中國漠河的“北極光節(jié)”

Mohe, the northernmost county in China, is remote and inhospitable, its vast forests home to bears and wolves. In winter, temperatures regularly drop below minus 50C. And yet every summer, thousands of tourists jump in SUVs and private taxis to make a pilgrimage to Mohe’s most northerly settlement, the village of Beijicun.

漠河，這座位于中國最北端的城市，偏遠(yuǎn)而又不適宜居住。這里廣闊的森林中居住著熊和狼。到了冬天，氣溫通常會降至零下五十度。但每到夏天，數(shù)以千計的游客會跳上SUV和私人包車，朝圣般地前往漠河最北端的定居點，一個名為北極村的村落。

They come to peer at Russia across the Amur River (whose Chinese name Heilong Jiang, or Black Dragon River, gives the province its name), as well as to brag that they have stood at the very top of the country, and above all, to try to catch a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights.

他們來到這里眺望阿穆爾河(Amur River，中國人將這條河稱為黑龍江，其所在的省份也由此得名)對岸的俄羅斯，同時也是為了向人夸耀他們曾經(jīng)站在中國版圖的最頂點，最重要的是，希望能有機(jī)會一睹北極光的風(fēng)采。

My own trip was inspired in an Icelandic museum where I had learned that it was possible to see the lights in China, although it quickly became apparent that the chances of doing so are rare. You could spend several decades in Mohe and only see them a handful of times, according to locals. But the slim odds haven’t prevented the village of Beijicun from declaring June 21, the summer solstice, to be its “Northern Lights festival”.

我自己的漠河之旅是受冰島一家博物館的影響，在那里我了解到，在中國境內(nèi)是有可能看到北極光的，雖然我很快就明白這種情況發(fā)生的概率不高。當(dāng)?shù)厝朔Q，就算在漠河待上幾十年，看見極光的次數(shù)也可能屈指可數(shù)。但這種渺茫的概率并沒有阻止北極村將今年6月21日的夏至日定為當(dāng)?shù)氐?ldquo;北極光節(jié)”。

Reaching Beijicun takes about an hour by road from Mohe City; getting to Mohe City from Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, takes about 20 hours by train — though, thankfully, a recently launched air route cuts this to 90 minutes.

從漠河市出發(fā)，沿公路前往北極村大概需要一個小時;而從黑龍江省會哈爾濱出發(fā)前往漠河市，大約需要乘坐20個小時的火車——不過讓人高興的是，近期開始運營的一趟空調(diào)列車將上述時間縮短了90分鐘。

As I set out on the road north from Mohe City the forest thickened and the hills steepened until we reached a wooded glade peppered with local Communist party officials there for the occasion. An unremarkable sleepy hamlet for most of the year, Beijicun had set up a ticketed entry point in the sort of Alpine-style cabin Heidi might have lived in; the Post Office even had a Christmas tree. Nobody seemed to quite agree on what constitutes China’s northernmost patch of land, with several spots around the village attracting tourists for the obligatory selfie. Perhaps the Amur’s exposed beaches of shingle lay the best claim, with the river in low ebb now that the last of winter’s snowfall has gone.

我從漠河市出發(fā)，踏上了向北行進(jìn)的道路，一路上森林變得愈加濃密，山嶺也陡峭了起來。終于我們來到了一片林間空地，當(dāng)?shù)匾恍┕賳T為了“北極光節(jié)”的活動也出現(xiàn)在了那里。北極村在一年中的絕大多數(shù)時間都只是一個默默無聞的安靜小村莊，現(xiàn)在這里建起了一個檢票入口，入口設(shè)在一座類似阿爾卑斯風(fēng)格的木屋中，而這座木屋看起來就好像小說人物海蒂可能居住過的地方;郵局門口甚至有了一棵圣誕樹。人們似乎沒能就哪些特色能夠代表中國最北端的這片土地達(dá)成共識，村里有好幾個地方都吸引著游客留下必不可少的自拍照片。或許阿穆爾河鋪滿鵝卵石的裸露河岸是這里的最大特色，由于冬季的最后一場降雪已經(jīng)消彌，河水現(xiàn)在處于低潮期。

For the lone foreigner the festival offered a fascinating glimpse into the rapid development of China’s domestic tourist industry. “Hobbyist” travellers — those with a serious interest in photography or cycling — were abundant, with scores biking up from Mohe City. Others were relishing the chance to stretch their legs on hikes alongside the river, enjoying some of the freshest air available anywhere in China — a genuine attraction in a country whose major cities are plagued by terrible air quality.

