北京
——我的梦想之城

尽管我是法国国籍，但有着波兰血统的母亲总是用波兰语与我们交流，希望为我们打开一扇了解周围世界的窗口，使我们具有不限于祖国法国的国际视野。这无疑是我从小就对中国感兴趣的原因之一。

从出生前就开始的中国故事

虽然看起来有些不可思议，但我与中国的故事甚至在我出生之前就已经开始了。1976年，即将于几年后成为我母亲的那个人认识了一个从香港来华沙观光的年轻中国女孩。尽管有文化壁垒，但她们一见如故。我母亲请她吃了一些地道的波兰菜，并邀她到自己的家乡住了几天。

1989年，我母亲的那位中国朋友来到位于法国东北部的南锡探望我们，当时我只有8岁。这次拜访无疑增进了我与中国的联结。我永远不会忘记这位年轻的中国妇女，举止优雅、风度翩翩、和蔼可亲就是她的代名词。

15年后的2004年，我正在撰写一篇关于“培养跨文化敏锐度必要性”的论文，这时厨房里飘出一股沁人心脾的味道，那是我哥哥和一个西安室友正准备用有名的“老干妈”酱汁调制“中法餐”。当时的我已经习惯了用这种辣酱来给所有的饭菜调味，我最喜欢的是花生油辣酱。闻到香味后，我迅速关掉电脑，闭上眼睛，猛吸了一口厨房里散发出来的中法佳肴的香味，跟着另一个武汉室友播放的中国流行歌曲，开始哼唱“猪，你的鼻子有两个孔”。这很有趣，虽然我不明白我哼的是什么，但我很喜欢中国流行音乐的旋律。突然，我哥哥叫我出去，意味深长地递给我一把中国菜刀：“别闲着了，赶紧过来帮我们。”

我专心切起了他们刚从镇上的中国市场买来的大白菜。我们虽生活在法国，但却一直处于中法多元文化氛围中。我、哥哥，还有我们的两个中国室友一起生活了两年，我与他们建立了深厚的友谊。18年后，当我写下这些字时，我们仍保持着非常密切的联系。

2005年，为了将理论与实践相结合，我准备到中欧和东欧旅行。这次为期一年的旅行穿越了20个国家，目的在于报道当地人的生活，向法国群众展示他们的生活方式，介绍跨文化教育的优势。我和我的旅行伙伴因此荣获多个奖项，如青年和欧洲部颁发的“青年挑战奖”。

莫言（Yves Mouillet，法国籍），中央广播电视总台CGTN法语部主持人、编辑和高级编导，说得一口流利的法语、英语、中文、德语、西班牙语和波兰语。曾在出生地法国以外的40多个国家生活。2011年加入CGTN法语部以来，主持了3000多场新闻和直播节目。2021年度中国政府友谊奖获得者。

怀着沉重的心情，我离开了家人和我的中国朋友，乘坐一辆被我们改装成“露营车”的面包车，在欧洲旅行了5万多公里，度过了一段不平凡的时光。这次经历给我留下了深刻印象，让我看到了自己对于周围世界丰富性和多样性的无知，也培养了我非凡的适应能力，让我能够迅速接受当地文化，无论生活在哪里都有家的感觉。

经历了如此刺激的冒险之后，之后的两年对我来说似乎平淡无奇。2007年，我的生活发生了360度的大转变——我第一次去了中国，准确地说，是北京。

来到北京，每一天都充满惊喜

对北京的第一印象让我毕生难忘。当飞机降落在北京机场时，我终于感受到这将是一段不可思议的旅程，这里的一切都与我从前经历的不同。在机场，当我正准备拿起行李时，我的父亲落泪了，这场景至今仍历历在目。他是预感到两年后我将定居在这个一直以来都十分吸引我的国度了吗？此时此刻的我比以往任何时候都确定这一点。但是，当时我只是想去拜访几个中国朋友、待上几个星期。

这次逗留在我的生命里划出一道亮光。当我把朋友的地址递给出租车司机时，我的心都快跳出来了。“去哪儿啊？”司机的话我一个字都听不懂，这可太刺激了。我曾在法国、西班牙和德国留学，走过20个国家，然而在这里我终于第一次体验到迷失在自己无法控制的环境中所带来的独特乐趣。

