Singles Day in China is the celebration -- or mourning -- of being unattached. Started by students in Nanjing in the mid-1990s, the date was selected in observation of its four solitary digits: 11/11.
中國(guó)“光棍節(jié)”，一個(gè)慶祝(或哀嚎)沒(méi)人相伴的節(jié)日。光棍節(jié)起源于90年代中期，由南京的幾位大學(xué)生創(chuàng)立，節(jié)日定在每年的11月11日，因?yàn)檫@四個(gè)光禿禿的數(shù)字，看上去像極了“光棍”。
While relatively obscure in most other countries, Singles Day is likely to increase in prominence as more single men in China are unable to find female partners. According to a recent study by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, more than 24 million Chinese men could find themselves without spouses by 2020.
雖然光棍節(jié)在其他國(guó)家的文化中看來(lái)有些難以理解，但在中國(guó)，光棍節(jié)的影響力越來(lái)越大，在中國(guó)有越來(lái)越多的單身男性找不到女朋友。據(jù)中國(guó)社會(huì)科學(xué)院最近的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查顯示，到2020年全中國(guó)將有2400萬(wàn)男性找不到配偶。
Celebrating Singles Day comes in many forms across the Asian nation, and like Christmas and Valentine's Day, it has become a multi-million dollar industry。
中國(guó)各地均有不同形式來(lái)慶祝光棍節(jié)的儀式。就和圣誕節(jié)、情人節(jié)一樣，光棍節(jié)已經(jīng)成了一門(mén)能創(chuàng)造幾百萬(wàn)收益的產(chǎn)業(yè)。
The Fig Tree, a luxury pastry school in downtown Beijing, is offering a chocolate truffle-making course to foster "fun, flirting, measuring and mixing," among singles on Thursday。
北京市中心一家高級(jí)烘焙學(xué)校，從這周四起開(kāi)始招收學(xué)習(xí)松露巧克力的學(xué)生。“樂(lè)趣及情致一體、衡量及混搭并進(jìn)”是他們的宣傳主題。他們招的都是單身學(xué)徒。
"Baking brings people together," said Lin Zhong, school owner and pastry chef. "[We] invite the city's singles ... for an education in flirting and chocolate making."
“烘焙將人們的距離拉得更近”，校長(zhǎng)及主廚Lin Zhong說(shuō)道，“我們旨在邀請(qǐng)全城的單身人士……教會(huì)他們?nèi)绾芜呏谱髑煽肆呎{(diào)情。”
For those with more adventurous tastes, Beijing's flagship amusement park Happy Valley is hosting a day of activities for singles, featuring games that include a singing contest entitled "Bachelor's Love Song." Another activity in store: a dedicated area in which singles can "confess their true feelings."
對(duì)于那些更喜歡冒險(xiǎn)的人來(lái)說(shuō)，北京具有代表性的游樂(lè)園歡樂(lè)谷就將以一系列的游樂(lè)項(xiàng)目慶祝光棍節(jié)，其中包括一個(gè)名為“單身情歌”的歌唱比賽，另一個(gè)針對(duì)光棍們推出的活動(dòng)叫做“說(shuō)出你的愛(ài)”。
All of this mingling comes at a price. For every male who buys a full price ticket for $25, he may bring one female along at no cost。
以上這些游樂(lè)項(xiàng)目當(dāng)然不會(huì)是免費(fèi)的。每一位買(mǎi)價(jià)值25美元全價(jià)票的男士可以免費(fèi)帶一位女士入場(chǎng)。
Shenzhen's theme park, Splendid China, which boasts miniature replicas of many of the country's most famous landmarks, will host a vegetable hunting contest, much like an Easter egg hunt, to encourage singles to meet. The vegetables, mostly cucumbers and tomatoes, will be hidden throughout the park in a scaled-down Great Wall and bite-size Forbidden City。
深圳的一家主題公園擁有許多世界知名地標(biāo)建筑的復(fù)制品。他們將在光棍節(jié)舉行“蔬菜獵人”比賽，就跟復(fù)活節(jié)尋彩蛋的游戲差不多，旨在讓單身人士們相遇。蔬菜主要由黃瓜、番茄組成，它們將被藏在公園的各個(gè)角落，以縮小版本的長(zhǎng)城和紫禁城為主。
