当自行车成为奢侈品
如业内专家所预测的那样,近年来,汽车经历快速蓬勃的发展后,自行车将会重新回归。从法拉利到兰博基尼,如今一些世界顶级汽车制造商所生产的自行车越来越受到人们欢迎。
During the 21st China and International Bicycle and Motor Fair in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province this May, UCC bicycles, which are made in Taiwan, sold out even though they cost 50,000 yuan each, according to the Beijing magazine Oriental Outlook.
根据北京《瞭望东方周刊》杂志报道称,在今年5月于江苏南京所举行的第21届中国国际自行车电动车展览会上,台湾制造的UCC牌自行车尽管每辆售价高达5万元人民币,仍被抢购一空,。
Xie Jian is the eastern China director for the Qida Trade Corporation. He told the magazine that at least one Lamborghini bicycle, which costs 345,000yuan, the most expensive kind found in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, is sold every one or two months. A young Ferrari car owner came to him specifically to buy a Ferrari bicycle, which goes for 20,000 yuan, Xia said.
骑达商贸公司华东地区总监谢箭告诉《瞭望东方周刊》说,在浙江温州最贵的一款兰博基尼价格3.45万元(5,334美元),每一两个月至少能卖出一辆。有个年轻人有了法拉利跑车,特地来搭配一辆2万元的法拉利自行车。
Easy transportation
交通便捷
Zhao Huizhen, a Beijing resident who has worked as a civil servant next to Sanlihe Road for almost 25 years, recalls, some 20 years ago here in the capital, when a traffic light would turn green at an intersection, rows of bicycles would swarm out into the street, and the scene would always look somewhat “grand.”
作为一名北京公务员,赵慧珍(音译)在三里河路附近工作了将近25年,她回忆道,20多年前的首都,当十字路口的绿灯亮了,一排排的自行车成群涌入街头,曾经的那个场面多少有些“壮观”的味道。
For people like Zhao, riding a bike back then was anything but a showcase of a person’s wealth.
像赵慧珍这样的人,在那个年代骑自行车绝不是在炫富。
“We never rode expensive bikes, most of our bikes cost just 100 or 200 yuan, like the Shanghai brands Forever or Phoenix,” she told the Global Times.
“我们从不骑昂贵的自行车,大多数的自行车都只是100到200元,比如说上海的永久和凤凰品牌。”她告诉《环球时报》记者说。
China has long been referred to as the “kingdom of the bicycle” simply because of its large bicycling population. According to a report by Statistical Research, a magazine published under the statistical science research institution of the National Bureau of Statistics, the number of bicycles made in the country reached 44.74 million in 1995.
长久以来,中国被称为“自行车王国”仅仅是因为骑自行车的人口众多。一份由国家统计局统计学研究学会出版的期刊杂志《统计研究》发布的报告显示,1995年中国的自行车产量达到4474万辆。
However, the number declined in the following years due to a drop in demand, which fell to only 20 million in 2000, said the report.
然而,由于市场需求下降,有报道称这一数据在随后几年中直线下降,到2000年时只有2000万辆。
Zhou Jiannong, the manager of the Qida Trade Corporation, said that the annual increase of the total bicycle number might not exceed 10 percent, but the annual increase of high-end bikes has already seen an increase of 30 to 40 percent.
骑达商贸公司经理周建农称,自行车总量的年增长可能不会超过10%,但在高端自行车年增长率上,我们已看到了30%到40%的增长。
The image that successful wealthy people want to possess is essential, so a new style of luxury has been cultivated in China that goes along with environment and even animal protection concerns.
那些成功富人们想要保持自身形象,这也是这一数字上涨的根本原因,因此伴随着人们对于环境问题甚至是动物保护问题的担忧,一种新奢侈风潮已在中国盛行开来。
Return to nature
回归自然
As a healthier lifestyle is being promoted, the bicycle has also become a tool that keeps people on the go.
由于当下人们正在推崇更健康的生活方式,自行车也就同时成为人们代步的工具。
Cyclists are now traveling further, as the bicycles of today are more functional, professional, and of course expensive.
如今的自行车功能更加齐全,更为专业,当然,也越加昂贵,因此,现在单车爱好者们就可以走得更远。
Gui Hua, a 30-year-old riding enthusiast in Beijing, bikes over 100 kilometers a week.
30岁的桂华(音译)是一位单车迷,每周都要骑行100多公里的路程。桂华说他的那辆变速自行车至少花费4000元人民币,这只是个基础水平的价格。
Gui said that his variable-speed bicycle costs at least 4,000 yuan, which is a basic-level price.
北京万科自行车行的销售员王云(音译)表示,大多数购买天价自行车的人,更多的是为了享受骑车运动,而不仅是作为一种交通工具。
Wang Yun, a salesman at the Wanke bike shop in Beijing, said that most people who buy an expensive bike enjoy riding a bike more for sport rather than for transportation.
王云说:“为了周末旅行,一些家庭在这购买了好几辆运动自行车。他们将自行车放在车顶,然后开车去郊区,到达后从车上取下,便可在郊区骑行。”
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