美國第一夫人米歇爾中國旅遊日誌

The First Lady’s Travel Journal: Our Official Visit to China Begins
第一夫人旅遊日誌：我們對中國的正式訪問開始

March 21, 2014
2014年3月21日

After a long flight from Washington, D.C. – one that took around 20 hours – my mother, my daughters, and I arrived in Beijing to begin our official visit to China. Our first stop was at the Beijing Normal School, where we were hosted by Madam Peng Liyuan, the First Lady of China.
從華盛頓出發，在經歷了差不多20個小時的長途飛行之後，我和我的母親、我的女兒們抵達北京，開始了我們的正式訪問。我們的第一站是北師大二附中，中國第一夫人彭麗媛女士接待了我們。

Madam Peng first became known to the Chinese people long before she was First Lady. Madam Peng earned her Master’s Degree in traditional ethnic music at China’s Conservatory of Music, and in 1983, she performed as a folk singer on the Chinese Lunar New Year telecast, which is consistently the most-watched broadcast in the world. In the years since, she has appeared on that telecast multiple times, while also performing for audiences throughout China, becoming one of the most popular folk singers in her country.
彭女士在成爲第一夫人之前已經在中國家喻戶曉。彭女士在中國音樂學院拿到民族聲樂碩士學位。1983年，她以一個民族歌手的身份在中國農曆新年晚會上演出，這個晚會一直是世界上觀衆最多的電視節目。之後若干年，她經常上電視，同時在中國各地爲觀衆演唱歌曲，成爲中國最受歡迎的民族歌手之一。

In addition to being a singer, Madam Peng has also earned the civilian rank equal to a Major General in the Chinese military (she joined when she was 18 years old). Three years ago, she was named a Global Ambassador by the World Health Organization, and she works to fight diseases like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. And last year, she became China’s First Lady when her Husband, President Xi Jinping, became China’s President.
除了是一名歌手，彭女士還在中國軍隊擔任文職，級別相當於少將（入伍時她18歲）。三年前，世界衛生組織任命她爲國際大使，她也一直致力於抗擊艾滋病和肺結核。去年，在她的丈夫習近平成爲國家主席後，她成爲了中國的第一夫人。

As my family and I can attest from our time together at the Beijing Normal School, Madam Peng is a warm and gracious host. And this visit was a perfect opportunity to highlight the themes of my trip: the value of education and the importance of cultural exchanges between young people in different countries.
通過與彭女士在北師大二附中的相處，我和我的家人感到彭女士是個和藹而熱情的東道主。這次訪問是一個絕好的機會突出我此行的主題：教育的價值以及各國年輕人之間文化交流的重要性。

About 800 students attend the Beijing Normal School, and of those, roughly one in four are international students – including some Americans. All the classes are taught in English (one room even has a map of the United States on the ceiling), and the curriculum prepares students to study internationally once they graduate. Many students here hope to one day attend college in America.
北師大二附中的800名學生中大約四分之一是國際學生——其中包括美國學生。所有課程都用英語授課（有一個教室的天花板上甚至有美國的地圖），這些課程是爲了培養學生畢業後出國深造。很多學生希望能有一天去美國上大學。

Madam Peng and I first visited a class where students were actually building their own robots, and they were kind enough to do a demonstration for us. The first robot we saw could actually walk over obstacles. Another one, which was shaped like a triangle, was referred to as “bad boy” by its student creators (one of them explained to us that this robot is “really naughty”). After the robotics class, we stopped by a ping pong practice session where I got some tips from the instructor and then had the chance to play with one of the students. She was excellent (though I think she may have gone easy on me, just to be nice). We ended our visit by saying a quick hello to the 33 American students who are studying at this school through an exchange program.
彭女士和我首先走進一堂課，看到學生們正在自己搭建機器人，他們很友好地給我們示範。我們看到的第一個機器人居然可以跨越障礙。另一個三角形機器人，製造機器人的學生告訴我們它叫“壞小子”（其中一個學生告訴我們這個機器人“很淘氣”）。機器人課後，我們經過一個乒乓球練習場，我跟教練學了一些技巧，還跟一個學生打了球。她打得非常棒（我想她友好地對我手下留情了）。最後，我們向正在該校參加交換項目的33名美國學生簡單問好後結束了行程。

