the 2022 heatwave, it was a high-tension wire which caught fire adjacent to steel supports for the railway line. But Nanjing’s first responders got to work and within 2 hours, the blaze was extinguished and train services resumed operation.
2022 年是一个非常炎热的夏天，从某些指标来看，这是有记录以来最热的夏天。虽然几乎每个人都呆在家里拉上百叶窗并开足空调的另一个原因是，这也不可避免地导致了火灾。 8月9日，南京长江大桥发生74年来首次严重结构事故。很可能是 2022 年热浪造成的，一根高压电线在铁路线钢支架附近着火。但南京的急救人员立即赶赴现场，2小时内大火被扑灭，列车服务恢复运营。
It took a little longer to deal with Nanjing’s other headline fire of 2022, however. A full day in fact, when the knock-off paradise known as Jinsheng Mall went up in flames. Initially thought to be not-so serious, firefighters and equipment ended up being called in from the nearby cities of Wuxi, Changzhou and Yangzhou. When it was finally over, over 1,000 independent stores spread over five floors were all but a thing of the past.
然而，处理南京 2022 年另一场重大火灾的时间要长一些。事实上整整一天，被称为山寨天堂的金盛商城起火了。最初认为情况不那么严重，最终从附近的无锡、常州和扬州等城市调来了消防员和设备。当它最终结束时，分布在五层楼的 1000 多家独立商店几乎成为了过去。
On a happier note, in the world where sport and celebrity meet, three feel-good stories emerged in 2022 with links to our city.
更令人高兴的是，在体育和名人相遇的世界里，2022 年出现了三个与我们的城市有关的令人感觉良好的故事。
Nanjing Normal University alumni, Wang Jianan, took gold in the men’s long jump at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA, in July. It was China’s first gold in the 2022 Championships and its first ever gold in the Championships’ long jump discipline. A 2018 graduate from the “Nanshida” School of Physical Education, in the eyes of his younger peers, Wang was seen as a positive and optimistic big brother.
7月，南京师范大学校友王嘉楠在美国俄勒冈州举行的2022年世界田径锦标赛上获得男子跳远金牌。这是中国在2022年世锦赛上的首枚金牌，也是世锦赛跳远项目上的首枚金牌。作为“南师大”体育学院2018届毕业生，在小辈眼里，王是一个积极乐观的大哥。
There were also wedding bells before the month was out, with pride of Nanjing, volleyball player, Zhang Changning, marrying basketball player, Wu Guanxi, on 30 July. Given her and her husband’s height, some seriously tall bridesmaids were called for, an easy call for Zhang who simply rallied her fellow volleyball players. Zhang, nicknamed Baby Face, was on the Chinese women’s volleyball team which won the 2015 and 2019 World Cup, as well as gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Basketball legend and CBA President, Yao Ming, advised the groom to “keep your children in basketball, not volleyball”.
月底前也敲响了结婚的钟声，7月30日，南京骄傲排球运动员张常宁与篮球运动员吴冠希结婚。考虑到她和丈夫的身高，请了一些身材高大的伴娘，这对张来说很容易，她只是召集了她的排球队友。张绰号“娃娃脸”，曾随中国女排夺得2015年和2019年世界杯冠军，并在2016年里约奥运会上夺得金牌。篮球传奇人物、CBA主席姚明建议新郎“让你的孩子继续打篮球，而不是打排球”。
But the sporting event of the year was of course the Winter Olympics in and around Beijing. There, the Chinese nation’s pride could hardly have been more evident, as Gu Ailing (Eileen Gu) captured hearts, minds and a gold, and silver medal. Here in the Southern Capital, we also rejoiced in her victory, with the revelation that Gu’s grandmother is a bonafide Nanjinger. Gu has said that thanks to her grandmother, she not only found a love of sports, but also a woman’s strength and determination.
