Chinese simply must go home for Spring Festival, like migratory birdlife. One man this year, however, made the most monumental effort, travelling the equivalent of the bird with the longest migration of all. And he started from literally the end of the world.
中国人就像候鸟一样必须回家过年。然而，今年有一个人做出了最伟大的努力，他的旅行相当于所有迁徙时间最长的鸟。他是从世界末日开始的。
Chen Zhongyuan, a native of Sheyang County in Yancheng of Jiangsu Province, has travelled to the South and North Poles nearly 50 times. He gave up his lucrative job in Beijing to study simultaneous interpreting at the University of Bath in the UK, and has since worked as an interpreter for expedition-cruise operators such as Quark Expeditions, Aurora Expeditions and Polar Latitudes.
陈忠远是江苏省盐城射阳县人，已游历南北两极近50次。他放弃了北京收入丰厚的工作，前往英国巴斯大学学习同声传译，此后一直为 Quark Expeditions、Aurora Expeditions 和 Polar Latitudes 等探险游轮运营商担任口译员。
The end of October to the end of March of the following year is the Antarctic tourism season. It’s a busy time for Chen, with cruises one after the other. Spending Chinese New Year on a ship last year, Chen organised a dumpling workshop for the passengers aboard, bringing him and them some Spring Festival joy. But this year has been different.
10月底至次年3月底是南极旅游旺季。对于陈来说，这段时间很忙碌，游轮接连不断。去年在船上过年，陈先生为船上的乘客组织了饺子工作坊，给他和大家带来了春节的欢乐。但今年有所不同。
Back in early in December 2024, Chen’s company started to make the arrangements. And on 26 January, his 42nd Antarctic trip came to an end with the docking of the POSEIDON cruise ship at the port of Ushuaia in Argentina. But that was to be just the start of a very long journey.
早在2024年12月上旬，陈的公司就开始进行安排。 1月26日，他的第42次南极之旅随着波塞冬号游轮停靠阿根廷乌斯怀亚港而落下帷幕。但这只是漫长旅程的开始。
Buenos Aires, Amsterdam, Shanghai, a train to Yancheng and finally a taxi to Sheyang County were to follow, meaning that by the time he arrived home, Chen had amassed some 23,150 kilometres of travel, approximately the same distance an Arctic tern undertakes each year.
布宜诺斯艾利斯、阿姆斯特丹、上海，然后是前往盐城的火车，最后是前往射阳县的出租车，这意味着当他回到家时，陈已经积累了约 23,150 公里的行程，大约与北极燕鸥每年的行程相同。
“But I didn’t fly it myself”, Chen said, speaking with the Yangtze Evening News.
“但我自己没有飞过”，陈在接受扬子晚报采访时说道。
During his time in the polar regions, Chen learned about marine life, geography, photography and much more; mastered skills such as driving assault boats, reading nautical charts and tying knots. He even listened in on the Inuit of Greenland revealing their tips as to how to hunt polar bears.
在极地期间，陈了解了海洋生物、地理、摄影等等。掌握了驾驶冲锋艇、阅读海图和打结等技能。他甚至聆听格陵兰岛因纽特人讲述他们如何捕猎北极熊的技巧。
Chen has already brewed up a new expedition plan, such as leading a group to the Galapagos Islands, or holding science lectures on penguins, whales and glaciers, whilst working aboard his cruises.
陈已经制定了新的探险计划，比如带领一个团队前往加拉帕戈斯群岛，或者在他的游轮上工作的同时举办有关企鹅、鲸鱼和冰川的科学讲座。
But the Antarctic will also no doubt be calling. And that means another return to Ushuaia, the capital of Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego Province that is also the jumping-off point for most people on a voyage to Antarctica. There, a well-photographed sign proclaims the world’s southernmost city as “fin del mundo”; “end of the world”.
但南极洲无疑也会在召唤。这意味着再次返回阿根廷火地岛省首府乌斯怀亚，这里也是大多数人前往南极洲航行的起点。那里有一个精心拍摄的标志，宣称世界最南端的城市是“fin del mundo”； “世界末日”。
