朱迪特

青藏鐵路是世界上海拔最高、線路最長的高原鐵路，與“南水北調(diào)”“西氣東輸”“西電東送”并稱為“中國新世紀(jì)四大工程”。2023 年7 月1 日起，東起西寧站、西至格爾木站的青藏鐵路正式進(jìn)入動車時代，時速從原來的每小時140 公里提升至每小時160 公里，運輸能力和服務(wù)質(zhì)量也都得到大幅度提升。 至此，“坐火車去拉薩”成為許多人說走就走的旅行。

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway， also known asthe Qingzang Railway， is the highest-altitude andlongest plateau railway in the world. It is one of the“Four Great Projects of China in the New Century，”alongside the South-to-North Water Diversion， West-East Gas Transmission， and West-East ElectricityTransmission projects. Starting from July 1， 2023， theQinghai-Tibet Railway， which runs from Xining in theeast to Golmud in the west， has entered an era of highspeedtrains. The train speed was increased from theoriginal 140 kilometers per hour to 160 kilometers perhour， with significant improvements on transportationcapacity and service quality. As a result， “taking thetrain to Lhasa” has become a worry-free travel formany at any time they wish.

一站一景

Unique Scenery at Every Stop

坐火車從西寧出發(fā)，大約一小時，便來到了青海湖。青海湖是中國最大的內(nèi)陸湖泊，從遠(yuǎn)處眺望，海天一色，水天相接。七、八月時，環(huán)湖的千畝油菜花競相綻放，給碧波蕩漾的湛藍(lán)湖面點綴上一簇簇耀眼的金黃。

Setting off from Xining by train， you will arrive at Qinghai Lake in about an hour. QinghaiLake is China’s largest inland lake， and when viewed from afar， it appears as if the lake joins thesky. In July and August， thousands of acres of rapeseed flowers bloom around the lake， adorningthe deep blue waters with clusters of dazzling golden yellow.

離開青海湖，再坐三小時便到了德令哈站?！暗铝罟笔敲晒耪Z，意為“金色的原野”。經(jīng)過此地，窗外是一望無際的鹽堿地、大片的紅柳、荒涼的戈壁，讓人恍如置身于西部大片之中。

Leaving Qinghai Lake， after another three hours， you will reach Delingha Railway Station.“Delingha” means “the golden grassland” in Mongolian. Passing through this region， you’ll findyourself wandering in the scenery of those western movies when you look out of the windowand see vast salt flats， extensive red willow forests， and desolate Gobi landscapes.

乘火車一路向西，經(jīng)過昆侖山，再往南，就是被藏族人喻為“美麗的少女”的可可西里。境內(nèi)江河縱橫，湖泊星羅棋布。這里還是高原野生動物的“王國”。幸運的話，你可以看到成群的藏羚羊在自由地奔跑、覓食。

Continuing westward by train， passing through the Kunlun Mountains and heading south，you arrive at Hoh Xil， known to the Tibetan people as the “beautiful maiden.” The region iscrisscrossed with rivers and dotted with lakes. It’s also a “kingdom” for high-altitude wildlife. Ifyou’re lucky， you might spot herds of Tibetan antelopes running and grazing freely.

天地自己

A World of Its Own

常在低海拔地區(qū)居住的人們，來到青藏高原很有可能會出現(xiàn)一些高原反應(yīng)。坐在從青海西寧到西藏拉薩的火車上，隨著海拔一點點升高，到3 000 米以上的時候，有的人就會感覺頭暈、頭疼、心慌，但此時此刻，窗外的美景會讓人們忘記身體的不適。窗外那紅黃色的江水，好似人的血管，錯綜復(fù)雜，蜿蜒曲折地分布在廣闊的土地上。與奔騰流淌的長河相比，巨大的火車好像變成了一條小船在河流上漂蕩。抬頭望向湛藍(lán)的天空，仿佛伸手就能碰到潔白的云彩。不時有一兩只大鳥飛落在遠(yuǎn)處的溪邊，休憩戲水，不一會兒工夫，又張開雙翅，飛上藍(lán)天。遠(yuǎn)處草地上不時出現(xiàn)一些小動物的身影，從河邊一躍而過，如同精靈一般，倏地出現(xiàn)，忽地又不見了。

People who are accustomed to living at low altitudes may experiencesome altitude sickness when travelling to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Asyou sit on the train from Xining to Lhasa and the altitude gradually rises，reaching over 3，000 meters， some may feel dizzy， have headaches， orexperience palpitations. However， at moments like this， the breathtakingscenery outside the window helps people forget the discomfort. The redand yellow rivers resemble human veins， intricately winding across thevast land. Compared with the rushing rivers， the massive train seems likea small boat drifting on the water. Looking up at the deep blue sky， youfeel like you could reach out and touch the pristine clouds. Every now andthen， a few large birds land by a distant stream， taking a break and playingin the water. In no time， they spread their wings and soar into the bluesky again. On the distant grasslands， you may see the fleeting figures ofsmall animals leaping from the riverbank， like elves， appearing suddenlyfrom and disappearing just as quickly into the sky.

