The shared journey of the Chinese Dream 同一个中国梦

One cold evening in April 2015, I was stuck in Shanghai Pudong Airport upon realizing my connection flight was rescheduled for the next day. Dragging two heavy suitcases onto a bus past midnight, I was exhausted and frustrated.

2015年4月某个寒冷的夜晚，由于联程航班被改到了第二天，我被困在了上海浦东机场。午夜时分，我不得不拖着两个沉重的箱子登上一辆巴士，满满的疲惫和沮丧。

When the bus, organized by our airline, finally dropped us off at a basic hotel in the suburbs of Shanghai, I felt scared.

巴士是航空公司为我们安排的，我们最后被放到了上海郊区的一家小旅馆，人生地不熟，我有点害怕。

In that moment of doubt, a girl called out to me offering to share a room. I turned around, standing in front of me was a small girl with long straight hair and slightly tanned skin. Her dark eyes radiated kindness.

迟疑时，一个女孩冲着我说，可以和我共用一个房间。我转过身，站在我面前的是一个留着长长的直发，皮肤有点黑的小个子女生。她黑色的眼眸里流露出善意。

Growing up in China, my mother has always told me to not trust strangers, but that evening I trusted Yecheng.

我的母亲总是告诉我不要相信陌生人，但那天晚上我却很信任叶澄（音译）。

On the surface, Yecheng and I couldn’t be more different. Yecheng, born in 1989 in a small city in Anhui province, grew up in a family where finances are tight. She has never travelled abroad, but dreams of one day becoming a producer on the same ranks of the titans of Hollywood.

表面上看，我和叶澄截然不同。叶澄1989年生于安徽省的一个小城市，在一个经济拮据的家庭中长大。她从未出国旅行过，但梦想有一天能成为好莱坞级别的制片人。

I, born a year after her, have always considered myself a global citizen. Having pursued studies abroad since the age of 12, I now travel frequently across Europe for work and holiday. Ironically, it is the wide streets and busy traffic of China’s big cities that now appear unfamiliar to me.

而我，晚她一年出生，一直认为自己是一个世界公民。我从12岁开始就在国外学习，现在经常因工作和度假在欧洲穿行。具有讽刺意味的是，中国大城市的宽阔街道和繁忙的交通却令我感到陌生。

But lying on adjacent beds of the cramped and dark hotel room that evening, we chatted about our respective dreams and deepest fears into the small hours.

但是那天晚上，我们躺在狭窄昏暗的旅店房间里相邻的两张床上，聊着各自的梦想和内心最深处的恐惧，一直到凌晨。

Yecheng, who has just finished university, was nervous about her upcoming interviews at two production companies, and worried about how she can support her family on the production industry norm of 4,000 yuan (450 pounds) per month for fresh graduates. I, on the other hand, was trying hard to develop a unique journalism voice in an industry fast transformed by technology.

叶澄刚大学毕业，因为即将要去两家制片公司面试而感到紧张，而且她担心自己的工资（根据制片行业的惯例，应届毕业生每月工资一般是4000元）能否养家糊口。而我则正努力在日新月异的媒体界闯出一番天地。

We laughed together, urged each other to try harder, and finally drifted into sleep.

我们一起大笑，互相勉励对方，最后进入各自的梦乡。

For the next few years, we cracked on with our respective busy lives. Meanwhile, China has transformed beyond imagination, the momentum which pushed forward the careers of millions of young Chinese like Yecheng and I.

在接下来的几年里，我们忙着各自的生活。与此同时，中国以超乎想象的势头推动了像叶澄和我一样数百万的中国年轻人的事业。

A year after joining a big television production company, Yecheng left to set up her own firm. Soon after that, her team landed in a big corporate sponsorship to produce a television serial.

在加入一家大型电视制作公司一年后，叶澄辞职成立了自己的公司。在那之后不久，她的团队获得了一家大公司的资助，制作了一部电视连续剧。

My career in London is perhaps less dramatic, although still full of pleasant surprises. Ever closer Sino-UK business relations has made China’s presence felt in the average daily lives of the British people, and that has instilled in me a responsibility to tell the China story well, and in that process develop a unique journalism voice. I never saw Yecheng again. She is not a friend I can call up for coffee or go see a show, but our shared dream has given me comfort and encouragement during the good and bad times.

我在伦敦的事业或许不那么引人注目，但仍充满惊喜。日益密切的中英经贸关系使英国人民在日常生活中感受到了中国的存在，这也让我充满了责任感，驱使我更好地讲述中国的故事，在这一过程中，我也形成了一种独特的新闻风格。我再也没见过叶澄。她不是我可以随时叫来喝咖啡或去看演出的朋友，但是我们共同的梦想在我得意和失意的时候给予了我安慰和鼓励。

If the American dream is clearly defined by freedom, prosperity and social mobility, the Chinese dream is about having a dream and having faith in that dream. More importantly, at least for me, it is the feeling of being emotionally encouraged by millions of other young Chinese around the world who all work assiduously to achieve their own respective dreams.

如果美国梦的定义就是自由、繁荣与社会流动，那么中国梦就是关于梦想和对梦想的信念。更重要的是，在世界各地，数以百万计的中国年轻人都在为实现各自的梦想而努力工作，至少对我来说，这是极大的鼓舞。