Planes, Trains and Gardens – Shanghai Part 2 – by Christian

ひこうきと列車とガーデン – クリスチャンの上海旅行パート2

Overnight there had been a strong wind and a lot of heavy rain, however by morning the stormy conditions were easing off as the typhoon moved northwards. Seeing the conditions, improve I decided that today I would visit the gardens in Suzhou.

強い風と激しい雨は一晩中続いていたけど、朝になると北へ去っていった台風とともに暴風雨は収まっていたよ。そんな天気を見て、僕は蘇州市のガーデンに今日行ってみることにした。

I caught the Metro to the large Shanghai Station and then transfered to an intercity train bound for Nanjing. As the train left the station, the sprawl seemed almost endless as cranes were again dotted all over the landscape.

まずは上海行きのメトロに乗って、それから南京市行きのインターシティー列車に乗り換えた。駅を発車するとまとまりの無い町並みが果てしなく続いて見えた。クレーンがそこいらじゅうに点在していた。

Suzhou, a city with a history of over 2,500 years, is located about 40 minutes by train from Shanghai. The city is not only famous for its gardens but also for canals, bridges, pagodas and the silk industry. However, because of my limited time I would aim to visit the gardens.

2500年以上の歴史を持つ蘇州市は上海から列車で40分の場所にある。この街はガーデンだけでなく運河、橋、仏塔、そして絹織物でも有名なんだ。だけど今回は時間が無かったからガーデンだけを観てまわることにしたよ。

When I arrived, I caught the bus to the Lingering Garden (Liuyuan). The bus made its way through the bustling streets before arriving outside the garden. Upon entering some classical music was being played and it was accompanied by traditional Suzhou storytelling. It sounded very beautiful and provided an insight into life in Suzhou many years ago.

到着すると留園行きのバスに乗り込んだ。バスは雑踏とした通りを抜けて、ガーデンの外に到着した。そこでは伝統的な音楽が流れていて、蘇州市の物語も一緒に流れていた。それはとても美しくて何年も昔の　蘇州市での人々の暮らしが蘇るようだったよ。

After some confusion, (*o*) I later arrived at the Humble Administrator`s Garden (Zhuozheng Yuan). The garden was very large and contained many smaller gardens, numerous beautiful pavilions and ornate bridges which were set among a maze of pools and islands.

少しの混乱の後、拙政園についた。とても広大で中に小さな庭園がいくつもあった。美しいパビリオンと凝った装飾の橋が池と島の迷路の中にたくさん建っていたよ。

After visiting the garden it had become early evening, so I walked around some of the local backstreets. There was lots of activity as people went home from work, ate street food and cycled on their rickshaws. I wanted to explore more but I had no time as I had to get back to the station and to Shanghai.

ガーデンを見終わると、夕方になっていたから、地元の裏通りを探索してみることにしたよ。仕事からの家路につく人達が、屋台で食事したり、人力車を漕いだりして、活気に溢れていた。もっと探索したかったけど、時間がなくて駅に戻って上海に戻らなきゃいけなくなったんだ。

Chistian