這個邊境線上的小村子，美得超乎你想象！

Chinais a big land, with a huge variety of cultures, landscapes, cities, towns andvillages. One of the pleasures of living here is getting to see a bit of it.

幅員遼闊的中國有不同的文化、地貌、城市和鄉(xiāng)鎮(zhèn)。住在中國的優(yōu)勢之一就是能親眼見到這些不同。

Irecently had the opportunity to spend a few days in a small village of about 60families in the mountainous rain forest in the far south of Yunnan province,about 40 kilometers from the city of Mohan, on the border with Laos.

我最近有機會在云南省的一個小村子里待了幾天，這里距離磨憨市40公里，地處中老邊境，有著六十戶人家。

Thepeople of Hebian village in Mengla county of Yunnan, who are mostly from theYao ethnic group, have greatly improved their lives over the past few years,with their own efforts plus the help of government programs, charities, andexperts from China Agricultural University.

勐臘縣河邊村是瑤族聚居地。過去幾年，當?shù)卣椭袊r(nóng)業(yè)大學的專家們幫助村民大幅提高了生活水平。

Justfive or so years ago, Hebian had only an 8 km unpaved road for access.Villagers lived off subsistence farming, often depending on food found in theforest to supplement their diets. Children had to walk half a day to schools.

僅僅在五年前，河邊村只有一條八公里的土路，村民靠種地勉強維持生計，還經(jīng)常需要到雨林中尋找食物。孩子們?nèi)W校需要走半天的路程。

Today,Hebian is a gorgeous venue for tourists who want to see the rainforest and forinternational conferences. The villagers have built, with the assistance ofCAU, new houses, each with a guest room. The houses are architecturallyinteresting and comfortable — providing both a good place to live and a sourceof income for the villagers.

現(xiàn)在，河邊村成為旅游目的地和國際會議舉辦地。村民們在中國農(nóng)業(yè)大學的幫助下，蓋起新房。房子都有客臥，設計有趣舒適，既方便住宿，也能為村民帶來收入。

Theland surrounding the village is a wonderland for hikers. Small roads and trailstake you into stunning mountains and the fascinating rainforest. I wish I knewenough to recognize the hundreds of unique species of plants found in theforest. The village borders a highly-protected national forest and is in thenational elephant protection zone, so protecting the environment is a key partof the village's ongoing business strategy.

這里很適合徒步，沿小路上山進入熱帶雨林。我都不認識這里數(shù)百種獨特的植物。村子旁邊就是國家森林公園和大象保護區(qū)，所以村子的商業(yè)之路就是環(huán)保。

Hebianhas come a long way. Several older men told me that the village had a terribleproblem with illegal opium in the 1970s. Many families did not have enough toeat because addicts did not work enough. One older man said that his educationhad to stop in the fourth grade because his parents were drug addicts. But,with government help, the village was able to help its citizens escape drugs inthe 1980s. Today, there is nothing like that. 

河邊村的發(fā)展并非一帆風順。村里多位長者告訴我，這里在七十年代曾經(jīng)鴉片泛濫，很多人因吸食鴉片而喪失勞動能力。一位老人說他的父母是癮君子，所以自己四年級就輟學了。不過在政府的幫助下，這里的人們在上世紀八十年代擺脫了鴉片，現(xiàn)在鴉片已經(jīng)絕跡。

Anational program to build all-weather roads to villages has improved the livesof villagers throughout these mountains. People in Hebian say that othervillages in the area have also seen sharp improvements in their livingstandards after all-weather roads were built to them.

國家修建公路讓大山里的村民提高了生活質(zhì)量。河邊村村民說，其它村子的生活水平也因為修路而明顯提高。

Since2012, almost 100 million rural people in China, including the people of Hebian,have escaped deep poverty. Seeing Hebian today has helped me understand thereal people behind this statistic.

從2012年開始，將近一億中國擺脫了赤貧。我在河邊村看到了數(shù)字背后真正的人們。

Mostforeign tourists who visit China usually see Beijing and Shanghai, sometimesXian, and then think they've seen China. Even Chinese city-dwellers often go toa few well-known beautiful sites, which are often crowded with visitors. 

多數(shù)來中國旅游的外國人去過北京、上海或者西安以后，就以為見識到了中國。中國人自己也一般去旅游景點。

Manyrural villages have built guesthouses and restaurants so that visitors can havean opportunity to enjoy rural life and get away from the cities. Of course, notall villages can attract tourists, but this is a good business model for many.This tourism is made possible by the rising incomes in the country.

很多農(nóng)村都有農(nóng)家樂，不過不是所有村子都吸引人，但這是一個好的商業(yè)模式。國民收入提高能帶動旅游業(yè)。

I'mnot quite selfish enough to want to keep information about Hebian to myself.Though it was great not to be swamped by other visitors.

我雖然沒有那么自私，但其實也不想太多人打擾這些安靜的村子。

Thevillage is a truly beautiful and interesting place with welcoming people.Hebian is an especially great place for meetings or events, such as academicconferences and summer camps for children. Like similar villages throughoutChina, the people of Hebian are using tourism to get out of poverty whilemaintaining the viability of rural life and protecting the environment.

河邊村很美，村民也很熱情。這里非常適合舉辦學術會議或夏令營之類的活動。和很多村子一樣，河邊村也在利用旅游業(yè)脫貧的同時，保留鄉(xiāng)村生活的活力和環(huán)境的原始風貌。