(中文翻译在英文正文之后)

Today at lunch after a presentation about walking in Zhejiang for a group of artists, professors and students, while eating local culinary, someone sitting next to me said that transportation these days is almost surreal: if you get on the subway in Hangzhou at the beautiful West Lake, transferring to a high-speed train at Hangzhou East Railway station, then taking the metro from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station to the iconic Bund in Shanghai, you can get from A to B in about two hours without weather influences, without an umbrella. But along the way you are in cocoons, in closed tubes, disconnected from the real world. Even without being in cyberspace, just physically isolated. I immediately thought of Lieven de Cauter’s book “The Capsular Civilisation’ (2004) in which he describes an imaginary doomsday scenario of humanity retreating into the cocoons of luxury passenger cars, shopping malls, and gated communities. A scenario that looks quite similar to reality nowadays.

Since my table companions were artists and curators, we then talked about the design of umbrellas and the function of classic pergolas that can protect us against sun and rain in Chinese parks while still breathing fresh air. Could attractive designed umbrellas, or even invisible umbrellas, encourage people to walk during all seasons?

Delicious dishes were served and we quickly changed the topic of conversation. Enjoying a nice meal together is very important in Chinese culture. And rightly so, the food is like a beautiful landscape, attractive to look at and full of hidden unexpected surprises, flavors and textures. Usually conversations go further and deeper while walking. That’s why we’re going to continue walking and talking after the meal, in rural Zhejiang.

为一群艺术家、教授和学生做完了一场关于在浙江散步的演讲后，我们共度午餐，坐在我旁边的一人一边吃着当地的美食，一边说现在的交通几乎是超现实的：如果你在美丽的西湖坐上杭州的地铁，到杭州东站换乘高铁，然后从上海虹桥火车站坐地铁到上海标志性的外滩，你可以在大约2个小时内从A到B，不受天气影响，也不需要雨伞。但一路上，你被困在茧里，被关在封闭的管道里，与现实世界脱节。甚至不在网络空间，几乎是物理孤立。我立刻想到了Lieven de Cauter的书《胶囊文明》，他在书中描述了一个想象中的世界末日场景，人类撤退到豪华乘用车、购物中心和封闭社区的茧中。这个场景看起来与当今的现实非常相似。

由于与我同桌的是多是艺术家和策展人，我们随后讨论了雨伞的设计和经典凉棚的功能，他们可以在公园里用于遮阳挡雨，让人门呆在户外呼吸新鲜空气。漂亮的雨伞或隐形雨伞被使用的话，是否能提高下雨时街景的吸引力并鼓励人们行走吗？

美味的饭菜端上来了，我们很快就换了话题。在中国文化中，一起享用美食是很重要的。没错，食物就像一道风景，看起来很有吸引力，充满了意想不到的惊喜和不同的质地。但在行走的过程中，对话会越来越深入。这就是我们很快要去做的，走在浙江农村。