我把出租车窗户大大打开，一阵暖风轻拂过我的脸颊，外面的广告牌高速地呼啸而过，上面的汉字随即深深吸引了我。我当时只有一个想法，就是尽可能地把它们全都学会。但说起来容易，做起来却很难。

这次与朋友们的重聚是非同寻常的。我当即就被餐厅端上来的美味佳肴迷住了。这里的一切都比欧洲大得多。餐厅很多，甚至还跨越了多个楼层；大学校园也大得多，就像小型自治城市一样；街道上车水马龙、熙熙攘攘；整座城市四通八达、一片繁华。

我怀着无比激动的心情回忆着生命中的这段时期。于我而言，那时每一天都是不寻常的，每一天都充满了惊喜。

即使在今天，我也依然贪恋着这座城市的安全感。在这里，晚上10点后仍可以乘坐地铁而不被别人烦扰。而在大多数欧洲城市中，这是很罕见的。我在北京的公共交通中从未感受过恶意，打架或争吵也几乎没有。

几周之内，我游览了许多城市。我作出了一个决定：我一定要更多地了解这一让我心驰神往的千年文明。我把所有的空闲时间都用来为未来在中国生活做准备，并在孔子学院学习了两年的课程。许多法国人在那里学习汉语，但只有一小部分人坚持下来，而完全掌握这门语言的人则少之又少。

定居北京，见证惊人的发展

2009年，我终于下定决心在这座我的梦想之城定居。奥运会结束后，北京仿佛披上了华美的外衣。超现代的建筑与历史建筑交相辉映，其中大多数已经以其建筑之美和技术之强而闻名于世，例如国家大剧院、中央电视台大楼，以及更近一些建造的高达528米的“中国尊”大厦等。同大多数的中国大都市一样，北京已经焕然一新，被赋予了这些新的象征，就像100多年前建造埃菲尔铁塔的巴黎一样。大多数中国城市的面貌正在更新迭代，不断焕发出新的生机与活力。一些在欧洲生活了十来年的北京朋友总和我聊起，他们对北京这座承载着童年生活的城市感到陌生了，身处其中很容易迷路。他们指出，特定的城市变化在法国则较为罕见，即使几十年没去过这些城市，也不难找路，毕竟几乎没有任何变化。

在北京生活了十年之后，我有幸见证了它惊人的发展。

北京大街上行人的服装是最明显的例子之一。按照我心里21世纪初法国年轻人的标准，2007年的北京大多数人都不太重视自己的外表。15年后，北京的三里屯经历了一场大改造，摇身变为奢侈品和时尚的圣地。商场里的品牌种类也增加了很多。现在20—40岁年龄段的人都很有自己的风格，并希望通过自己的穿着打扮来彰显个性。因此摄影师在街头拍摄，并将照片卖给时尚杂志。

莫言（右二）在北京冬奥列车上主持节目

教育也有了显著改善。可以看到各方面明显的进步，特别是在北京居民的外语能力方面。从20世纪80年代出生的一代开始，随着生活水平的提高，许多人去国外留学，获得了跨文化技能、开放的心态以及专业知识。在北京的大街上被问路，大多数学生都能用英语甚至其他语言来回答。

还有一点，北京从前的污染情况是堪忧的，但自2018年开始，情况有了明显改善。如今，蓝天成为日常生活中不可或缺的一部分。

其他给我留下深刻印象的变化是电动汽车的普及给北京带来的深刻变化，这在一定程度上要归功于购买电动车的补贴、严格的交通限制以及对燃油汽车的逐步禁止。我自己也开电动汽车出行，这一点总是让我的欧洲朋友大为吃惊，但在这里却早已成为常态。北京的电动汽车充电站几乎与美国全国充电站一样多，所付出的努力可见一斑。

技术不断进步的背景之下，人们的生活方式也发生了巨大的变化，无论在哪个领域都有所体现。纽约街头向行驶中的出租车挥手的现象还很常见。但是，如今中国人倾向使用手机应用程序来叫车，这能节省大量时间。我们还看到街上不断涌现的快递员和送餐员，由此可见数字化需求日益攀升。支付、预订，一切都通过手机进行。

