圖、文/Nathan Pelton（蘇平，美國(guó)） 譯/張佳藝

景洪市最大寺廟的入口處的龍Dragons flanking the entrance to the largest temple in Jinghong

曼聽(tīng)御花園公園的白塔The white pagoda in the Manting Yuhuayuan Park

苦學(xué)中文的人難免有意無(wú)意地聽(tīng)說(shuō)過(guò)西雙版納。對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)，這是我的第一本中文會(huì)話課本中的一課，課文中有李先生游覽中國(guó)景點(diǎn)的相關(guān)對(duì)話。西雙版納因其豐富多元的文化、近乎完美的天氣和眾多的少數(shù)民族，被譽(yù)為國(guó)內(nèi)頂級(jí)旅游勝地之一。

我的第一次西雙版納之旅是在十多年前。在那次旅行中，我大部分時(shí)間都是與傣族和哈尼族人一起度過(guò)的。我拜訪了一些村莊，品嘗了一些美味，也開(kāi)始理解西雙版納文化融合的魅力。

游覽臨近的東南亞國(guó)家時(shí)，我品味著那里的食物，體味著那里的習(xí)俗、建筑和文化。但旅行結(jié)束時(shí)，我迫不及待回到中國(guó)，這個(gè)被我視作第二故鄉(xiāng)的地方。西雙版納則兼具中國(guó)與東南亞風(fēng)情，中國(guó)文化和東南亞文化、食物與建筑在這里水乳交融。

2022年，我在西雙版納花了整整一天時(shí)間參觀城市周?chē)母鱾€(gè)寺廟和公園，拍攝建筑帶來(lái)的影響力。朝拜場(chǎng)所滿是有象征意義的設(shè)計(jì)細(xì)節(jié)，有巧奪天工的瓷磚和壁畫(huà)，有外表鍍金的柱子，有雕梁畫(huà)棟的天花板裝飾，有精雕細(xì)刻的屋頂線條。這些細(xì)節(jié)在彼此交融時(shí)太容易被忽視了，但拍攝這些場(chǎng)所和這里的動(dòng)植物讓我對(duì)西雙版納建筑中蘊(yùn)含的豐富文化有了新的認(rèn)識(shí)。

For those who have endeavored to learn Chinese, they will have inevitably heard of Xishuangbanna. For me, it was in one of the lessons found in my very first conversational Chinese textbook. It appeared in the conversation with Mr. Li about places to visit in China. It is considered one of the top domestic tourist destinations for its rich culture, near-perfect weather, and countless minority groups.

My first trip to Xishuangbanna was more than a decade ago, and on that trip, I spent most of my time with the Dai and Hani minority groups.I visited villages and tasted some of the most amazing foods. On that first trip, I started to understand the draw of Xishuangbanna’s blended cultures.

While visiting neighboring Southeast Asian countries, I appreciated their food, customs, architecture, and culture - but at the end of the trip, I was eager to return to China, the place I now consider home. Xishuangbanna is the best of both worlds as it offers Chinese culture with a unique blend of Southeast Asian cultures, food, and architecture.

Last year in Xishuangbanna, I spent one day just visiting different temples and parks around the city, photographing the architectural influences. Places of worship are packed full of symbolic details - detailed tile work, murals, gold-encrusted pillars, ceiling ornamentation, and carefully crafted roof lines. These details are too easily overlooked as they start to mix, but taking time to photograph these sites and the flora and fauna of the area gave me a new appreciation for the richness of cultural influences found in Xishuangbanna’s architecture.

一座橋的屋頂The roof of a bridge

具有明顯東南亞風(fēng)格的佛像建筑The architecture of Buddha is distinctly Southeast Asian

西雙版納總佛寺的一個(gè)古老的入口An ancient entrance into Xishuangbanna’s General Buddhist Temple

隱藏在曼聽(tīng)御花園熱帶森林中的眾多寺廟之一One of the multiple temples hiding in the Manting Yuhuayuan Park’s tropical forest

寺廟內(nèi)部懸掛著的彩帶Ribbons hanging from a temple interior

精美的寺廟塑像Exquisite temple statues

受游客歡迎的熱門(mén)景點(diǎn)——白塔The popular spot for tourists—The white pagoda