Today I complete four full months. I have traversed 16 countries and experienced thousands of memorable moments. I have crossed numerous borders—national, linguistic, geopolitical, and continental. Yet, nothing is truly behind me. Cycling is so intense that everything remains present in the moment; all past experiences feed the future. Everything I have encountered is in me, part of me, and I dearly hope it remains so forever. As much as possible, I have shared my observations, reflections, and insights with you. If I find a publisher or producer to help materialize this, I am ready to bring everything to a wider audience. (Please help!)
今天是我完成整整四个月旅程的日子。我已经穿越了16个国家，经历了数千个难忘的时刻。我跨越了无数的边界——国家边界、语言边界、地缘政治边界和大陆边界。然而，没有什么是真正过去的。骑行的经历如此强烈，一切都存在于当下；所有的过去都成为未来的养分。我遇到的一切都在我心中，成为我的一部分，我衷心希望它们能永远存在。尽我所能，我已经与你们分享了我的观察、反思和见解。如果我能找到一个出版商或制片人来帮助实现这一切，我已准备好将这一切呈现给更广泛的观众。（请帮忙！）
This might be all the more important since the reporting deficit only grows. I am writing this as I reach the Yellow River, the provider, and for some historians, the cradle of Chinese civilization. For thousands of years, it has nourished the Chinese nation with its precious waters from the mountains of Qinghai, while also bringing floods and other dangers. These challenges are now managed by the hydro-engineering landmarks of contemporary China. I am about to embark on the last 2,000+ kilometers (for my Dutch friends, let’s say al distance like Amsterdam-Kiev). This journey will take me through one of the most intense regions on earth, characterized by a frenzied competition between agriculture, industry, ecological restoration, and hundreds of millions of people in large urban conundrums. I expect all my senses to be continually engaged as I also try to grasp the broader meaning of this entire trip, culminating in Shanghai, where I work, and where a group of students at Tongji University is conducting their own research with similar questions.
这可能尤为重要，因为报道的不足只会日益加剧。我在抵达黄河时写下这些文字。黄河被一些历史学家誉为中华文明的摇篮，几千年来，它用来自青海山脉的珍贵水源滋养了中华民族，同时也带来了洪水和其他灾害。这些挑战如今已由当代中国的水利工程奇迹所克服。我即将开始最后的2000多公里旅程（对我的荷兰朋友来说，相当于从阿姆斯特丹到基辅的距离）。这段旅程将带我穿越地球上最繁忙的地区之一，这里农业、工业、生态恢复和数亿人的城市生活交织在一起，竞争异常激烈。我预计所有的感官都会持续地被调动，同时也将努力领悟整个旅程的更广泛意义，最终在我工作的上海达到高潮。在那里，同济大学的一群学生也在进行着与我类似的问题研究。
At this moment, let me attempt to synthesize my experiences on the western side of China. Entering from the north-west at Yining, passing through Urumqi, and descending into the vast, seemingly endless Gobi Desert, the journey reached a psychological boiling point at the Flaming Mountains. Due to unbearable temperatures, I temporarily changed mode of transportation and began a pilgrimage along what felt like a Buddhist procession from the west and a spiritual lifeline for the east.
此刻，让我尝试总结我在中国西部的经历。从西北的伊宁进入，途经乌鲁木齐，再深入到广袤无垠的戈壁沙漠。这段旅程在火焰山达到了心理上的沸点。由于无法忍受的高温，我暂时改变了交通方式，开始了一段朝圣之旅，仿佛沿着一条从西方而来的佛教巡礼之路，同时也是东方的精神生命线。
I didn’t know much about Buddhism before, and I still have much to learn. However, being exposed to the overwhelming beauty and serenity of the Buddha Hall in the ancient town of Jiaohe, the story of the monk Xuanzang and his saga of searching Buddhist sutra’s as told in the museum in Guazhou, the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, and the Dafo Temple in Zhangye, among others, all have shown me an appeal I need to understand better. One thing that stands out is how Buddhist spirituality transcends all the religious manifestations I encountered earlier. Unlike the Protestant, Catholic, Greek, or Russian Orthodox churches, the mosques from Turkey to Kyrgyzstan, and the synagogues I saw, which all work with a codified book, Buddhism in western China seems to offer a different dimension of spirituality. It inspires, leaving it up to you whether you are moved to become a better person, leave it up to you to feel the motivation to do so, and leaving it up to you at which pace you come closer to a state of enlightenment, revealing the value of Patience as a key human quality, alongside modesty, humbleness and a sense of measure, to attain harmony in life.