中国是21世纪的一个重要大国。一个从未停止过为多极世界奔走呼号的巨人，尽管他很强大，却也表现出了可贵的仁慈。我真诚地希望西方人能够更好地探索中国、了解中国，希望世界各地的人们能够在一个别样的世界里感知一个别样的中国。毕竟，闭紧双眼是看不到任何差异的，真知灼见才是改变刻板印象的最佳工具。

Despite the fact that I am of French nationality, my mother of Polish heritage has always attempted to speak to us in Polish, open a window on the world around us, and offer us an international perspective that is not limited to my native country. This is undoubtedly one of the reasons why I became interested in China from a young age.

My Story with China Began Before I was Born

As incredible as it may seem, my story with China began even before I was born. In 1976, the one who was to become my mother a few years later had just met a young Chinese girl from Hong Kong who came for sightseeing in Warsaw.Despite the cultural barrier, they hit it off right away, and my mother invited her to eat some typical dishes of the country and introduced her to her hometown for a few days.

My mother’s Chinese friend came to visit us in Nancy,which is located in the northeast of France, in 1989, when I was just eight years old. This visit undoubtedly contributed to developing my attachment to China. I will never forget this young Chinese woman with her exquisite manners,grace, elegance, and kindness.

Fifteen years later, in 2004, I was writing my dissertation on “the need to acquire an intercultural acuity”. A delightful aroma wafts from the kitchen, where my brother and one of our Chinese roommates from 西安 are preparing Franco-Chinese meals seasoned with the famous “老干妈”sauce. At that time, I was used to spicing up all my meals with this hot sauce, my favorite being the peanut one. With a quick gesture, I turn off my computer, close my eyes,inhale deeply the Sino-French aroma emanating from the kitchen, follow the rhythm of the Chinese music of my other Wuhan roommate and begin to hum “猪,你的鼻子有两个孔”. It’s pretty funny because I did not understand what I was humming, but I appreciated the rhythms of Chinese pop. Suddenly my brother calls me out and hands me a Chinese chopper in the most profound way: “stop day dreaming, come and help us”.

I diligently began to cut the Chinese cabbages they had just purchased from the town’s Chinese market. As you wellknow, we lived in France, but in a Chinese-French multicultural atmosphere. My brother and I have lived with 2 Chinese roommates for two years, with whom I developed an unfailing friendship. Eighteen years later, as I write these lines, we still maintain very close ties.

In 2005, to combine theory and practice, I was about to take a tour of central and eastern Europe. The purpose of this one-year journey through twenty countries was to report on the life of the natives, show their way of living to French audiences, and introduce the benefits of intercultural pedagogy. My traveling partner and I earned various awards for this endeavor, including the “young challenge” award from the Ministry of Youth and Europe.

With a heavy heart, I left my family and my Chinese friends for an eventful life aboard a van that we modified into a “camping-car” that would have traveled over 50,000 kilometers across Europe. This experience marked me deeply and allowed me to see my ignorance of the richness and diversity of the world around me, develop a remarkable ability to adapt, very quickly adopt the culture of the native, and feel at home wherever I live.

After such an intense adventure, the two years seemed bland to me. Finally, in 2007, my life took a 360-degree turn with my first big trip to China, Beijing to be precise.

Come to Beijing, Each Day Had its Share of Surprises

My first impressions will stay with me forever. When I landed at Beijing airport, I finally felt like I was part of an incredible journey; everything here was different from what I had previously experienced. As I was about to grab my luggage, the memory of my father crying at the airport was still vivid. Did he have the presentiment that I would settle in this country that had always attracted me two years later? I am more certain about this now than I have ever been. I simply wanted to visit Chinese friends for a few weeks.

This stay was like an illumination. My heart was racing when I handed the address of my friend to the taxi driver,“去哪儿啊？” I couldn’t understand a word, and it was fantastic. I had studied in France, Spain, and Germany,traveled through twenty countries, and for the first time,I finally experienced the unique pleasure of someone who gets lost in an environment that he has no control over.

I opened the taxi window wide, a warm breeze caressed my face, the billboards whizzed by at high speed, and the Chinese characters then exerted a powerful attraction on me. I had only one desire to learn them all as fast as possible. Easier said than done.

