鳳凰牌、永久牌……蘭州這家自行車博物館有你的記憶嗎？

How many bicycles do you need in your life? For 67-year-old Chai Lin, the answer is 1,300 and counting.

你一生中需要多少輛自行車?對于67歲的柴林來說，答案是1300輛，而且還在繼續(xù)增加。

Bicycles were first introduced into China in the 19th century. During the past several decades, they have evolved from a symbol of wealth to a common means of transportation.

自行車最早是在19世紀傳入中國的。在過去的幾十年中，它們已經(jīng)從財富的象征演變?yōu)橐环N普通的交通工具。

Chai's obsession with bicycles dates back to the 1960s when he saw some people riding the two-wheeled vehicle in his home city of Lanzhou, capital of Northwest China's Gansu province.

柴林對自行車的癡迷開始于上世紀60年代，當時他在家鄉(xiāng)蘭州(中國甘肅省省會)看到一些人騎著兩輪自行車。

"They were like flying on the streets, and my heart went flying with them," recalled Chai. Since then, he dreamt of owning a bike.

“他們就像在街上飛翔，我的心也跟著他們一起飛翔，”柴林回憶道。從那時起，他夢想擁有一輛自行車。

However, in that era of scarcity, a bicycle was still a luxury for ordinary Chinese. Even when Chai started working in 1979, earning more than many of his peers, he had to cut back on other expenditures for at least four months before he could save up for a domestic bicycle.

然而，在那個物資匱乏的年代，對于中國老百姓來說自行車仍是奢侈品。柴林1979年開始工作時，雖然他的收入比許多同齡人都多，但他也不得不省吃儉用四個月，才攢夠錢買一輛自己的自行車。

To get enough money sooner, Chai made use of his talent in calligraphy and painting - a skill he started to learn from 6 years old - by selling artworks on the street.

為了盡快掙到買自行車的錢，柴林憑借自己的才能在街上擺攤賣書法和繪畫作品。他從6歲就開始學習書法和繪畫。

Thanks to all the efforts and "crowd-funding" in his family, Chai got his first bike, a British-made Raleigh, at the price of 880 yuan ($136) in 1980.

憑借著自己的努力和家人的“眾籌”，柴林在1980年以880元的價格買下了他的第一輛自行車，一輛英國制造的蘭令牌自行車。

The whole family treasured the bicycle. Chai's mother made a dust-proof "coat" for it, and Chai cherished it so much that he was even reluctant to ride it.

全家人都很珍視這輛自行車。柴媽媽為它做了一件防塵“外套”，柴林太喜愛這輛車了，他甚至不愿意騎它。

After becoming a businessman years later and earning enough to buy fancy motorbikes and cars, Chai's passion for bikes, however, didn't dwindle at all. He began to collect bikes of various brands and ages, especially antiques, from around the world through auctions and other means.

幾年后柴林成為一名商人，賺了足夠的錢購買高檔摩托車和汽車，然而，他對自行車的熱情絲毫沒有減弱。他開始通過拍賣和其他方式從世界各地收集各種品牌和年代的自行車，尤其是古董自行車。

The collecting experience is exciting, but it can also be "drudgery" sometimes, he said, especially when time differences forced him to attend online auctions overseas in the wee hours in China.

他說，收藏自行車很開心，但有時也可能是“苦差事”，尤其出于時差原因，他不得不在凌晨時分在中國參加海外在線拍賣的時候。

"I had to keep clicking with my mouse every time I made a bid. I clicked all night, and my fingers got numb," he said.

他說：“每次出價時，我就要點鼠標。我點了一整夜，手指都麻了。”

"Fortunately, I was young at that time and could endure it."

“還好當時我還年輕，還扛得住。”

Hard-won items have brought Chai immense satisfaction, but many people around him didn't think so. Some friends say Chai bought nothing more than a pile of scrap metal, while others think he was blowing money on nonsense.

來之不易的自行車給柴林帶來了巨大的滿足感，但他周圍的許多人并不認同。一些朋友說柴林買了一堆破銅爛鐵，其他人則認為他在浪費錢。

But he was never swayed by those cynical comments. In his eyes, the bikes he collected are also showcasing the development of global industrial civilization.

但他從未被這些冷嘲熱諷影響。在他看來，他收集的自行車也展示了全球工業(yè)文明的發(fā)展。

For example, he said, Japan-made bicycles have witnessed the process of standardization of Japanese craft production. Strict specifications apply to every part of a bike, ranging from a 4-millimeter screw to a wheel and a tire, he said.

柴林說，例如日本制造的自行車見證了日本工藝生產(chǎn)標準化的過程。從4毫米螺絲到車輪和輪胎，自行車上的每個零件都有嚴格的規(guī)格。

Chai has collected nearly 100 Japanese bikes, noting that they are the "darlings" of bike collectors globally.

柴林收集了近100輛日本自行車，他說它們是全球自行車收藏家的“寵兒”。

With his collection growing, there was no space big enough to keep it. In 2009, with the support of the Gansu provincial government, he invested 200 million yuan for a museum just for his bikes.

隨著他的藏品不斷增加，沒有足夠大的空間來存放。2009年，在甘肅省政府的支持下，他投資2億元修建了一座自行車博物館。

After 10 years' efforts, the Gansu Sanmu Bicycle Museum, located in Chengguan district of Lanzhou, finally opened to the public in January 2019 free of charge.

經(jīng)過10年的努力，位于蘭州城關(guān)區(qū)的甘肅三木自行車博物館終于于2019年1月免費向公眾開放。

With an area of 18,659 square meters, the museum stores not only bikes, some 200 years old, but also some 13,500 bike-related accessories, manuscripts, books and photos.

博物館占地18659平方米，不僅收藏了自行車(有的自行車有200多年歷史)，還收藏了13500件自行車相關(guān)配件、手稿、書籍和照片。

The museum has been designated as an off-campus research center for local primary and middle school students and is also popular with tourists. In the first half of 2021 alone, it received more than 900,000 tourists.

這座博物館被指定為當?shù)刂行W生校外研學基地，也深受游客歡迎。僅在2021年上半年，就接待90多萬游客。

Chai has constantly upgraded the facilities inside the museum, equipping it with state-of-the-art technology. For example, a VR installation is available for visitors to experience the feeling of riding on different types of bikes.

柴先生不斷更新博物館內(nèi)的設(shè)施，為博物館配備最先進的技術(shù)。例如，虛擬現(xiàn)實裝置可供游客體驗騎不同類型自行車的感覺。

Due to limited space, a large part of Chai's collection is not yet exhibited and has to be stored in the warehouse, driving him to improve the museum.

由于空間有限，柴林的大部分藏品尚未展出，必須存放在倉庫中，這促使他改進博物館。

"Bikes carry unique and precious memories of our generation. I hope to expand the scale of the displaying area of the museum and provide a comfortable 'home' for my bikes," he said.

他說：“自行車承載著我們這一代人獨特而珍貴的記憶。我希望擴大博物館展示區(qū)的規(guī)模，為我的自行車提供一個舒適的‘家’。”