Amid travel restrictions, magic can be found in your own backyard
疫情出行限制之下，自家后院也可以奇幻旅行
With recent winter winds whistling past the windows, my fondest thoughts have gone back to a Beijing resort whose charm never wanes.
近日冬风在窗外呼啸，脑海里最美好的思绪将我带回至一处北京度假胜地，其魅力历久弥新。
I most recently visited Gubei Water Town, which is about a two-hour drive from the heart of Beijing, during a few sweltering days in August, when the buzz was loud about the opening of a fancy new theme park elsewhere in the capital city.
古北水镇距离北京市中心两小时车程，我上次去那儿是在八月酷暑，然而当时大家都因为北京一处新豪华主题公园（环球影城）的开放而兴奋不已。
Gubei offers a quaint mixture of newly built and restored structures. On that cold December day two years ago, I ambled along the river, which was frozen solid, the locals sliding and skating on its surface. I later hiked on the Great Wall, hustling back down the slopes before sunset as the temperature plunged.
在古北水镇，新建和整修的结构交相辉映，古色古香。两年前十二月寒冷的一天，我沿河散步，河水已冰冻三尺，当地人在河面上滑冰玩耍。我后来在长城上徒步，后来随着气温降低，我急忙在日落前沿着城墙上往回挤。
While we prepared to depart this enchanting town that evening, I gazed at the Great Wall, which was illuminated like a glowing snake that stretched out atop steep cliffs. How spellbinding this splendid resort must be in warmer weather, I thought.
当天傍晚我们准备离开这座迷人小镇的时候，我凝视着长城，在灯光之下它就像是一条发光的蛇，盘旋在悬崖峭壁之上。我当时想，如果在暖和点的时候来，这个壮丽的旅游胜地一定非常引人入胜。
And so, with that in mind, I boarded a charter bus beneath the roasting August sun at Dongzhimen station in Beijing for the comfortable ride, at a mere 48 yuan ($7.50), to the water town.
伴着这个念头，我顶着八月的烈日，我在北京东直门站坐上了一辆旅游大巴车去到古北水镇，车程舒适，而且仅花了48元（7.5美元）。
Upon my arrival, I was greeted by my old friend the river. Long past its winter repose, it gurgled and gently flowed beneath the bridge leading into this wonderland of (mostly) yesteryear.
一到那儿，久违的河水就映入眼帘。在解冻很久之后，它汩汩流动，缓缓地在桥下流过，走过桥，就是我几乎在一年后重访的梦幻园地。
As luck would have it, our hotel room－tucked away in an old brick courtyard－was magnificent. One window overlooked the river, and the room itself was a castle-style turret that jutted out over the water.
好巧不巧，我们酒店的房间坐落在一个古旧的砖石院落里，也是精美绝伦。河水在我们窗下流过，房间本身就是一个城堡风格的角楼，在河水上方向外伸出。
My eyes beheld, just across the river, the moat wall of the fortress that once stood there. Illuminated at night by river-level lights, which cast long shadows on its sheer face, this wall came to symbolize the sleeping-dragon spirit of the water town, where past and present weave a magical spell.
我的眼睛看向河对岸，看着曾经耸立在那里的堡垒城墙。夜晚在河面灯光的照耀下，城墙长长的影子映照在悬崖峭壁之上，就象征着水镇的睡龙精神，在此古今碰撞，令人着迷。
And so today, with winter poised to wrap Beijing in its icy grip, I long once more for the beloved river, whether flowing or frozen, and think about how Gubei Water Town, a seamless mix of modern and ancient, is no mere fair weather friend.
因此在今天，冬天蓄势待发，将北京裹挟在严寒之中，我再次渴望回到那条深爱的河流，无论是流淌状态还是冰冻状态，而且回想着古北水镇这样一个古今文化无缝衔接的产物，它可以陪我走过严寒和酷暑。
Gubei, whether frosted by wintry gusts or aglow in the blazing sunlight of summer－and presumably at all times in between－is truly a town for all seasons.
无论是被寒风冰冻还是在夏天烈日中熠熠生辉，想必是在一年中的任何时间，是一个真正四季皆宜的小镇。