The reunion with my friends was exceptional. I was immediately enthralled by the quality of the dishes served to us in the restaurant, which was a real delight. Everything is much larger here than in Europe; restaurants can reach giant proportions and span multiple floors, university campuses are much larger, resembling small autonomous cities,the streets are bustling, and the city is simply enormous.

I remember this period of my life with great emotion because, at that time, each day had its share of surprises that,for me, was out of the ordinary.

Even today, I never get tired of appreciating this sense of security that reigns in the city; you can take the metro after 10 p.m. without being bothered by others. Unfortunately, it is a luxury that most European cities can not boast about. I have never felt malevolence in public transport in Beijing,and fights or arguments are pretty rare.

After a stay of a few weeks during which I had visited many cities, my decision was made. I must know more about this millennial civilization that attracts me so much.I spent all my free time preparing for my future stay in China and started taking courses at the Confucius Institute for two years. Many French people take Mandarin lessons there, but only a small percentage of them stick with it, and those who fully master the language are rare.

Witness Beijing’s Incredible Evolution

In 2009, I finally made the decision to take the plunge and settle in the city of my dreams. After the Olympic Games, it was decked up in its finest garb, with ultra-modern structures mingling with historic structures. Most of them are already known worldwide for their architectural beauty and technical prowess. I am thinking of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, the CCTV Tower, and, more recently, the China Zun skyscraper, which reaches 528 meters in height, naming but a few. Like most of the major Chinese megalopolises, Beijing has had a makeover and acquired these new symbols, just as Paris did with the Eiffel Tower a hundred years ago. Most Chinese cities are indeed changing their scenery and becoming more beautiful at breakneck speed. Some of my Pekingese friends who have lived in Europe for about ten years keep telling me that they no longer recognize the city of their childhood and get lost very easily. They pointed out that particular urban changes were rarer in France. Even after decades without visiting these cities, they found their way around quite easily since nothing hardly changed.

After ten years of living in Beijing, I got the opportunity to witness its incredible evolution.

The clothing of passers-by in Beijing’s streets is one ofthe most striking examples. Most people in 2007 didn’t give much importance to their look by my standards of young French people in the early 2000s. Fifteen years later,Sanlitun, Beijing’s “trendy” district, has undergone profound remodeling and has become a mecca for luxury and fashion. The brands of department stores have increased significantly. The 20/40 age group now has a very original style. People are looking to assert themselves through their outfits, so photographers take their shots in the streets and sell their photos to “fashion magazines”.

Education has also improved dramatically. On all fronts, I could witness clear growth, particularly in the residents of Beijing’s language performance. From the generation born in the 80s, with the evolution of the standard of living,many studied in other countries, which has enabled them to acquire new intercultural skills and, of course, an open mind and new expertise. You can ask for directions in the streets of Beijing, and most students will be able to respond in English or even in other languages.

Another point to note is that Beijing used to be polluted,but since 2018, there has been a significant improvement.The blue sky is now an integral part of our daily lives.

Other changes that have left an indelible impression on me include Beijing, which has undergone profound transformations as a result of the proliferation of electric vehicles, thanks in part to subsidies for their purchase, severe traffic restrictions, and the gradual ban on thermal cars. I travel by electric vehicle myself, which always impresses my European friends,but it has already become normal here. Beijing has nearly as many electric vehicles charging stations as the entire United States, indicating the efforts that have been made.

People’s way of life has also profoundly changed due to the impact of technological progress, whatever the field.You can still do so in the streets of New York by waving at the “cabs” circulating there. However, nowadays Chinese people favor the usage of phones applications, which helps them save a significant amount of time. We also see a constant ballet of parcel or prepared meal deliverers on the streets, responding to ever-increasing digital demands.Payments, reservations, everything is made through mobile phones.

China is one of the major players in the 21st century. A giant who never stops campaigning for a multipolar world and who, despite his power, demonstrates rare benevolence. I sincerely hope that Westerners will seek to know China better, that people worldwide can perceive a different China in a different world. After all, you can’t see the difference with your eyes closed. Real knowledge is the best tool to change stereotypes.