我之前对佛教了解不多，现在仍有很多需要学习。然而，我接触到交河古城佛殿的宏伟与宁静、在甘肃瓜州县的玄奘取经博物馆中了解到的玄奘法师寻经的传奇故事、敦煌的莫高窟和张掖的大佛寺等地的经历，都让我深深感受到了佛教的独特魅力，这是我需要更好理解的。一件特别引人注目的事情是，佛教的精神超越了我之前遇到的所有宗教表现形式。不同于新教、天主教、希腊和俄罗斯东正教教堂，从土耳其到吉尔吉斯斯坦的清真寺，以及犹太教堂，这些宗教都依赖于一本编码的书籍，而中国西部的佛教似乎提供了一个不同维度的灵性。它给予你灵感，让你自己决定是否成为更好的人，是否感受到内在的动力，以及以何种速度接近觉悟的状态。这展示了耐心作为关键人类品质的价值，以及谦逊、谦卑和适度感，这些都是实现生活和谐的重要因素。
To discover Patience as a guiding principle shades two other phenomena in Xinjiang and Gansu provinces, which have become very much part of the global discourse on China. The first is the high speed modernization, ubiquitous everywhere in China, but in Xinjiang overlayering a traditional Muslim culture having numerous anti-modern inclinations. This tension is visible and intelligible, and makes the common denominator of cultivating patience more than folklore and reason for occasional temple visits; it is an essential component to strategize any mitigation between different paces of history. Modernity is very hard to resist, but the speed of modernity is a matter of both will and acceptance. I believe that the Buddhist axis from the western fringes right into the Chinese heartland has more to offer than tourist benefits. As do believe millions with me who make it part of their daily mediations.
在新疆和甘肃，耐心作为一种指导原则揭示了两个现象，这些现象已经成为全球关于中国讨论的重要部分。第一个现象是高速现代化，这在中国各地普遍存在，但在新疆，这种现代化叠加在一个具有众多反现代化倾向的传统穆斯林文化之上。这种紧张关系显而易见，使得培养耐心不仅仅是民俗或偶尔参观寺庙的理由，而是不同历史进程之间进行调和的重要策略。现代化很难抵抗，但现代化的速度却是意志和接受程度的问题。我相信，从西部边缘一直延伸到中国腹地的佛教轴线，不仅仅具有旅游价值。和我一样，数以百万计的人也相信，将其作为日常冥想的一部分，它有更多的东西可以提供。
But there is a second omnipresent phenomenon, that, and rightly so, requires the opposite of patience. I’m talking about the impressive transformation of a huge territory, including the Gobi Desert, into a giant energy landscape aimed at achieving national carbon-neutral goals. As we all know by now, these is not much time left for a massive system change to address climate change. Cycling my way through this area, I can only confirm that China leads the way to a society based on renewable energy. The scale of solar plants, wind farms, and hydro-energy dams is unprecedented and reveals a national energy project with planetary consequences. Given the dire situation of our global environment, this project completely deserves the growing attention and study worldwide.
但还有一个普遍存在的现象，并且理应如此，它需要与耐心相反的态度。我指的是将广袤领土，包括戈壁沙漠，转变为一个巨大的能源景观，以实现国家碳中和目标的令人印象深刻的过程。正如我们现在所知道的那样，面对气候变化，进行大规模系统变革所剩的时间已经不多了。在骑行穿越这个地区的过程中，我只能确认中国正在引领迈向可再生能源社会的道路。太阳能电站、风电场和水电站的规模是前所未有的，展示了一个具有全球影响的国家能源项目。鉴于我们全球环境的严峻形势，这个项目完全值得全世界越来越多的关注和研究。
So far, so good. Spiritual and cultural energy, as much as the sense of urgency to renew physical energy here are of a different nature. I look forward to new encounters across the Yellow River. Onwards to Lanzhou, which some consider the midpoint of China.
到目前为止，一切都很好。这里的精神和文化能量，以及对更新能源的紧迫感，都具有独特的性质。我期待着在黄河对岸的新的遇见。前往兰州，一些人认为那是中国的中心点。
Journey to be continued...
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