Stimulus package marks the end of a history of isolation
从“蜀道难”到西部门户
广州经济翻译公司：在古代，迁往成都意味着将自己置于闭塞之地，而现代成都希望将自身打造为中国西部第一大交通和物流中心。
When Chinese President Xi Jinping launched his One Belt, One Road (Obor), or New Silk Road, initiative — a ploy to lash China to Eurasia and Africa using a ribbon of newly developed trade routes — politicians and investors across the world took out maps and began to chart new opportunities.
中国国家主席习近平提出的“一带一路”战略，又称做“新丝绸之路”战略，旨在将中国与欧亚和非洲通过新开发的贸易线路紧密联结起来。这一战略宣布后，世界各地的政治家和投资者们纷纷拿出地图，开始搜寻新的机遇。广州经济翻译公司。
So too did China’s city-level officials. In Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, city planners have focused on becoming China’s largest western transport and logistics hub.
这么做的还有中国的市级官员。在四川省会成都，城市规划者们将精力集中在打造中国西部第一大交通和物流中心。
Chengdu finds itself at the centre of a number of China’s economic development strategies. After painting its aims with a broad brush, Beijing leaves the details of these plans to lower-level officials and planners. Bright ideas and contributions are rewarded with funding, preferential policy and promotions.
成都猛然发现，自己正处在中国多项经济发展战略的中心位置。在粗线条勾勒出总体发展目标之后，北京方面将这些计划的具体实施细节交给了下级官员和规划管理者。巧妙的构想和提案将获得资金支持、优惠政策以及大面积推广作为鼓励。广州经济翻译公司。
One Belt, One Road, a trade and foreign policy initiative, includes plans to revive the routes that made up the old Silk Road as well as to spread economic growth inland away from the east coast. The plan dovetails with a second initiative, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, which will build up transport and trade along China’s longest river.
“一带一路”作为一项贸易和外交战略，其内容包括重振构成古代“丝绸之路”的贸易线路，以及将经济增长势头从东部沿海地区扩张到内陆地区。该计划与另一个名为“长江经济带”的发展战略相对接，后者旨在促进长江流域交通建设和贸易发展。
Chengdu wishes to become a buckle between the internal and external belts. “[We] have the advantage of linking two grand national plans,” said deputy head of the local planning ministry, Liu Xinhui, when launching the city’s new development strategy last October.
成都希望成为连接国内和国际两条经济带的关键枢纽。成都市发改委副主任刘兴军在去年10月公布成都市新发展战略时表示，成都具备联结两大国家战略的优势。
“It is the only city in western China that will have two airports and has the opportunity to become a logistic hub between the One Belt, One Road and the Yangtze Economic Belt,” he said.
他说：“成都将是中西部唯一的双机场城市，有实力有机会成为‘一带一路’和长江经济带空中物流通道中的枢纽城市。” 广州经济翻译公司。
Providing a blueprint in keeping with Beijing’s vision will help Chengdu receive a chunk of the Rmb4.7tn ($705bn) for infrastructure and transport announced by the authorities in May — the largest state stimulus package to be announced since the global financial crisis.
提出一份与北京方面构想相吻合的发展蓝图有助于成都在5月公布的4.7万亿元人民币（合7050亿美元）基础设施和交通建设计划中分得较大比重的份额，这是中国政府在全球金融危机以后出台的规模最大的经济刺激计划。
But the city faces stiff competition. Chengdu is not the only burgeoning metropolis in western China, and it must jostle with its neighbours for a leading place in these sweeping macro-economic strategies.
但成都市将面临激烈竞争。成都并不是中国西部地区唯一快速发展的大城市，它必须与相邻城市展开激烈争夺，以求在这些覆盖面广的宏观经济战略中抢占领先位置。
“Every city is launching new projects as part of One Belt, One Road,” says a government worker who promotes the city’s culture abroad. “Compared with Xi’an [an ancient Chinese capital], Chengdu has less history as a trade hub; compared to [nearby municipality] Chongqing, it has less economic and political clout.”
该市一名负责海外文化推广的政府工作人员表示：“在‘一带一路’战略下，每个城市都在启动新项目。与西安相比（西安曾是中国古代首都），成都作为贸易中心的历史积淀较浅；与相邻的直辖市重庆相比，成都的经济和政治影响力较弱。” 广州经济翻译公司。
Expanding transport routes is the planners’ solution, but they face an uphill battle. Treacherous mountain terrain surrounds the city. In ancient times, moving to Chengdu meant consigning yourself to a backwater and the city still struggles with that reputation.
