漫步上海林荫路

文/Holland Marshall （加拿大） 译/孙晔

在没有来到上海前，我想象中的上海应该是个高楼林立、商场遍布，水泥人行道和柏油路纵贯其间的城市。而当2017年10月我和妻子第一次踏上上海的土地，这里街边郁郁葱葱的绿树、灌木丛和花卉景观着实让我们眼前一亮。

粗壮的树干是上海的典型街边景观树。

如果你是游客，我会推荐你去上海著名的外滩、购物街、博物馆以及数千家美味餐馆。但是，你也可以花点时间放松一下，看看这里花坛密布和绿树罗列的无数城市公园以及如诗如画的街头。

我从酒店借了一辆自行车，骑着逛遍了上海的街区。上海地势平缓，就像阿姆斯特丹一样，是骑行者的天堂。骑着自行车，我可以随看随停。在水果和饮品店前瞅瞅或买点什么。看到了有趣的东西，也可以直接停车、上锁，四处闲逛。

这是上海闹市区的一条小巷，不过看起来更像是郊外或乡村小路

Before I visited Shanghai, I thought that it consisted mostly of tall buildings and shopping malls, surrounded by plain concrete sidewalks and asphalt roads.

When my wife and I visited this city for the first time in October 2017, we were surprised to see the large number of trees, shrubs and flowers that adorn the streets.The trunks are typical of most trees I saw in Shanghai.

I urge tourists to enjoy the Bund, the shopping streets, museums and the thousands of wonderful restaurants that Shanghai is known for. However, please take some time to relax and enjoy the numerous city parks and the landscaped streets that are tastefully decorated with flowerbeds and thousands of trees.

I made good use of the bicycle that I borrowed from the hotel to ride around and explore Shanghai's neighborhoods. Shanghai is so flat that, like Amsterdam, it makes bicycling a pleasure.

Riding a bicycle makes it so convenient to stop wherever I liked.I got to browse and shop at the small stores for fruit and drinks.Whenever I saw something of interest, I just stopped, locked the bike and started exploring.

Here is a side street in downtown Shanghai. It looks like it could be a street in the suburbs or a country road rather than in the heart of downtown Shanghai.

I did not expect to see canopies like this on so many streets. It is as if nature provides natural sun umbrellas for the people of Shanghai. The shade must be welcome during the long, hot summers.

This street is in the old French Concession part of Shanghai.This photo was taken in the first week of October so the leaves are just starting to change color.

It must be beautiful in the autumn when all the leaves have changed color and are starting to fall onto the roads and sidewalks.

这是上海闹市区的一条小巷，不过看起来更像是郊外或乡村小路。我从没想到上海这么多街道上都有如此葱郁的树冠，就好像是大自然为上海人特制了天然的遮阳伞。在漫长而炎热的夏季，想必这些树荫大受欢迎。

这是古老的法租界的一条街道。照片拍摄于2017年10月的第一周，那时树叶刚开始变色。

到了深秋，所有树叶都变了颜色，落叶铺满街面和人行道的时候一定非常漂亮。

街道位于外滩附近。宽阔的大道布置着美丽的花坛和灌木丛，整齐的树木延路边一字排向远方。

这条街道在统一和美观之间取得了绝妙的平衡。汽车、出租车、踏板车和公交车川流不息，而行人则可以边逛街边悠闲地享受花木繁茂的美景，或者停下脚步，沏上一杯清茶，静静地看着街上的车水马龙。

当我们在10月的第一个星期到达上海时，天气还很温暖，所以我们沿着有树荫的一边散步，享用大自然的“环保空调”。

这是古老法租界中的另一条街道，有着巨大的树冠。我们其实很想知道到底上海有多少条街道拥有如此的绿树美景。

中国东北辽宁的大连市有这种树。我本以为只有大连才有，现在知道是我想错了。

树木栽种紧密，树冠彼此交错。树荫为人行道遮挡烈日的炙烤。

电工沿着竹梯爬上树杈。他们不得不费力地透过层层叠叠的树叶观察，以便将电线从一个电杆拉向另一个电杆。

这是城市规划者眼中的理想市中心居住区。小高层的楼房，三三两两的小商店，而不是专卖店，以及很多树木、灌木和花卉。骑自行车者和行人在机动车间穿梭。

这张照片看起来可能更像是在一个小城镇，而不是一个拥有2500万人口的大都市。

金沙新村小区的居住区街道，将灌木盆和花盆排在街道中间防止行人乱穿马路。人行道两旁是枝繁叶茂的大树。

有一次，我正在上海的一条绿荫道上闲逛，突然看到了一个结满巨大绿色果实的高树。回到酒店后，我问酒店员工那是什么果子，他们回答说是西柚。

我没想到，居然能在市区绿荫道边的千百棵景观树中发现一棵西柚树。

上海在街边景观树、灌木丛、花卉和艺术设计上用的每一份心，都让上海市区的道路显得别具一格。

The street is in the downtown area near the Bund. This wide boulevard has beautiful flowerbeds and shrubs and rows of trees lining the sidewalks.

This street has achieved a nice balance between utility and beauty. The cars, taxis, scooters and buses can zip along while pedestrians can leisurely enjoy the trees and flowers while they are window-shopping or stopping to enjoy a refreshing tea as they watch the traffic go by.

When we visited in the first week of October, the weather was warm, so we walked on the shady side of the streets - nature's eco-friendly air-conditioning.

Here is another street in the old French Concession that has a stunning tree canopy. We were surprised at how many streets have such beautiful tall trees.

Dalian in Northeast China's Liaoning province, has trees like this but I thought that Dalian was unique. I now know that I was wrong.

The trees are planted close together so that the tree canopies touch each other. The shade protects the sidewalks from the sun's hot rays.

This is a city planner's dream for downtown residential areas.There are low-rise buildings with mostly independent small businesses—not franchise outlets—and plenty of trees, shrubs and flowers. Pedestrians and bicyclists share the road with cars.

It would be easy to think this photo was taken in a small town,not in a giant city with a population of 25 million.

This residential street in the Jinshaxincun District has shrubs and flowers in planter boxes set in the middle of the road to discourage jaywalking. The trees are on the sidewalks on both sides of the street.

I was strolling along one of Shanghai's greenways when I came across a tall tree that had large green fruit. When I got back to my hotel, I asked the hotel clerks what they were. They said that it was grapefruit.

I did not expect to see a grapefruit tree among the hundreds of trees that are planted beside a downtown greenway.

All the effort that Shanghai puts into its roadside trees, shrubs,flowers and art makes every downtown street special.