就這樣一路坐著火車，慢慢地駛離城市的喧囂與擁擠，一點點地與大自然的寧靜與寬廣相擁。西藏的每一處風(fēng)景，都讓我們的心慢下來，接受洗滌、凈化。它獨特的自然與人文景觀吸引著無數(shù)中外游客像一個個虔誠的信徒，不遠(yuǎn)萬里來到此地。

Travelling on this train， you gradually leave behind the noise andcrowds of the city， embracing the tranquility and vastness of nature. Everylandscape in Tibet slows your heart down， cleansing and purifying it.Its unique natural and cultural scenery attracts countless domestic andinternational tourists， who come from afar like devoutbelievers， overcoming all obstacles to reach thisplace.

排除萬難

Overcoming Countless Challenges

隨著青藏鐵路步入動車時代，火車提速將吸引更多的游客前往西藏，一覽高原的獨特風(fēng)光。往來飛馳的列車，讓高原不再遙不可及；紛至沓來的商旅游客，也推動著邊疆的開發(fā)與經(jīng)濟的發(fā)展。

With the advent of high-speed trains on theQinghai-Tibet Railway， the increased speed willattract more tourists to Xizang， allowing them towitness the unique plateau scenery. The fast trainshave made the remote plateau more accessible，and the influx of business and tourist travellers isdriving the development of the border region andthe local economy.

然而，青藏鐵路卓越成就的背后，是多少建設(shè)者付出的生命與汗水。他們憑借智慧與勇氣克服了自然環(huán)境的重重艱險和技術(shù)設(shè)備的層層壁壘。

However， behind the remarkable achievementof the Qinghai-Tibet Railway lie the sacrificesof many who dedicated their lives and sweat.With wisdom and courage， they overcame thechallenges of the harsh natural environment andtechnical barriers.

青藏鐵路的建設(shè)面臨著多年凍土、高寒缺氧、生態(tài)脆弱“三大難題”的嚴(yán)峻挑戰(zhàn)。多年凍土，意味著這些土在夏天會隨著氣溫升高而融沉，冬天會隨著氣溫降低而凍脹，處理不好，路基隨時都會坍塌；高寒缺氧、生態(tài)脆弱，意味著在這里施工，建設(shè)者在承受高強度的體力勞動的同時，還隨時可能出現(xiàn)缺氧癥狀。在青藏鐵路的建設(shè)過程中，有多少人為這條鐵路獻(xiàn)出了自己寶貴的生命，又有多少人把自己的美好年華獻(xiàn)給了高原的荒涼之境。

The construction of the Qinghai-TibetRailway faced severe challenges， includingpermafrost， high-altitude hypoxia， and thefragility of the ecosystem. Permafrost means thatthe soil here thaws and subsides in the summeras temperatures rise and freezes and swells inthe winter as temperatures drop. As a result，the roadbed could collapse at any time withoutproper solution. High-altitude hypoxia and thefragility of the ecosystem mean that workershad to endure strenuous physical labor whileconstantly facing the risk of hypoxia. Manypeople gave their lives for this railway during theconstruction， and many others dedicated theiryouthful years to the harsh wilderness of theplateau.

既然青藏鐵路的建設(shè)這么難，那為什么還是要堅持建設(shè)呢？自古以來，青藏高原對中華民族的生存與發(fā)展都有著重要意義。它是亞洲眾多大江大河的發(fā)源地，黃河、長江、印度河、恒河都源于此，這里也因此被譽為“亞洲文明水塔”。但壯美的高原和雪山，也成為阻隔西藏與外界聯(lián)系的天塹。千百年來，因交通閉塞，里面的人走不出來，外面的人走不進(jìn)去。

Given the challenges， why did they persist inbuilding the Qinghai-Tibet Railway？ The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has always been of great significance tothe Chinese nation’s survival and development. It isthe source of many of Asia’s major rivers， including theYellow River， Yangtze River， Indus River， and GangesRiver， earning it the title of the “Water Tower of Asian?Civilization.” Yet the majestic plateau and snowymountains have also acted as a natural barrier， isolatingXizang from the outside world. For thousands of years，due to its isolation， people inside couldn’t venture out，and people outside couldn’t get in.

