Within Hours, Plans for a Quiet Corner of China Send Home Prices Soaring

中国设立雄安新区，当地房价暴涨

The New York Times

纽约时报

A residential and industrial area roughly 80 miles south of Beijing once barely registered on China's economic map. Consisting mostly of apartment buildings, villages, wetlands and empty fields, it has primarily been known for its donkey burgers[驴肉火烧].

位于北京以南大约80英里（约合130公里）的一片住宅和工业区，以前在中国的经济版图上几乎不为人所注意。这里大多由公寓楼、村庄、湿地和空地构成，主要以驴肉火烧为人所知。

But now the area around Xiongxian County has become another example of the frothiness[1] and unpredictability[不可预测性] of the Chinese property market — a market that many experts warn could have severe repercussions[2] for China and the world if it stumbles.

但现在，雄县周边这片区域成为了证明中国房地产市场容易产生泡沫且不可预测的又一个例子。许多专家曾经警告，如果这个市场崩盘，将给中国和整个世界带来严重的影响。

[1]frothy (adj.):(of a liquid) with small white bubbles on the surface （液体）起泡沫的，有泡沫的

Beat the mixture until it becomes frothy.

搅打混合物，直到泛起泡沫。

frothiness 起泡性

[2]repercussions [.riːpə(r)'kʌʃ(ə)n]

the effect that an action, event, or decision has on something, especially a bad effect （尤指坏的）影响，反响；恶果

Any decrease in tourism could have serious repercussions for the local economy.

旅游业只要出现任何一点儿衰退，都可能会给当地经济带来严重影响。

On Saturday, China declared that an area that sprawls across three local counties will someday become Xiongan New Area, a gleaming[3] economic powerhouse reminiscent of[4] earlier developments that helped put China's economy on its fast-growth trajectory. When completed, it will cover nearly 800 square miles, offer favorable regulation to businesses and become a modern urban area[现代都市区] crucial to redeveloping the Rust Belt[铁锈/生锈地带] around Beijing.

周六，中国宣布一片横跨当地三个县的区域未来将成为雄安新区，一个闪闪发光的经济发动机，它让人想起早年将中国经济送上快车道的那些经济开发区。建成之后，这个面积近800平方英里（约合2070平方公里）的新区，将实行有利于企业的管理，会成为一个对北京周边铁锈地带(Rust Belt)的再开发至关重要的现代都市区。

[3]gleaming:bright and shiny from being cleaned 光洁闪亮的；明净的

a gleaming kitchen

清洁明亮的厨房

[4]reminiscent of sb/sth

making you remember a particular person, event, or thing 使人想起…的；使人回忆起…的

That song is so reminiscent of my adolescence.

那首歌勾起了我对青少年时代的无限回忆。

Almost immediately, speculators[投机者] pounced[5], setting off a property buying frenzy[房产购买狂潮] and sending shares of construction companies soaring. It has been such a chaotic market that local authorities have been forced to freeze purchases and close real estate offices. Chinese social media showed photos of new property developments and real estate offices with signs saying they had been temporarily closed.

投机者几乎立即袭来，掀起一轮购买房产的狂潮，导致建筑公司股价飙升。市场如此混乱，以致当地政府不得不冻结交易，关闭售楼处。中国的社交媒体上出现了不少照片，可以看到一些新地产项目和售楼处挂出了暂时关闭的提示牌。

[5]pounce:to jump or move quickly in order to catch or take hold of something 猛扑，猛冲，突然袭击

The cat sat in the tree ready to pounce on the ducks below.

树上的猫准备扑向下面的鸭子。

The price spikes[价格飙升;物价飞涨] have been fast and furious.

房价飙升的速度迅速而又猛烈。

In the town of Baigou, about 12 miles north of Xiongxian, prices for an apartment jumped to 12,000 renminbi per square meter — or more than $160 per square foot — from 8,750 renminbi within hours after the announcement, according to Wen Yunlong, a local real estate agent. On Sunday, it rose by an additional 3,000 renminbi, he said.

在雄县以北12英里（约合20公里）处的白沟镇，当地的房屋中介文云龙表示，成立新区的消息宣布不到几小时，一套公寓的价格就从每平方8750元人民币激增到每平方1.2万元人民币。他还表示，周日这个价格又上涨了3000元人民币。

“Prices have gone up every day,” Mr. Wen said.

“房子一天一个价，”文云龙说。 

Since Saturday, he said, potential buyers had lined up at his agency. “I have been working from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. these days,” he said. “Last night, I worked till midnight.”

他表示，从周六开始，潜在的买家就在他所在的中介机构排起了队。“我最近都是早上8点上班，一直到晚上10点，”他说。“昨天晚上我半夜12点才下班。”

He added: “I haven't seen so many people here before. It went crazy.”

他还讲道：“我从没见过这么多的人。都疯狂了。”

On Monday, Hong Kong-traded shares of the BBMG Corporation, a Beijing cement maker[水泥生产商], jumped nearly 35 percent. Shares of other Hong Kong-traded property-related firms active in the area rose by smaller amounts. Markets in China were closed on Monday for a holiday.

