氣味難聞速度慢卻很難忘 中國告別綠皮車

'The sun moved slowly through the high blue gulping, wheezing steam engine, with its characteristic rattles and shakes, released a dragon of black smoke.'

太陽慢慢地穿過高高的藍天，伴着特有的咔嗒聲和震動，蒸汽機發出陣陣喘息聲，然後噴出一串黑煙。

That was how American writer Paul Theroux descried his train trip in China in his 1988 book, 'Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China.'

這是美國作家保羅•索魯(Paul Theroux)在1988年著作《騎乘鐵公雞：搭火車橫越中國》(Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China)中對他在中國搭火車旅行的描述。

Such so-called 'green-skinned' trains (named for the color of their external paint) started running in the 1950s and were heavily used for three decades, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Traditionally they were powered by steam engine, though diesel trains are now the norm.

據中國官方媒體新華社稱，這種被稱爲“綠皮車”的列車在上世紀50年代投入運行，是50至80年代中國旅客列車最典型的代表。綠皮車因外部油漆是綠色而得名，一般由蒸汽機拉動，不過現在的綠皮車一般都是柴油機車。

Now, as shiny bullet trains whoosh past new stations throughout China, the country is saying goodbye to its old-time green trains, which are known for their distinctively slow pace and lack of air conditioning, as well as their belching black smoke.

現在，隨着高速列車飛速駛過全國各地新建的火車站，中國正在和舊式的綠皮車告別。綠皮車的特點是奇慢的車速、沒有空調及其噴出的黑煙。

The final green train to traverse provinces left Zhengzhou, a transportation hub in central Henan province, at noon last week and arrived 24 hours and six minutes later at Wenzhou in southern Zhejiang province, according to a media report carried on the Henan provincial government website this week.

據河南省政府網站本週刊登的媒體報道稱，6月29日，最後一趟跨省的綠皮車從河南省的鄭州火車站駛出，在24小時6分鐘後抵達浙江省溫州。

The green giant was retired on Tuesday and will be replaced with a modern, red-painted train with air conditioning, the report said.

據報道稱，這趟綠皮車在週二正式退役，取而代之的是現代的紅色空調列車。

Though green trains still run locally in some areas, they are gradually being phased out. The Zhengzhou-Wenzhou green train was the last train running between provinces of its kind. (Though a green-painted train runs between Beijing and Tibet, unlike traditional green trains, it offers luxurious interiors, including air conditioning and well-appointed bathrooms.)

雖然綠皮車仍將在一些地方運行，但將被逐步淘汰。上述鄭州至溫州的列車是最後一趟跨省運行的綠皮車。（雖然北京至西藏的列車也是綠色的，但和傳統的綠皮車不同，這些列車內部設施豪華，帶有空調和設備齊全的衛生間。）

China boasts more tracks of high-speed train rails than any other country in the world, which together span more than 100,000 kilometers. Such technology has radically cut travel time, with modern high-speed trains zipping by at more than 300 kilometer (186 miles) per hour, government officials have said.

中國高速鐵路總里程數超過10萬公里，世界排名第一。中國政府官員曾表示，現代高鐵列車時速超過300公里（186英里），大幅減少了人們的乘車時間。

Online this week, netizens wrote nostalgically about the disappearance of China's green trains.

本週，中國網民對綠皮車的消失抒發了懷舊之情。

'I took this train to go home in Hangzhou on the 28th. It was very crowded. No air conditioning. But it was cheap,' one wrote.

一位網民寫道，他28日曾坐綠皮車回杭州，車內非常擁擠，也沒有空調，但票價便宜。

'It's all about my childhood memory of crawling through the windows to just get on the trains on our way home. Bye bye [green trains]!' wrote another. At times, cheap, old-fashioned 'green trains' were so crowded that with doors blocked, people literally had to crawl through windows in order to board.

另一位網民寫道，“綠皮車承載着兒時爬窗戶上車回家的記憶。再見，綠皮車！”有時這種票價低廉的老式綠皮車非常擁擠，門口被人堵住了，上車真得從窗戶爬進去。

When I was five years old, I took my first trip on one of China's green giants, riding around five hours from my small hometown in Hebei province to Beijing. At the crowded station, my father had to grab me by my arms and raise me above his shoulders to make our way through the crowd.

我在五歲的時候第一次坐綠皮車，從河北家鄉坐了五個小時的火車來到北京。在擁擠的車站，我父親必須緊緊抓住我的胳膊、讓我坐在他的肩膀上才能穿過人羣。

Inside the train, I felt sick. It was dark and smelly, even with the windows open. The ride was bumpy and noisy. My mother kept telling me try to imagine I was eating a sour pear, a kind of fruit eaten in China to get rid of motion sickness. 'You'll feel better,' she said.

我在車裏感到噁心。車內光線和氣味都不好，即使開着窗戶也是如此。車開起來顛簸得厲害，噪音也很大。我母親讓我想象自己正在吃酸梨，她說這樣會感覺好一點。吃酸梨是中國人應付暈車的一個辦法。

Four years ago, far from home while riding a train from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia--one of the more modern gray Amtrak trains--the sun spots moved slowly on the white seats. I flipped through a book of art and enjoyed the smooth ride. Yet even as I sat there, all my nostalgic mind could think about was the rumbling of the dark green trains of my childhood.

四年前，遠離家鄉的我乘坐了一趟從匹茲堡到費城的火車。這是美國鐵路公司(Amtrak)一種比較現代化的灰色列車，太陽投下的光影在白色座位上緩慢地移動着。我翻看了一本藝術書籍，很享受這段舒暢的旅行。但就在我乘坐這趟美國列車時，滿腦子想的卻是童年時代坐在深綠色的綠皮車裏聽到的隆隆聲。