Nanjing, the Ten-Dynasty Metropolis CHN(中國南京·十朝都會)-兒歌薈萃-萬維博客-萬維讀者網（電腦版）

網絡日誌正文

		Nanjing, the Ten-Dynasty Metropolis CHN(中國南京·十朝都會)	2020-07-22 07:42:26

2018-08-19

Old Gate East & Confucian Temple0001.JPG

【Aiden in English】

The most annoying aspect of summer in Nanjing is the humidity. It's hot already. Then top it off with a constant layer of warm, steam-like moisture coating your skin, and you get the daily climate of Nanjing. It's the feeling of being hot and wet, yet somewhat dry at the same time. Your body is confused, so it sweats, adding to the already building layer of water on the skin. Your mind, also confused, wonders when the next shop with air conditioning will appear. Once it does, and it most likely has Wi-Fi, you make up an excuse to buy something useless or regretful to escape the heat for a moment. And the cycle continues.

By the way, we've arrived in Nanjing. We arrived at 12:00 a.m. and drove to a nearby hotel to sleep for five hours due to jet lag. Finishing up the rest of the drive to Nanjing, we got a terrific boutique hotel, Flower Trace (HuaJi), in the Old East Gate. It's a double-edged sword: a good location meant difficulty finding the hotel, but we quickly sorted that out.

Food. That's why I'm here. Well, Nanjing cuisine isn't particularly well-known outside of the rest of the world, resulting in many great dishes falling through the cracks. I guess today was a bit of education for the uneducated, taught by none other than my mom. Usually, I would complain, but when it comes to food, my only complaint is based on the taste. My hopes are high in that aspect.

Perhaps they were a little bit too high. Due to their relative geographical location, much of Nanjing and Beijing has similar cuisines. Furthermore, the first meal I tried resulted in many fritters and congee, which is usually good, but not in this case. Later that night, Mom and I explored the Confucian Temple District, which has the best street food and fantastic nightlife. After eating some nostalgic meals, a walk through the rain ensued, which didn't help with the humidity.

I couldn't stop thinking about how the city looked like a dystopian future, where the skies constantly drizzled, and the air smelled of smoke. The first sight that characterizes the area is red, which stands among other Chinese colors as a symbol of fortune. Lanterns, hundreds dangling from strings stretched across rooftops, sprinkled the black sky canvas with red glows. Shops, bustling with people, took on a vibrant effect, emitting a red glow of their own. The last bit of red might be from my sleep deprivation, but I'll never know. Furthermore, rainwater reflected much of the surroundings, filling my vision with red.

【紅霞譯】

南京夏天悶得夠嗆，氣溫本身就高，體表如同敷着蒸籠般恆溫保濕膜，每天備受酷暑煎熬，你又熱又潮，同時還有點烘乾的感覺，總之渾身上下無所適從，濕漉漉的肌膚掛滿汗珠；腦袋瓜也不知所措，光想着什麼時候可以走到帶有空調的地方歇歇腳，一旦踏入開放冷氣的場所，保不齊還能上網，你大可找個理由買點沒用的或多餘的東西，趁機躲開熱浪涼快一會兒，日復一日這樣過生活。

順便說一下，我們到了南京，不過時針已過午夜時分，因此乾脆趕到附近的酒店留宿，因為時差僅睡了五個鐘頭。第二天我們繼續上路直奔南京，入住古城老門東一家上好的民俗精品酒店──花跡酒店，老門東牌坊兩側有一副著名楹聯：“市井坊間盡染六朝煙水氣，布衣將相合書千古大文章”。其實熱門的地方各有利弊：鬧市區地理位置絕佳，但往往找起來比較麻煩，幸好我們很快便理順了頭緒。

吃，是吸引我到此一游的原因，可以說金陵明肴獨一無二，世上沒有多少珍饈美饌能與之相比，今天對一位閱歷膚淺的人進行實地現身說教的不是別人而正是老媽。我愛抱怨，但只要涉及到吃的東西，發不發牢騷取決於味道好壞，對於南京茶樓酒肆我寄予了很高希望。

也許期待值有點過高。由於北京與南京之間相對距離，兩地的特色美食十分接近，更何況第一頓我們吃的東西主要是油條煎餅稀粥，照理說挺有地方風味，但身在十朝古都南京，舌尖上的金陵值得仔細品嘗。於是當天晚上，我和媽媽跑去夫子廟挖掘秦淮八絕，那裡江南傳統的亭台樓閣楹聯燈幌，街邊小吃譽滿全城，夜生活也豐富多彩。待我們吃罷記憶中那些家鄉美食，不覺天上下起了小雨，甭指望濕度有何好轉。

我禁不住陷入沉思，這座城市的天氣預報怎麼淨是反烏托邦式負面報道，毛毛細雨轉細雨毛毛，空氣中煙霧繚繞。乍看上去夫子廟到處一派紅彤彤，紅色是中國最被推崇的吉祥顏色，數以百計的燈籠高高懸掛於屋頂之間，在黑色夜幕下閃耀着火熱光芒；商店裡熙熙攘攘，燈籠照在人頭上散發出耀眼的紅光，最後一束可能來自我那雙因缺覺而布滿血絲的眼睛，反正我迷迷瞪瞪。再說，雨水一股腦兒把周圍一切全都折射在我的眼前，晚間夫子廟街景照樣紅勝火。

接下來誘人的氣味撲鼻而來，顯然這跟開放式牌檔而非封閉式餐廳有關，國內主要旅遊景區除了吃的餐館沒有太多商店好逛，因此香味愈發勾人心魂，不管怎樣，我饞得直流口水，還是坐下來趕緊點菜為妙。

夜晚下的這場雨打亂了我們腳步，但尚不至於讓整個逛街計劃泡湯。明天大概算頭一回毋需走很多路，我求之不得，畢竟還有不少暑假作業得抓緊動手。興許，只是興許而已，我仍口福不淺，像最近幾天這樣再搓上一頓。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2018: Nanjing—A Bite of Southern Capital, CN(南京—舌尖上的金陵)

2018: Nanjing Confucian Temple, China(南京夫子廟)

2017: Best of the Rhine, Germany(德國萊茵河—美味佳餚)

2017: Rüdesheim the Chief Wine Industry, DEU(德國呂德斯海姆—酒城)

2017: Rhine—Trechtingshausen to Bingen, DEU(德國萊茵河—從隼堡到女先知)

2017: Rhine—Lorch to Niederheimbach, DEU(德國萊茵河—從死亡島到桑內克堡)

2017: Rhine—Kaub to Bacharach, DEU(德國萊茵河—從皇宮城堡到維爾納禮拜堂)

2017: Oberwesel—Schonburg & Ochsenturm, DEU(德國上韋瑟爾—申堡與牛塔)

2017: Loreley—Father Rhine, Germany(德國蘿莉萊女妖石—萊茵河之父)