This visit was a wonderful way to start our trip and a good opportunity for us to see how students here in China are already collaborating with students around the world and preparing to expand and deepen these connections in the years ahead.
對學校的訪問爲我們的中國之行開了一個好頭，也爲我們提供了一個好機會，讓我們看到中國的學生已經在與世界各地學生交流合作，並準備在未來數年擴大深化這種交往。
The First Lady’s Travel Journal: Touring the Forbidden City
第一夫人旅行日誌：遊覽故宮

March 21, 2014
2014年3月21日

After visiting the Beijing Normal School, Madame Peng took Sasha and Malia, my mother, and me to the Forbidden City, which is located right in the heart of Beijing.
在訪問北京師範大學第二附屬中學後，彭女士帶着Sasha、Malia、我的母親和我去位於北京中心位置的故宮。

For more than 2,000 years (up until 1912), China was ruled by emperors who descended from many different dynasties, or families, who passed ruling positions on from generation to generation – and for nearly 500 years, the Forbidden City served as the emperor’s home.
2000多年來（直到1912年），中國由許多不同朝代或家族的皇帝統治，一代代地傳遞統治地位。在將近500年的時間裏，故宮就是皇帝的家。

Like the name suggests, the Forbidden City is large enough to be a city of its own – it includes nearly 1,000 buildings and nearly 10,000 rooms.
正如其名字所示，故宮（紫禁城）大到足以成爲一座城市—它包括了近1,000棟建築和近10,000間房屋。

In 1925, the new Chinese government turned the Forbidden City into a museum so that visitors like us from all over the world can stroll through many of the beautiful rooms and outdoor spaces.
1925年，中國新政府將故宮改爲博物館，這讓像我們一樣來自全世界的遊客都有機會在這些美倫美奐的房間內外漫步。

Despite its size, some of the most interesting aspects of the Forbidden City are actually very small. Intricate carvings in jade and marble and glazed colored tiles fill the rooms and tell stories about ancient Chinese history. The ceilings are covered with detailed, carved designs. And miniature sculptures sit on the buildings’ roofs, where they watched over the emperors centuries ago.
儘管規模宏大，但故宮最有趣的一些部分實際上很小。雕刻精緻複雜的玉石和大理石，色彩斑斕的琉璃瓦充滿了這些房間，講述關於古代中國歷史的故事。天花板上覆蓋着精緻的雕刻圖案。建築物的屋頂上立着微型雕塑，數個世紀前它們就在那裏注視着歷屆帝王。

The Forbidden City is far too large to fully experience in a single visit, but highlights include the following: The Hall of Union and Peace has almost 14,000 ornamental dragons. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is where the emperor viewed birthday celebrations and coronation ceremonies from his Dragon Throne. And then there are the Imperial Gardens, where you can walk along the paths and pavilions, admiring the beautiful rock arrangements, flowers and cypress trees.
故宮太大了，一次參觀不可能看完，不過亮點有以下這些：交泰殿裝飾的龍有近14,000條。太和殿是皇帝坐在龍椅上觀看壽辰慶典和舉行登基及冊封等儀式的地方。然後是御花園，在那裏你可以沿着小路和亭臺漫步，欣賞美麗的假山，鮮花和柏樹。

While we loved our visit to the Forbidden City, we only wish we had more time to see everything. But then again, I’m not sure there could ever be enough time to fully appreciate all of the art and history within this extraordinary place.
我們非常喜歡我們的故宮之行，只希望有更多的時間來看遍所有景點。但是話說回來，我不確定，真的能有足夠時間來充分地欣賞這個非同尋常的地方所有的藝術和歷史。