但今年的体育赛事当然是北京及其周边地区的冬奥会。在那里，中华民族的自豪感再明显不过了，谷爱凌（顾爱玲饰）赢得了人心，赢得了金牌和银牌。在南京这里，我们也为她的胜利而欢欣鼓舞，得知顾奶奶是地地道道的南京人。顾女士表示，在奶奶的帮助下，她不仅找到了对运动的热爱，也找到了女人的坚强和决心。
Before Gu’s historic wins, China taking home its first gold medal of the Games also lit a fire in many a Nanjinger, prompting them to try out the ice for themselves. And in record numbers. It was long queues and “skating room only” at Nanjing’s Olympic Centre. For the overwhelming majority, it was their first time, but it was also a sure-fire, knock-on effect of China’s win and a supporting of Beijing’s wishes that 300 million of its citizens participate in winter sports.
在顾获得历史性胜利之前，中国队夺得第一枚奥运会金牌也点燃了许多南京人的热情，促使他们亲自尝试冰上运动。并且数量创历史新高。南京奥体中心排起了长队，“只有滑冰室”。对于绝大多数人来说，这是他们的第一次，但这也是中国获胜的必然连锁反应，也是对北京希望 3 亿公民参与冬季运动的愿望的支持。
And enabling them to do just that as Nanjing begins to warm up in 2023 might be one of the many flights to farther afield which began operating this year, some old, some brand new. Again, the development now seems to have been indicative of normality around the corner. Closing out 2022, Nanjing now offers daily flights to Hong Kong, five flights per week to Macau and weekly, or thereabout, flights to a host of other destinations, including Hanoi, Jakarta, Osaka, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo and even Milan in Italy. Expect many more as 2023 takes hold.
随着南京在 2023 年开始变暖，让他们能够做到这一点可能是今年开始运营的众多飞往更远地区的航班之一，其中一些是旧的，一些是全新的。再次，现在的事态发展似乎预示着即将到来的常态。截至 2022 年，南京目前每天有飞往香港的航班，每周有 5 趟飞往澳门的航班，每周或大约每周有飞往许多其他目的地的航班，包括河内、雅加达、大阪、首尔、新加坡、东京，甚至意大利米兰。随着 2023 年的到来，预计还会有更多。
As for our International community, our city’s two largest international schools both had reason to celebrate in 2022. For Nanjing International School, it was their long awaited 30th anniversary. From a handful of students in rented classrooms at the outset, to becoming one of the finest schools in all of China today, NIS, its students and their families, together with faculty and staff, celebrated in style this October.
对于我们的国际社区来说，我市最大的两所国际学校都有理由在2022年庆祝。对于南京国际学校来说，这是他们期待已久的30周年纪念日。从最初租用教室的少数学生，到今天成为全中国最好的学校之一，NIS、其学生及其家人以及教职员工在今年十月举行了盛大的庆祝活动。
Style was also the watchword the month prior, but that of a different era, as the British School of Nanjing put their muscle behind the second British Ball to raise funds for two good cases. With the theme of Downton Abbey, hundreds turned out to look the part, eat, drink, dance and gamble the night away. When it was all over, the total of ¥240,000 raised was split equally between local charities, Hopeful Hearts and the Rainbow Centre.
风格也是上个月的口号，但那是不同时代的口号，南京英国学校在第二届英国舞会上全力支持，为两个好案例筹集资金。以《唐顿庄园》为主题，数百人前来装扮，吃喝玩乐，彻夜狂欢。活动结束后，筹集到的 24 万日元平分给当地慈善机构、希望之心 (Hopeful Hearts) 和彩虹中心 (Rainbow Centre)。
Lastly, and back in the air, what of this humble publication? The Nanjinger clocked up its 12th anniversary in 2022 and celebrated its flagship publication being selected to be part of the inflight entertainment on every flight of China Airlines, operating out of their home base of Taipei in Taiwan. Guess where we will be first off to next year, if only to read our city’s very own English magazine in the air!
最后，回到空中，这个不起眼的出版物怎么样？ 《南京人》在 2022 年迎来了创刊 12 周年，并庆祝其旗舰出版物被选为华航每趟航班机上娱乐的一部分，该航班在台湾台北基地运营。猜猜明年我们将首先去哪里，哪怕只是在空中阅读我们城市自己的英文杂志！
