請沿“萬里茶道”來貝加爾湖

弗拉基米爾·別列日內赫

這是我第一次到杭州，雖然以前也曾聽到和讀到過很多關于杭州的故事。和我所期望的一樣，這里的人們熱情好客。

我以《中國與俄羅斯》雜志主編的身份，受邀參加了首屆浙江省國際友城媒體合作傳播論壇。

我們的雜志創刊至今已經整整10年了。當然，在這些年里，我不止一次到中國各省游覽、拜訪。可是，這是我第一次到杭州，雖然以前也曾聽到和讀到過很多關于杭州的故事。浙江省省會城市杭州果真和我所期望的一樣，這里的人們熱情好客。杭州產茶——西湖龍井，是中國十大名茶之一。

說到茶葉，不得不說到對中俄貿易產生過重要影響的“萬里茶道”。由中國山西的晉商開拓并主導、沿線商民共同參與運轉的中俄萬里茶道，從17世紀至20世紀初持續興盛，成為繼絲綢之路后溝通歐亞大陸的又一條國際商路。

因為我們的雜志要做有關“萬里茶道”的報道，所以我去過茶道沿線的很多中國節點城市，或通過其他某種方式與之相關聯。

山西省平遙縣是我去過的其中一個城市。很多從事中國茶葉貿易的非常著名的商人都來自平遙。除此之外，平遙也有很多能夠給茶葉貿易提供資金、給商人貸款以購買茶葉的銀行，所以歷史學家有充分理由認為平遙是“茶葉之路上的金融之都”。

在俄羅斯曾經也有這樣的金融之都——一個名叫恰克圖的小城。當地商人也以茶葉貿易致富。然后，他們用自己的錢建造了教堂、學校，甚至還建造了博物館。如今的恰克圖小城已經褪去了昔日的繁華，但它依然是一個重要的物流中心，因為從俄羅斯通往中國的鐵路和公路都需要經過這里。

于是，我們有了一個在恰克圖和平遙之間建立友好城市關系的想法。這個想法得到了恰克圖市政府的支持。通過我們中國合作伙伴的努力，我們的想法也得到了平遙市政府的關注。很快，在2019年2月，恰克圖的一個代表團和作為《中國與俄羅斯》雜志主編的我受邀到了平遙。緊接著，雙方開始一起著手準備關于建立友好城市關系的協議并達成共識。6月，恰克圖就迎來了一個由政府官員和企業家組成的回訪代表團。在這期間，代表團了解了恰克圖市的投資項目，包括建造“復興萬里茶道”歷史公園項目和在恰克圖開辦茶葉包裝廠項目。與此同時，雙方簽署了關于在文化、教育、醫學領域及少兒團體互換交流方面的合作協議。

要知道“萬里茶道”沿線可是有上百個中國節點城市和數十個俄羅斯節點城市。所以我堅信復興“萬里茶道”是可能的，首要途徑就是通過旅游業來實現。如果茶商們曾經是沿著它來運輸茶葉，那么現在游客也可以沿著它去旅行。沿途，他們將會了解不同城市的文化、歷史和今天，購買當地居民生產的商品，包括紀念品和藝術品。這將是一場真正的長達萬里的文化與旅游產品的對話。難怪那么多人把“萬里茶道”叫作“絲綢之路的北方走廊”。

當然，我們不能只想著今天的“萬里茶道”，要嚴格按照古商隊路線——以河北、江西、江蘇、浙江為起始點，先到達北京、張家口，然后到達恰克圖、貝加爾湖、伊爾庫茨克，最后結束于莫斯科和彼得堡。現如今出現了一些新的運輸線路，比如，北方海路，從某種程度上來說，它是古茶道的發展和延續。最重要的一點是，今天的“萬里茶道”是中俄蒙三國互利合作的標志。

我特別希望，有一天杭州人民可以來到俄羅斯，特別是可以沿著古代“萬里茶道”，來到我們這里，來到貝加爾湖！

（原文為俄語，本文由莫斯科羅蒙諾索夫國立大學在讀博士生李螺凱翻譯。）

I feel honored to be given the chance to take part in the Hangzhou forum. As the editor-in-chief of China and Russia， launched 10 years ago， I have been to many places in China. This was my first time in Hangzhou. Before I came here I read a lot and heard a lot about the fabulous city. When I saw the city with my own two eyes， it was like all my expectations became reality and the hospitality of people here made the trip a perfect one.

One of the citys most famous calling cards is West Lake Longjing Tea， ranking among “top 10” tea varieties in China. From historical perspectives， tea is also an important element in China-Russia trade communication. The “tea road”， a trade route created by traders from Shanxi Province in the old times of China， prospered for more than three centuries from the 17th century. Just like the “silk road”， it was once a bustling route that fostered enduring economic and cultural Eurasian communication.

I have been to many cities in China that once served as key points of the “tea road”， including Pingyao in Shanxi Province. Historians have reached a consensus that the charming town with unique historical profundity was once the “capital of finance” of the “tea road”， and the towns unique tea trade glory is partly based on the reliable capital support ensured by a good many banks providing various financial schemes for tea dealers.

Interestingly， Pingyao has its counterpart in Russia. The small town of Kyakhta also boasts a long history of tea trade. The towns former glory that transformed into a good many churches， schools and museums has become dust-laden， but it still serves as an important logistic center， due to its geographical location that makes the town a conduit in the railway and highway network of China-Russia transport today.

Such historical likeness has led to the proposal of establishing sister city relation between the two towns. In February of 2019， I was in Pingyao with a delegation representing Kyakhta to work out more details for the project. A follow-up visit in June of the same year by a delegation representing Pingyao made more paperwork into reality – the delegation went back to China with a series of contracts signed with the Kyakhta government， which marked a good start in the “renaissance” of the China-Russia “tea road”.

In its heyday， the “tea road” involved the participation of more than 100 cities in China and a dozen cities and towns in Russia. I am a firm believer in such renaissance through tourism innovation. For people today， the “tea road” has much more worth exploring beyond the transport of tea. The route that connects two different cultures encapsulated in so many cities and towns is ideal for modern people to have a deeper understanding of the past and present of cities and towns involved. The possibilities of cultural exchange and trade benefits to be generated by this meandering stretch are beyond imagination.

For people today， the revisiting of the road does not have to follow the original route that started from， say， Zhejiang Province and ended in Moscow and Petersburg. There are new sites for exploration， for example， the “sea route in the north”. In a sense， the renaissance of the “tea road” also includes a new chapter that is called “Mongolia”.

I look forward to seeing people from Hangzhou visit Russia by taking this ancient route.

Welcome to Baikal！

（The original text in Russian is translated into Chinese by Li Luokai， currently a doctoral student at Lomonosov Moscow State University.）