美国国家公共电台 NPR--Tourists in China flock to a little-known industrial town known for its barbecue

Tourists in China flock to a little-known industrial town known for its barbecue

Transcript¹

The city of Zibo, a couple hours south of Beijing by high-speed train, is being overrun with foodies. The barbecue craze comes at a time when China's economy is struggling to rebound² after COVID.

ASMA KHALID, HOST:

Sometimes a fad³ is just a fad. But other times it really tells you something about a people or a place, like China, where a little-known industrial town has become a magnet for tourists seeking out local barbecue and some fun. NPR's John Ruwitch and producer Aowen Cao went to check it out.

JOHN RUWITCH, BYLINE⁴: The city of Zibo, a couple hours south of Beijing by high-speed train, is being overrun these days by people like Duan Fangfang.

DUAN FANGFANG: (Through interpreter) We're here first to eat. And second is to have fun.

RUWITCH: She's with her colleagues. They're preschool teachers from a neighboring province. They had some training nearby, and she says they couldn't pass up the opportunity to stop in Zibo, which has become one big, smoky party lately.

DUAN: (Through interpreter) We used to have a lot of fun like this, and we're happy with the kids. But these past few years of the pandemic has made us feel constrained⁵, and so this trip is all about being happy.

RUWITCH: Around them are hundreds of low metal tables, each with a hibachi-style grill⁶ on top of it. They're lined with thin skewers⁸ of meat and vegetables seasoned with salt and cumin. There's plenty of beer, too. Duan grabs a skewer⁷, pulls the meat off into a kind of small Chinese tortilla. Then she adds a fresh spring onion and a dab⁹ of garlic chili¹⁰ sauce, rolls it up, and foists¹¹ it upon our producer, Aowen.

AOWEN CAO, BYLINE: (Laughter).

DUAN: (Speaking Mandarin).

RUWITCH: There's a theory about why Zibo kabobs went viral this spring. About a year ago, when omicron washed over China, universities here in Shandong province bussed students to towns around the province for forced quarantine. Thousands were sent to Zibo, including Ge Guangmin, a third-year graduate student in Shandong University's Institute of Marxism.

GE GUANGMIN: (Through interpreter) To be honest, when I first found out we were going into quarantine, I felt nervous and very uneasy.

RUWITCH: But Zibo took good care of them, putting them in comfortable rooms, feeding them well, all in stark¹² contrast to horror stories online about quarantine conditions elsewhere. This spring, with COVID controls finally gone, many started to come back to visit.

GE: (Through interpreter) Who knows? Maybe some university students wanted to show gratitude¹³ and repay Zibo. So they went back, put some videos up online and started this whole craze.

RUWITCH: Ge, herself, has been back three times.

Zhang Long, who runs a skewer joint¹⁴ at a huge new barbecue center in Zibo, says the local authorities seized the opportunity.

ZHANG LONG: (Through interpreter) The government is at the center of it. They're promoting this. They've made it easy for us vendors¹⁵, and they're working really hard.

RUWITCH: Not just that - the Zibo authorities launched special barbecue trains running to and from the provincial¹⁶ capital. They started barbecue buses to shuttle people around town. In the first week of May, a national holiday, they put on a barbecue festival, attracting humongous crowds. They've even imported musicians from around the country to play tunes¹⁷ at your table for a few bucks¹⁸.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSICIANS PLAYING AND PEOPLE CHEERING)

RUWITCH: The barbecue craze comes at a time when China's economy is struggling to rebound after COVID. Many students, like those who were quarantined here last year, are having a hard time finding jobs after graduation. And it's not clear yet if the crowds in Zibo this summer are a sign that the recovery is picking up steam. At the very least, though, this fad has brought something back to China, a freewheeling energy that's been missing for the past three years. And that's exactly why Duan Fangfang, the teacher, is here.

DUAN: (Speaking Mandarin).

RUWITCH: "To let go," she says, to get her feet back on the ground and find herself again, and she wants to take that vibe back home.

DUAN: (Speaking Mandarin).

RUWITCH: John Ruwitch, NPR News, Zibo, China.

(SOUNDBITE OF SEASPRAY'S "MONOTATION")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

3 fad   

n.时尚；一时流行的狂热；一时的爱好

参考例句：

• His interest in photography is only a passing fad.他对摄影的兴趣只是一时的爱好罢了。
• A hot business opportunity is based on a long-term trend not a short-lived fad.一个热门的商机指的是长期的趋势而非一时的流行。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 constrained   

adj.束缚的,节制的

参考例句：

• The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。
• I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。

6 grill   

n.烤架，铁格子，烤肉；v.烧，烤，严加盘问

参考例句：

• Put it under the grill for a minute to brown the top.放在烤架下烤一分钟把上面烤成金黄色。
• I'll grill you some mutton.我来给你烤一些羊肉吃。

7 skewer   

n.（烤肉用的）串肉杆；v.用杆串好

参考例句：

• I used a skewer to make an extra hole in my belt.我用扦子在腰带上又打了一个眼儿。
• He skewered his victim through the neck.他用扦子刺穿了受害人的脖子。

8 skewers   

n.串肉扦( skewer的名词复数 )；烤肉扦；棒v.（用串肉扦或类似物）串起，刺穿( skewer的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Damaged skewers and clogged bobbin holder. 木锭子破损，纱管支架底座阻塞。 来自互联网
• I heard you really like mutton skewers and that you can eat 50 at one time. 听说你特别爱吃羊肉串儿，一次能吃五十串儿。 来自互联网

9 dab   

v.轻触，轻拍，轻涂；n.(颜料等的)轻涂

参考例句：

• She returned wearing a dab of rouge on each cheekbone.她回来时，两边面颊上涂有一点淡淡的胭脂。
• She gave me a dab of potatoes with my supper.她给我晚饭时，还给了一点土豆。

10 chili   

n.辣椒

参考例句：

• He helped himself to another two small spoonfuls of chili oil.他自己下手又加了两小勺辣椒油。
• It has chocolate,chili,and other spices.有巧克力粉，辣椒，和其他的调味品。

11 foists   

强迫接受，把…强加于( foist的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

12 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

13 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

14 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

15 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

16 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

17 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》