周一，在香港上市的北京水泥生产商北京金隅(BBMG Corporation)的股价暴涨了近35%。在香港股市，在该地区比较活跃的其他房地产相关企业的股票，也实现了低于这个幅度的增长。中国的股市交易周一因赶上节假日而关闭。

Property is a major investment vehicle[投资媒介/工具] in China, where the stock market has long been seen as unreliable and where the authorities tightly limit how much money can be sent outside the country. That has led to surging prices — and worries about bubbles — in a number of cities. While mortgages[抵押贷款] in China are not as big or as common as they are in the United States, a surge of lending to home buyers has prompted worries about what might happen if China's property market bursts.

房地产是中国主要的投资工具。在那里，股市一直被认为不太可靠，当局又对海外投资的量进行了严格的限制。这导致许多城市的房价激增——也随之产生对市场泡沫的担忧。尽管中国的抵押贷款的规模不像美国那么大，也不像美国那么普遍，但给购房者提供的贷款激增，促使人们担心中国房地产市场崩盘会带来什么样的后果。

In declaring its intent to build Xiongan, the Chinese government invited comparisons to the southern city of Shenzhen and the Pudong area of Shanghai. Shenzhen was part of China's earliest experiments with private enterprise after the death of Mao Zedong, and it remains one of the richest parts of China. Pudong, home of many of the gleaming skyscrapers that define Shanghai's skyline, became one of China's most successful and high-profile development projects.

中国政府宣布打造雄安新区的想法，让人不由得将它与华南城市深圳和上海的浦东新区进行比较。深圳属于中国在毛泽东去世后最早的一批私人企业试验区，它如今依然是中国最富有的区域之一。浦东新区拥有许多构成上海天际线的耀眼的摩天大楼，已经成为中国最成功、最引人注目的开发项目之一。

Xiongan will become “a demonstration area for innovative development,” Xi Jinping, China's president, told the official state media.

中国国家主席习近平对官方新闻媒体表示，雄安将成为一个“创新驱动发展引领区”。

Xiongan also fits into China's grand plan to create a vast urban area uniting the capital city of Beijing with the nearby port city of Tianjin and with Hebei Province, the industrial province between them. Called Jing-Jin-Ji, the area — which would include Xiongan — will become a hive of economic activity[6] that is intended to replace Hebei's dependence on smokestack industries[烟囱工业] like steel and put the region on a path to rival Shanghai and Shenzhen.

雄安也符合中国的一项宏大计划，即打造一个巨大的都市区，将首都北京与附近的港口城市天津和二者之间的工业省份河北联结在一起。这片包括雄安在内、被称为京津翼的地区，将成为经济活动频繁的区域，其目的是改变河北对钢铁等烟囱工业的依赖，使之走上能与上海和深圳比肩的道路。

[6]a hive of activity/industry:a place where a lot of people are working very hard 繁忙的场所；忙碌的地方

The whole house was a hive of activity on the day before the wedding.

婚礼的前一天，整幢房子里是一派忙碌的景象。

Right now, the Xiongan area has less than 1 percent of the economic output of Beijing, according to state media. It is part of an area known for its donkey burgers — sandwiches with roasted donkey meat, which tastes something like pastrami.

据官方媒体报道，雄安地区的经济目前还不到北京经济产值的1%。它属于一个以驴肉火烧出名的地区——夹有烤驴肉的烧饼，这种肉吃起来有点像熏牛肉。

Owen Li took the morning train on Monday from Beijing to sample[7] donkey burgers but had an unusually hard time buying a ticket. Once in Baigou, where property sales had not been shut down, Mr. Li noticed that many cars on the street were brands like Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

欧文·李(Owen Li)周一从北京搭火车去品尝驴肉火烧，但却费了很大劲才买到票。在房产销售没有被喊停的白沟镇，欧文·李注意到街上出现了许多奥迪(Audi)、宝马(BMW)和奔驰(Mercedes-Benz)车。

[7]sample [熟词僻义]

1）sample to taste a small amount of food or drink to decide if you like it 尝，品尝

As the food looked so good, he decided to sample a little from each dish.

这些食物看起来很诱人，于是他决定每样菜都尝一点儿。

2）to experience a place or an activity, often for the first time （常指初次）体验，尝试

So you're going to sample the delights/pleasures of the new restaurant?

那么你要去体验一下在那家新餐馆就餐的乐趣了？

He then met many potential apartment buyers from out of town and began talking to them. Mr. Li said he was tempted to join them, though he wondered at Xiongan's long-term prospects.

之后他遇到很多来自镇外的潜在公寓买家，开始跟他们交谈。欧文·李表示，尽管对雄安的长期前景心存疑虑，但他当时差点加入他们的队伍。

“If I had the extra money, I would buy several,” he said. “It's cheap and has room for appreciation[8]. But maybe not this time.”

“如果我手头有余钱，我会买几套，”他说。“这儿的房价便宜，主要看中升值空间。但这次可能不买。”

[8]appreciation [熟词僻义]

increase in price, value, etc. （价格，价值等的）上涨，增值

There has been little appreciation in the value of property recently.

最近房地产价格几乎没有上涨。