Name : Upul

姓名：Upul

Country of Origin : Sri Lanka

国籍：斯里兰卡

Occupation : Journalist

职业：记者

How did I begin my journey in China? 

你的中国之旅是怎样开始的？

I can still remember watching a TV program on China and Chinese culture about 20 years ago when I was still very small. In the background, I heard melodious strains of Chinese music and I can still remember how the program featured key places of Chinese cultural interest and famous Chinese icons like The Great Wall. As I was just nine years old, this program formed such a deep impression in my mind that the longing to visit China one day was a longing that was present in my subconscious mind from that day onwards. I still remember 3 years ago; my editor called me into his room and asked me whether I would like to undertake a visit to China. He also added that the visit would last 10 months. I couldn’t believe what I heard. I was overjoyed. I could only mutter ‘yes sir’ because I was still suffering from the shock of having my childhood dream of going to China coming true.

我还记得大约 20 年前，那时候我还很小，看过一个电视节目，是关于中国和中国文化的，背景音乐是悠扬的中国传统音乐。我仍然记得这个节目介绍了中国的文化名胜和标志性建筑，如长城。那时我才 9 岁，但这个节目已经在我脑海中留下了深刻的印象。有朝一日我要去中国，这种渴望，自那天起便成为我潜意识的一部分。我还记得 3 年前，编辑把我叫到他的房间，问我是否愿意去中国。他还补充说，这次旅程将持续 10 个月。我简直不敢相信我的耳朵，欣喜若狂。因为儿时的梦想终于要成真了，我激动得话都说不出来，只能咕哝一声“是的，我愿意”。

Everything started in Beijing 

一切要从北京说起

It was a day in February. The weather was so cold in Beijing. I landed at Beijing airport for the first time in my life. I didn’t know more about Beijing or China. But I was gradually getting to know about the country. As a journalist, I started a new journey in China. I wanted to be crazy for a while on my first foreign visit and as such, I explored my surroundings and smiled at people. I was asked by many Chinese people “Ni shi na guo ren” 你是哪国人 I replied to them “wo shi sli lanka ren” 我是斯里兰卡人. As our first arrangement, I could attend the Two Sessions at Great Hall in Beijing. Then I got an opportunity to visit The Great Wall.

那是二月的一天，北京的天气真是太冷了。我第一次降落在北京机场，那时的我对北京，甚至对中国都知之甚少，但我开始渐渐了解这个国家。作为一名记者，我开始了在中国的新征程。这是我第一次出国，我想“疯”一段时间，因此我不断探寻周边的事物，以微笑待人。很多中国人问我“Ni shi na guo ren”（你是哪国人），我回答他们“wo shi sli lanka ren”（我是斯里兰卡人）。我在中国参加的第一场活动就是在北京人民大会堂举行的两会，之后我还游览了长城。

Becoming a Bridegroom in Hubei province

在湖北过了一把“新郎瘾”

Then the journey had begun. It was early October when we landed at the Wuhan airport it was about 2:30 pm. We had a special tour planned for the next morning of Sanxia, a nearby village. The next day, we arrived in Sanxia and it was beautiful. The whole environment was green and there was a nice breeze which made us feel happy. The villagers who were dressing in traditional clothes had welcomed us. I trekked around and I had a feeling that a ceremony was going to be held by villagers for us. Ohh God, it was a wedding ceremony. A traditional wedding ceremony. It is called “Tu Jia Hun Jia” After few seconds the elder villagers appeared in front of us and played some traditional Chinese music instruments. Then we all were ordered to sit properly and a beautiful Chinese girl who was dressed in traditional clothes appeared before us. There was a small ball in her hand. She had to choose a boy among us as her future husband. We all were advised to have our hands up and we followed the order. Then it was her turn and she had to be thrown the ball to a boy. I could not believe my own eyes. She threw the ball to me and I got a chance to be her husband. Then I dressed in traditional wedding clothes and “married” her. It was an unforgettable memory in my life. Before getting married in my country I could get married in China.

我的中国之旅开始了。十月初的某天，我们降落在武汉机场，时间大概是下午2:30。我们计划第二天早上去附近的三峡人家体验一次特别的旅行。第二天，我们到达了三峡人家，那里的景色很美，周围被绿色覆盖，微风徐来，凉爽惬意。身着传统服饰的村民热情地欢迎了我们。我在村子里逛了一圈，我有一种预感，那就是村民们要为我们举行一个仪式。天哪，他们要举办一场传统婚礼，叫“土家婚嫁”。几秒钟后，较年长的村民出现在我们面前，用中国传统乐器演奏了几首乐曲。然后他们让我们坐好，一个穿着传统服装的漂亮女孩出现在我们面前，手里拿着一个小球。她得在我们中间选一个未来的丈夫。她让我们举起双手，我们就照做了。然后她抛出手里的球，球向我们之中的一位飞来。我简直不敢相信自己的眼睛，这个人就是我，她想让我做她的丈夫。然后我穿上传统的礼服迎娶她。那是我一生难忘的回忆。我竟然在中国，而不是在斯里兰卡过了一回“新郎瘾”。

Got a new name from a little girl

小女孩给我取了一个新名字

During my stay in China, I visited about 15 provinces and closely touched the events of the vast and diverse Chinese culture. When I was in Beijing, I used to go to Ritan park twice per day. Once I was studying Chinese at the park a little girl came to me and tried to talk with me in her broken English. She came to Beijing with her mother for medical treatments. She helped me to study Chinese and I helped her to study English. The most important thing was that she gave me a new name such as “Davei” (David). After I was expressing this incident to our Chinese teacher then she also called me Davei until I returned to my home country.

The Visit to Xiamen

厦门之行

A visit to Fujian province was also another milestone in my China life. As I heard the Fujian province had an important role in the ancient Silk Road. Also, Fujian has four UNESCO world heritage sites such as ‘Wuyi Mountain’, “Earthen houses(Tulou)”, “Kulangsu” and “Danxia”. Fortunately, I got a chance to visit Kulangsu island from Xiamen.

福建之行也是我中国之旅中的另一个里程碑。我听说福建省在古代丝绸之路上扮演着重要的角色。福建有“武夷山”、“土楼”、“鼓浪屿”、“丹霞”等4处联合国教科文组织世界遗产。幸运的是，我有机会到厦门鼓浪屿看一看。

I would like to thank the Chinese government, Mr. Yu Lei who was the Director of the China Asia Pacific Press Center (CAPPC) and its all staff members, the Renmin University of China, and Ms. Nini who got my attention to this competition.

我要感谢中国政府，中国国际新闻交流中心亚太分中心 (CAPPC) 主任俞雷先生及其全体工作人员，以及中国人民大学，还有推荐我关注这次征文比赛的妮妮女士。

作者：Upul 翻译：潘泽彬

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