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别样风情的古城圣彼得堡

St. Petersburg was built to be Russia’s window on Europe. Now it is becoming the world’s window on Russia. Coming by train, plane and cruise¹ ship, more than 6 million tourists this year are expected to visit St. Petersburg, Russia’s cultural capital. That is more than the tourist flow to Moscow, the nation’s business and government capital.

圣彼得堡曾经是沙俄向欧洲打开的窗口。而当今的圣彼得堡则是俄罗斯向世界打开的窗口。预计今年将有6百万游客到访这个俄罗斯的文化之都。

With its waterways and canals, St. Petersburg has long been called the "Venice of the North." Now, with visitors outnumbering inhabitants², Russia’s second-largest city may one day rival³ Italy's Venice in tourism flow.

圣彼得堡有着纵横的水道，长期以来它被称做“北方威尼斯”。现在游客人数已超过圣彼得堡居民的人数。可能真会有那么一天，俄罗斯的这座第二大城市会在旅游业上超越威尼斯。

Emilia came here from Rome to check out Europe’s hot new destination. She said she was surprised by the quantity of things to see and the helpfulness of local people.

游客艾米利娅来自罗马：“圣彼得堡的景点很多，是一座美丽的城市，市民也非常友好。”

St. Petersburg recently opened the world’s largest cruise ship port of call, capable⁴ of handling seven ships at a time. In contrast to Russia’s image of tight government controls, foreign cruise passengers now can visit St. Petersburg for three days without visas.

最近圣彼得堡开放了世界上最大的游轮停靠码头，同时可以停靠7艘游轮。虽然俄罗斯给人的印象是政府管制严格，但现在外国游轮的乘客可以不需要签证就能在圣彼得堡停留3天。

Peter the Great founded the city three centuries ago and it has been witness to a considerable⁵ amount of Russian history.

彼得大帝300年前建造了圣彼得堡。自那以来，这座古城目睹了俄罗斯的历史变迁。

Once the seat of the Czars, the Winter Palace was stormed by the Bolsheviks in 1917. Now, it is the Hermitage Museum, one of the best art museums in the world.

布尔什维克1917年冲进了曾经是沙皇住所的东宫，然而现在，这座宫殿成为世界上最好的艺术博物馆之一。

Anya, a Russian tourist, said she loves the history. She said she likes visiting the Czarist palaces and seeing the old costumes on display.

In 1883, Czar Alexander III ordered construction of The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood on the exact spot where his father, Czar Alexander II, had been killed by an anarchist⁶ bomb.

1883年，沙皇亚历山大三世为了纪念他的父亲亚历山大二世下令建造滴血教堂，这座教堂就是在无政府主义暴徒在那两年前杀死他父亲的地点上建造的。

Katya, from Uzbekistan, was exploring the church, when she stopped to talk. She said visitors may be wearing jeans and sneakers, but they feel as if they are in the 18th century.

卡特娅特意从乌兹别克斯坦飞来游览圣彼得堡。她说：“很多人喜欢这座城市，因为在这里你仿佛一下子就回到过去，这样的城市现在已为数不多。你可以穿着牛仔裤和球鞋，可感觉好像生活在18、19世纪里。”

At the airport here, international arrivals are up 25 percent this year. Planning for more growth, officials broke ground last year on a $1.5-billion project to build the region’s largest airport.

今年外国游客人数增长25%。圣彼得堡政府为了应对飞速发展的旅游业，去年动工修建这个地区最大的飞机场，项目预算高达15亿美元。

This is part of a bigger investment⁷ flow directed by two local sons of St. Petersburg - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime⁸ Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

这类的大手笔投资全拜两位在圣彼得堡土生土长的人物所赐，他们一位是俄罗斯总统普京，一位是俄罗斯总理梅德韦杰夫。

Katya said the effort shows, and that there has been a huge amount of restoration, which makes the city shine.

建设投资令圣彼得堡面目一新。中亚游客卡特娅说：“圣彼得堡变化很大，变得更好。到处都在修复重建，所有的建筑都闪闪发光。”

Whether they come by new high-speed train from Helsinki or Moscow, or by one of the 200 cruise ships expected to dock⁹ here this year, visitors to St. Petersburg say they find a quality not often associated with Russia - friendliness¹⁰ and fun.

今年停靠圣彼得堡的游轮预计有200艘，不论游客是乘坐它们中的一艘抵达，还是从赫尔辛基和莫斯科乘坐高速列车抵达，他们都将发现，圣彼得堡的一个品质很难跟俄罗斯联系起来，那就是友好和欢乐。