扩张交通线路是成都规划者们提出的解决方案，但他们将面临艰巨的挑战。险峻的山岭地形环绕在成都周围。在古代，迁往成都意味着将自己置于闭塞之地，如今的成都仍然在努力打消这种固定印象。
Chengdu remained relatively isolated until very recently. Locals can easily recall 30-hour train journeys in crammed carriages that snaked their way across China to Beijing.
直到不久以前，成都仍是一个相对偏远的地方。本地人现在仍能轻松回忆起在人满为患的车厢里摇晃30个小时、横穿大半个中国去北京的火车旅途。
Then, in 2008, a powerful earthquake razed the town of Yingxiu in Wenchuan just 80km away from Chengdu, sparking a national debate about the region’s shoddy construction and impassable roads. Despite rescue efforts, 69,000 people died and 18,000 were never found. In response, Sichuan and its capital received a quarter of the Rmb4tn infrastructure stimulus package released by Beijing after the financial crisis. New highways, runways and railway made Chengdu accessible.
2008年，一场破坏力巨大的地震将距离成都仅80公里的汶川县映秀镇夷为平地，引发了对这一地区豆腐渣工程和道路不通状况的全国热议。虽有各界大力援救，这次地震的死难人数达到了6.9万人，还有1.8万人未被找到。受此影响，在中央政府于金融危机后出台的总额高达人民币4万亿元的基础设施建设刺激计划中，有四分之一的资金流入了四川省和其省会成都。新的公路、机场跑道和铁路使成都的交通变得大为便利。广州经济翻译公司。
High-speed rail to the capital now takes only 14 hours. Passenger flow at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport has more than tripled in the past 10 years, and the airport is nearing its capacity of 50m passengers per year. British Airways, KLM and United Airlines operate direct flights from Chengdu to London, Amsterdam and San Francisco.
现在，从成都乘高铁仅需14个小时就能到达北京。过去十年间，成都双流国际机场的客流量增长两倍多，现已逼近该机场每年迎送旅客5000万人次的能力上限。英国航空(British Airways)、荷兰皇家航空公司(KLM)以及美国联合航空(United Airlines)现已分别开通从成都直飞伦敦、阿姆斯特丹以及旧金山的航线。
Chengdu’s tourism industry is booming. Official statistics show the city was visited over 190m times in 2015, bringing in Rmb204bn in revenue.
成都的旅游业也在蓬勃发展。官方统计数据显示，2015年成都接待游客超过1.9亿人次，由此带来的收入高达人民币2040亿元。
To ensure its position as the door to western China, Chengdu’s planners hope to soon double the city’s flight capacity by building a second international airport. Ground broke for the Rmb71bn project in May, and completion is slated for 2020. If all goes to plan, Chengdu will become the third city in China with two international airports after Beijing and Shanghai.
为巩固成都作为中国西部门户的地位，该市的规划者们希望通过修建第二座国际机场，在不久的将来使这座城市的航空运力扩大一倍。这一造价高达人民币710亿元的工程已于今年5月破土动工，完工时间预计在2020年。如果计划进展顺利，成都将成为继北京、上海之后，中国第三个拥有两座国际机场的城市。广州经济翻译公司。
Passenger transport aside, Chengdu also plans to keep expanding the capacity of cargo routes in and out of the city. Opened in 2013, a freight train runs directly from Chengdu to Lodz, Poland, taking 12-14 days. The city signed a memorandum of understanding with DHL, the logistics operator, earlier this year to improve the line’s speed and efficiency.
除了客运以外，成都还计划继续扩张进出该市的货运线路运力。成都与波兰罗兹(Lodz)之间的直达货运列车于2013年开通，全程需12至14天。成都还在今年早些时候与物流运营商敦豪(DHL)签署了谅解备忘录，以提高该线路的速度和效率。
Such efforts did not prevent the total value of goods traded in and out of Chengdu falling to below $40bn in 2015 — the lowest annual value since 2011.
不过上述努力没能阻止进出成都的货物贸易总额在2015年降至400亿美元以下，为2011年以来的最低年度水平。
But there are signs that the planners’ work has not gone unnoticed in Beijing. On a state visit to Poland to promote the One Belt, One Road initiative this June, President Xi Jinping and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda met a train arriving from Chengdu on the platform in Warsaw.
但有迹象表明，成都规划管理者们所做的工作并没有被北京方面忽略。今年6月，为推进“一带一路”战略对波兰进行国事访问期间，中国国家主席习近平与波兰总统安杰伊•杜达(Andrzej Duda)在华沙火车站的站台上共同迎接一趟发自成都的列车。