對像我這樣孑然一身的外國游客來說，北極光節(jié)提供了一瞥中國國內(nèi)快速發(fā)展的旅游業(yè)的絕佳窗口。“旅行發(fā)燒友”人數(shù)眾多——他們通常極其愛好攝影或者騎行——其中很多人都是從漠河市騎自行車過來的。其他游客則很珍惜沿阿穆爾河徒步行走舒展筋骨的機(jī)會，盡情享受中國境內(nèi)所能找到的最清新的空氣——由于中國的主要城市都深受糟糕的空氣質(zhì)量之苦，清新的空氣具有實實在在的吸引力。

Beijicun is clearly pinning its hopes on a continued stream of visitors: twee wooden guesthouses are sprouting up everywhere, and glossy brochures in local hotels advertise timber-frame houses for sale for those who want the ultimate rural retreat.

北極村無疑把希望寄托在了持續(xù)不斷的游客人流上：花哨的木質(zhì)旅社在各個地方拔地而起，當(dāng)?shù)氐馁e館里有那種用亮光紙印刷的手冊，向想要擁有終極鄉(xiāng)居住所的人群推銷木質(zhì)結(jié)構(gòu)房屋。

Back in Mohe City, the authorities were taking no chances: Mother Nature might not have obliged with a natural light show but there was a spectacular fireworks display instead — even if the long hours of sunshine this far north diminish their impact.

回到漠河市，當(dāng)?shù)氐牡胤秸惨稽c都不馬虎：大自然也許沒有獻(xiàn)上自然之光的演出，但當(dāng)?shù)嘏e行了盛大的焰火燃放活動作為替代——即便這個極北之地的長時間日照減弱了焰火表演的效果。

The wide boulevards suggest a misplaced civic grandiosity but they also point to a tragic past. Largely destroyed by fire in 1987, the entire town was rebuilt in a grand imperial Russian style. Even the airport looks like something out of a Tolstoy novel, with cupolas, arched windows and golden lettering. But the surrounding forest is never kept entirely at bay. The woodlands that have been allowed to remain as parks between Mohe City’s neighbourhoods evoke of the enveloping darkness of a Brothers Grimm fairytale.

當(dāng)?shù)氐膶掗熃值朗沁@座城市不夠恰當(dāng)?shù)暮甏缶坝^之一，但它們同樣暗示著一段悲慘的過往。1987年漠河市被一場大火損毀了大半，整座城市按照宏偉的俄式皇家風(fēng)格進(jìn)行了重建。即便這里的機(jī)場看起來也像是托爾斯泰(Tolstoy)小說中的建筑，有著圓形屋頂、拱形窗戶和金色的嵌字。但環(huán)繞這座城市的森林從未被完全限制生長。漠河市周邊地區(qū)之間的林地被允許作為公園保存下來，使人聯(lián)想起格林童話中籠罩大地的黑暗森林。

Statues of goldpanners celebrate the region’s brief mining boom at the close of the 19th century, a rush that attracted speculators from Russia, Japan and Korea. Russia’s influence lingers visibly: matryoshka dolls and Russian chocolate are prominently displayed in tourist stores, alongside furs and dried mushrooms, a speciality of the region.

淘金者的雕塑紀(jì)念的是這個地區(qū)在19世紀(jì)末期的短暫采礦熱潮，這一熱潮吸引了來自俄羅斯、日本和韓國的投機(jī)者。俄羅斯帶來的影響如今依然可見：俄羅斯套娃和俄羅斯巧克力被擺放在旅游紀(jì)念品商店的醒目位置，和漠河地區(qū)特產(chǎn)的皮毛制品以及風(fēng)干蘑菇擺放在一起。

Returning to the attractive airport for the flight south, visitors lingered on the runway to pose for photos, to soak up another stunningly bright day and to celebrate their journey to China’s far north.

在返回那座充滿魅力的機(jī)場準(zhǔn)備登上飛往南方的航班時，游客們徘徊在跑道上擺姿勢拍照，盡情沐浴在明亮得耀眼的日照中，以紀(jì)念他們的中國最北端之旅。

Jennifer Thompson is a Hong Kong-based reporter for the FT

本文作者詹妮弗•湯普森(Jennifer Thompson)是英國《金融時報》駐香港記者