60 多年前，青藏高原尚無半寸鐵路，“茶馬古道”上的悠悠駝鈴記載了那個時代的滄桑艱難。中華人民共和國成立后，兩萬峰駱駝組建成一支西藏駱駝運輸隊，專門用于內(nèi)地和西藏間的物資運輸。但由于自然條件惡劣，駝隊每行進(jìn)一公里，就要留下12 具駱駝的尸體。即使后來修建了兩條進(jìn)藏公路，其運輸能力仍遠(yuǎn)不盡如人意。只有鐵路通了，才能真正解決交通問題。

More than 60 years ago， there was no railwayon the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau， and the jinglingbells of camels on the Ancient Tea-Horse Road borewitness to the hardships of that era. After the foundingof the People’s Republic of China， 20，000 camelswere organized into a Tibetan camel transport team，dedicated to transporting goods between the inland andXizang. However， due to the harsh natural conditions，for every kilometer travelled， the camel team wouldleave behind 12 dead camels. Even after two roadsinto Xizang were built later on， their transportationcapacity still fell far short. Only with a railway could thetransportation problem be truly solved.

1958 年5 月，青藏鐵路的起源—蘭青鐵路，在蘭州河口和青海西寧等多地同時破土開建。經(jīng)過鐵路建設(shè)者和五萬多名青海當(dāng)?shù)匕傩?6 個月的風(fēng)雨鏖戰(zhàn)，1959 年9 月，全長188 公里的蘭青鐵路全線貫通。從此，青海結(jié)束了沒有鐵路的歷史。

In May 1958， the origin of the Qinghai-TibetRailway， the Lan-Qing Railway， began constructionsimultaneously in multiple locations， including Hekouof Lanzhou， and Xining of Qinghai. After 16 monthsof arduous efforts by railway builders and more than50，000 local Qinghai residents， the 188-kilometerLan-Qing Railway was completed in September 1959，marking the end of Qinghai’s history without a railway.

然而，鐵路通車的背后所克服的技術(shù)難題是難以想象的。美國旅行家保羅 · 泰魯曾斷言：“有昆侖山脈在，鐵路就永遠(yuǎn)到不了拉薩。”

However， the technical challenges behind therailway are unimaginable. American traveller PaulTheroux once asserted， “As long as the KunlunMountains stand， a railway will never reach Lhasa.”

青藏線大部分線路處于高海拔地區(qū)和“生命禁區(qū)”，拿生態(tài)環(huán)境保護(hù)來說，青藏鐵路穿越了多個國家級自然保護(hù)區(qū)，生態(tài)環(huán)境異常脆弱。為了保護(hù)高原湛藍(lán)的天空、清澈的湖水、珍稀的野生動物，鐵路建設(shè)首次為野生動物開辟遷徙通道。而在自然保護(hù)區(qū)內(nèi)，鐵路線路則遵循“能繞避就繞避”的規(guī)劃原則。因此，大批藏羚羊得以自由遷徙。青藏鐵路開工建設(shè)以來，沿線凍土、植被、濕地環(huán)境、自然景觀、江河水質(zhì)等，都得到了有效保護(hù)，青藏高原生態(tài)環(huán)境未受明顯影響。

Most of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway traverses highaltituderegions and what are considered “dead zones.”Speaking of environmental protection， the Qinghai-Tibet Railway passes through multiple national-levelnature reserves where the ecological environmentis exceptionally fragile. In order to safeguard thepristine blue skies， lucid lakes， and rare wildlife ofthe plateau， the railway construction opened upmigration corridors for wild animals for the firsttime. Within these natural reserves， the railway routefollows the planning principle of “avoidance wheneverpossible.” As a result， significant populations of Tibetan?antelopes have been able to migrate freely. Since thecommencement of the railway construction， thepermafrost， vegetation， wetland environments， naturallandscapes， river water quality， and more along theroute have all received effective protection， ensuringthat the ecological environment of the Qinghai-TibetPlateau has not suffered significant impacts.

現(xiàn)如今，鐵路系統(tǒng)仍在不斷升級。邁入動車時代后，鐵路再次提質(zhì)增速。神奇的“天路”把人間的溫暖送到邊疆。中華各民族之間的聯(lián)系也因此更加緊密，親如一家?！皬拇?，山不再高，路不再漫長，各族兒女歡聚一堂”。

Nowadays， the railway system is continuouslyupgrading， and with the advent of high-speed trains，the railway is once again improving in quality andspeed. The miraculous “Sky Road” brings the warmthof the world to the borderlands. The connectionbetween China’s various ethnic groups is becomingcloser consequently， like one big family. As sung inthe song “Qingzang Gaoyuan” （“The Qinghai-TibetPlateau”）， “From now on， the mountains are no longerhigh， and the roads are no longer long. People of allethnic groups have a joyous gathering.”