And our first second anniversary came and we did what people in these situations do — whereby we thought that we had to go for a dinner to any special place. We had been recommended a glitzy restaurant placed at Jiandao road called Liang Huan Zhai. As for the first contact, we did not order its famous soup, but other things. Don"t worry, we are threatening to come back for the soup...

(资料图片仅供参考)

我们的第二个“外出”纪念日到了。在这样的时刻，我们做了大多数人都会做的事情——去一个特别的地方享用晚餐。有人向我们推荐了一家具有民族风情的独特餐厅，它位于箭道街，名叫“亮欢寨”。在第一次光顾时，我们没有点它最出名的酸汤，而是其他菜式。别担心，下一次我们一定还会再回来尝尝那汤的……

After dinner, we went to a nearby different scenery, Qing Yun. Suddenly, it was the light emerging, a neon explosion and the night life making its way to make up for the lost time. My feelings were in line with everything related to happiness, the desire to live intensely and with all the strength. I just wanted to go everywhere, running as if there were no tomorrow.

晚餐过后，我们去了附近的热闹景点——青云路。走着走着，五彩灯光忽然之间四处涌现。霓虹在夜色中闪烁，车流行人交织穿行，这瞬间，流淌的时间仿佛按下了暂停键。我的情感在此刻，好像只被与幸福有关的一切牵动着。用尽全力，我奔跑在夜色阑珊里，似乎没有明天。

There was a TV series called The Twilight Zone, a formerly science fiction anthology which ran on CBS as of 1959 to 1964. Decades later, a new version broadcasted on TV, as well. Although this is not a science fiction story board, it might be just for some of its aesthetic futurist features. There is no place, however small, which cannot be photographed either a corner or a façade.

很久以前，有一部电视剧叫《阴阳魔界》，它改编于一部早期科幻短篇小说集，于1959年至1964年期间在CBS电视台播出。几十年后，相似题材的电视剧经过不同的改编也在电视上播出。尽管电视题材不全是科幻小说类型，它为未来主义特色美学提供了新的审美视角。也就是说，世界上或许存在这么个地方，无论方寸大小，它总会打破楼宇建筑的常规立面。

I mentally come back to those neon-lighted streets again and walk around them while figuring how many possibilities this area offers, and I cannot stop thinking that we are talking about endless opportunities. I firmly believe that we all own the night and, at the same time, we belong to its jet-black dark. As Pablo Neruda said, "And one by one the nights between our separated cities are joined to the night that unites us." As in other occasions, sometimes getting lost in my mind — well, it actually happens all the time — and wondering how I got here, when and why. I really enjoy to do that.

我的灵魂再次与那晚的霓虹相知，魂牵梦萦、如梦如醉。漫步在车水马龙的街道，我不禁思考，“青云”为民众提供了多少种生活可能，又赠予了多少次玩乐机会。我坚信，我们所有人都能拥有这样璀璨的夜晚，但同时也能感受到它的无边黑暗。正如巴勃罗•聂鲁达所说：“我们相隔城市之间的夜晚逐一合并，与团结我们的夜晚融为一体。”

I found out that Qing Yun was upgraded and re-opened on December, 2021 and seized the chance to have a look at the economic profile of the Guizhou Province. So, when being in such a bustling night market it"s impossible not to think about Guizhou blooming and growing economy and that"s an important aspect due to the time we spent (or lost) in the pandemic. Maybe, that"s why some people call this province as The province of prosperity.

青云路在2021年12月改造升级后重新开放，借此良机，贵州经济发展的概况也能从中探得一二。置身于这样的繁华夜市中，我难免会将贵州经济的繁荣与后疫情时代的影响相关联。如此一来，也就明白，为何有些人会称这个省份为“繁荣之省”了。

I usually think that the continuous lockdowns we experienced have made us appreciate even more enjoying the life. We cannot stop being social animals, as well as we need, for instance, to look at others, to talk to others and listening to others as confirmation that they are really there. It is hard to imagine such a scenery in a city so dynamic and so continuously in motion without people, as Guiyang. Sometimes, oneiric stories don"t occur in beautiful woods, but brick environments; sometimes, we are not people in transit to any destination, but belonging to the place itself; and sometimes, night represents life embraced by the neon lights.

我想，正因为经历了疫情，才会更加珍惜与享受当下来之不易的生活。注视、聆听、真我、存在……贵阳，原来是这样一个充满活力与奇遇的城市。是啊！梦幻的童话不是只发生在美丽的森林古堡，也可以在绿瓦红砖的环绕下；我们不只是去往某个目的地的旅客，也可以属于这个地方本身。

It is said that either sparkling neon and the symbolic connotations, claimed by those who know about this matter, seem to be the closest thing to prosperity, betterment and development of the place where they are. But anyway, we should thank its inventor, George Claude, the creation of such a magnificence which has given us snapshots like these...

无论是城市光影下星星闪烁的霓虹灯，还是夜色朦胧里人们探寻的生活意义，这街、这景、这人，都与城市发展的繁荣息息相关。而无论如何，我们都要感谢“霓虹脉冲”之父——乔治•克劳德，正是他创造了这样的壮阔美好，为我们留下如此精彩的瞬间。

Someone said, "I love people who also get excited about the stars," and I would also add, "... and the people who get excited about neon lights."

有人说：“我爱那些会为星星的璀璨感到幸福的人。”而对我而言，我同样也爱那些为霓虹灯的璀璨而受到振奋鼓舞的人。

Vincent van Gogh went further when saying, "I often think that the night is more alive and more richly coloured than the day."

如梵高所说：“我常常认为，夜晚比白天更有生命力，更色彩斑驳。”

And he wasn"t wrong.

他没有错。

特约撰稿人 Victoria B. Santisteban

翻译 李钰（实习生）

编辑 王梓艺

编审 闵捷