气味难闻速度慢却很难忘 中国告别绿皮车

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

太阳慢慢地穿过高高的蓝天，伴着特有的咔嗒声和震动，蒸汽机发出阵阵喘息声，然后喷出一串黑烟。

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.'

这是美国作家保罗•索鲁(Paul Theroux)在1988年著作《骑乘铁公鸡：搭火车横越中国》(Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China)中对他在中国搭火车旅行的描述。

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.

据中国官方媒体新华社称，这种被称为“绿皮车”的列车在上世纪50年代投入运行，是50至80年代中国旅客列车最典型的代表。绿皮车因外部油漆是绿色而得名，一般由蒸汽机拉动，不过现在的绿皮车一般都是柴油机车。

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.

现在，随着高速列车飞速驶过全国各地新建的火车站，中国正在和旧式的绿皮车告别。绿皮车的特点是奇慢的车速、没有空调及其喷出的黑烟。

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.

据河南省政府网站本周刊登的媒体报道称，6月29日，最后一趟跨省的绿皮车从河南省的郑州火车站驶出，在24小时6分钟后抵达浙江省温州。

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

据报道称，这趟绿皮车在周二正式退役，取而代之的是现代的红色空调列车。

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.)

虽然绿皮车仍将在一些地方运行，但将被逐步淘汰。上述郑州至温州的列车是最后一趟跨省运行的绿皮车。（虽然北京至西藏的列车也是绿色的，但和传统的绿皮车不同，这些列车内部设施豪华，带有空调和设备齐全的卫生间。）

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.

中国高速铁路总里程数超过10万公里，世界排名第一。中国政府官员曾表示，现代高铁列车时速超过300公里（186英里），大幅减少了人们的乘车时间。

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

本周，中国网民对绿皮车的消失抒发了怀旧之情。

'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.

一位网民写道，他28日曾坐绿皮车回杭州，车内非常拥挤，也没有空调，但票价便宜。

'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.

另一位网民写道，“绿皮车承载着儿时爬窗户上车回家的记忆。再见，绿皮车！”有时这种票价低廉的老式绿皮车非常拥挤，门口被人堵住了，上车真得从窗户爬进去。

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.

我在五岁的时候第一次坐绿皮车，从河北家乡坐了五个小时的火车来到北京。在拥挤的车站，我父亲必须紧紧抓住我的胳膊、让我坐在他的肩膀上才能穿过人群。

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.

我在车里感到恶心。车内光线和气味都不好，即使开着窗户也是如此。车开起来颠簸得厉害，噪音也很大。我母亲让我想象自己正在吃酸梨，她说这样会感觉好一点。吃酸梨是中国人应付晕车的一个办法。

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，远离家乡的我乘坐了一趟从匹兹堡到费城的火车。这是美国铁路公司(Amtrak)一种比较现代化的灰色列车，太阳投下的光影在白色座位上缓慢地移动着。我翻看了一本艺术书籍，很享受这段舒畅的旅行。但就在我乘坐这趟美国列车时，满脑子想的却是童年时代坐在深绿色的绿皮车里听到的隆隆声。