In Shanghai, the city's main "marriage market" nestled in People's Park is teeming with more traffic than usual. Concerned parents of unmarried children posted personal ads and photos, boasting their education, salary levels and height and weight proportions. The advertisements line the perimeter of the park, and many anxious parents sit along the curb, hoping to meet another set of parents to make a good match。
在上海，人民公園中赫赫有名的“相親市場(chǎng)”一定比平時(shí)還要爆滿。那些為單身孩子憂心忡忡的父母?jìng)冋故局优膫�(gè)人信息、照片，夸耀他們的學(xué)歷、薪水、身高、體重等各種信息。相親廣告貼滿了人民公園的外圍墻，而心急如焚的父母?jìng)儎t在旁等候著合適的人選前來(lái)與自己兒女配對(duì)。
To the west in the city of Xian, singles can reenact a famous Tang Dynasty love story or learn about the principles of love at Qujiang Cave Ruins Park, which claims to be the "first love-themed park in China." 往西走，在古都西安，單身人士們能參與扮演一個(gè)有名的唐代愛(ài)情故事，或在曲江寒窯遺址公園學(xué)習(xí)愛(ài)情守則，據(jù)說(shuō)這是中國(guó)第一個(gè)愛(ài)情主題公園。
However, in a society dominated by children who grow up without siblings (due to China's one-child policy)， finding love on Singles Day is unlikely to be as easy as a walk in the park。
然而在一個(gè)以獨(dú)生子女為主的社會(huì)里(緣于中國(guó)的計(jì)劃生育政策)，在光棍節(jié)成功“脫光”可遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)沒(méi)有聽(tīng)上去這么簡(jiǎn)單。
"For a lot of young men, they feel that what can make them more attractive to their potential dates is their good education, a good job and a lot of money ... [and] a car and apartment handy so they can attract more women," said Dr. Chang Wei, a psychologist at Beijing United Family Hospital. "That leads to a lot of young men working 10-12 hours a day with no time to socialize. Parents feel they have to step in and help them find dates, and sometimes the men are okay with that."
“很多年輕男人認(rèn)為，自己的教育背景、工作和錢(qián)財(cái)將決定自己在異性面前的吸引力……如果還有車有房的話，那就在女人眼里更加搶手了，”北京某心理醫(yī)生常偉說(shuō)道。“這導(dǎo)致很多年輕男性每天工作10-12小時(shí)，連社交的時(shí)間都沒(méi)有。他們的父母感到自己需要出手幫助自己孩子尋找對(duì)象，而孩子們也往往同意這樣做。”
Not everyone desires to be matched up, though. In a survey of white-collar workers on popular Chinese jobs site Zhaopin.com, about 70 percent of married or committed individuals said they missed being single。
然而并不是所有年輕人都愿意被湊成對(duì)。中國(guó)知名的智聯(lián)招聘網(wǎng)站曾進(jìn)行過(guò)一項(xiàng)針對(duì)白領(lǐng)的調(diào)查顯示，70%已婚或已訂婚的受訪者都表示：他們懷念單身時(shí)光。
Once frowned upon in China, divorce is now common, too. In 2009, more than 2.46 million couples divorced in the country, almost twice the number in 2001.
離婚在過(guò)去的中國(guó)是不大能被接受的，然而現(xiàn)在已變得十分普遍。2009年，中國(guó)有246萬(wàn)對(duì)夫婦離婚，這個(gè)數(shù)字幾乎是2001年的兩倍。
But like many singles in China, Alexandra Shi, an undergraduate student at Beijing Foreign Studies University, is looking for love. This year, she'll mark the day with her fellow single friends, and they will likely take one chopstick and make a wish to not be "a 'single stick' anymore."
Alexandra Shi 是一位來(lái)自北京外國(guó)語(yǔ)大學(xué)[微博]的本科學(xué)生，她和許多單身人士一樣，正渴望找到真愛(ài)。今年她將和其他幾位同樣單身的好友一同慶祝光棍節(jié)，并且她們會(huì)拿起一根筷子，許下“盡快擺脫單身” 的愿望。
"Being single is not cool...for me, being in a relationship would do me good I guess," Shi said. "But being single for now doesn't make my life miserable. Definitely don't want to celebrate next year's Singles Day though!"
“單身并不酷……對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)，也許談戀愛(ài)對(duì)我更有好處吧。” Shi 小姐說(shuō)道。“雖然單身的時(shí)光也不能算痛苦，但明年這個(gè)時(shí)候，我絕對(duì)不要再過(guò)光棍節(jié)了!”
