The document provides a first-person account of visiting an impoverished alleyway community in Beijing. The narrator describes encountering an elderly woman collecting garbage and decides to help carry her collection home. On the journey, the woman shares that she collects garbage to support her sons. The narrator is struck by the difficult living conditions in the alley, including makeshift stoves and homes filled with garbage. The experience gives the narrator mixed feelings about the inequality that exists beneath the prosperity of the city.

1. 北京的另一個角落 The other side of Beijing 看到他們你還怨嘆什麼？ After seeing them what do you have to complain about?

2. 雖然信寄來時，已經不完整了， 但我想， 看完這些敘述和照片後， 言語也就不那麼重要了吧！ In spite of the fact that when the email arrived it’s incomplete, but I thought, after seeing the description and the fotos, words become less important.

3. 世界各大城市的縮影 A glimpse of any metropolis in the world 北京的另一個角落～看到他們你還怨嘆什麼？抱怨什麼他們都有勇氣活下去。你 ( 妳 ) 不如他們嗎 ? 〔組圖 〕 放暑假了，今天去火車站送同學回家。這裡人來人往，熱鬧非凡。成百上千互不相識的人神奇地匯聚到了一起，然後又各奔東西。 THE OTHER SIDE OF BEIJING ~ After seeing them, what have you got to complain about? In spite of everything, they still have the courage to live. Are you better off than they are? Summer vacation was here, I went to the train station to see off some classmates. The station was very busy with people going to and fro. Hundreds and thousands of strangers gathered here, then they went their own ways

4. 送走了同學，我和朋友背著攝像機四處閒逛。「小妹呀！」一個怯生生的聲音。我轉頭一看，一位婆婆眼巴巴地盯著我手裡的飲料杯。看著她的背簍和手上的編制袋，我明白了。 After seeing off our classmates, my friend and I wandered about with a camera. “Young lady!” a nervous voice said. I turned around and saw an old lady staring at my disposable pop cup. As soon as I saw what’s on her back and in her hand bag, I knew what she wanted.

5. 飲料還有一半沒喝完，婆婆就一直在我身旁守著，臉上帶著討好的笑容。我心裡暗自嘆息，加快了吸吮的速度。 I still have half of my drink in my cup, the old lady stood there waiting patiently, with a friendly smile on her face. I sighed inside, finished my drink quickly.

6. 把飲料瓶給她後，左右沒什麼事，於是我開始幫她撿垃圾。感謝我們國人的「素質」，我很快就在地上撿了滿滿一袋的瓶瓶罐罐，婆婆的臉上笑開了花。 After I gave her my cup, since I had nothing to do, I helped her pick up garbage. Thanks to the “quality” of our citizens, we soon filled a bag with bottles and cans. The old lady smiled contentedly.

7. 相比之下，這位「垃圾守望者」就太不明國情了，在垃圾箱旁空等半天也沒什麼收穫。 Compared to this man, who waited passively beside the garbage can, he didn’t understand the people of this country. After waiting half a day, he came away empty-handed.

8. 婆婆今天大豐收，堅決貫徹「兩手都要抓」的精神，一個都不能少！雖然負擔沉重，可是壓不住她內心的喜悅。看到她這麼高興，我也很開心。 The old lady had an excellent harvest. Her “grab life with both hands” spirit spared no can or bottle. In spite of the heavy load, she’s still happy. Seeing her joy, I was happy too.

9. 看到婆婆實在背不下了，我索性幫她拿回家。 路上，婆婆跟我擺談，說她有三個兒子，為了幫大兒子還賭債和給小兒子湊錢結婚，她才出來撿垃圾的。聽了這話，我瞬時覺手上的垃圾袋變得很沉重 ? Seeing that the old lady couldn’t cope with the load, I decided to help her take her harvest home. On the way, we got to talking. She told me she had three sons, in order to help her eldest to pay off his debt and to help the youngest to get married that’s why she decided to become a “recycler”. Hearing this, the load in my hand became heavier.

10. 婆婆住的地方很遠，也很偏、很舊。我現在才知道，繁華的都市裡居然還有這種地方。 The lady lived quite far away, difficult to reach and old. Only now do I understand that in a prosperous metropolis that such place existed.

11. 走過這條沿途都是垃圾的小巷子，雖然只花了半分鐘，但我感覺卻像是回到了半個世紀前。 Although it took only half a minute to traverse this garbage-strewn lane, it made me feels that I’ve stumbled in to a world from half a century ago. [… before the revolution in 1949, the forming of the People’s Republic. – PK]

12. 終於到了婆婆居住的小區。 冗長的小巷裡，家家戶戶門口都堆滿了各式各樣的垃圾。曾經以為《功夫》裡的豬籠城寨是完全虛構的地方，然而比起這裡，那根本就不算什麼！ Finally we got to the little district where the lady lived. In the dull, long alley, every home was filled with all kinds of garbage. I thought that the scenes in the movie “Gung fu” where they showed the pig-basket like walled-city were pure fiction. Compared to this, that’s nothing!

13. 這是此地居民普遍使用的灶台，裡面的燃料除了煤渣還有就是撿來的碎木片和一些可燃物。 This was what the residents use for a stove. The fuel comprised coal bits as well as other bits of wood and combustible materials.

14. 巷子口遇上的大嬸熱情地請我參觀她的住宅。站在滿屋的垃圾旁，她笑得非常自豪。據婆婆介紹，她是這裡最富有的人了。對著這些淳樸的人，我依舊保持著微笑，然而，心裡卻很想哭 . At the entrance to the alley, this lady warmly invited me into her home. Standing beside all this rubbish, she was very proud of them. The lady introduced her as the richest person in the area. Facing these plain folks, I kept my smile on my face; but inside, I wanted to cry.

15. 再看一眼這座最「富裕」的小屋吧，連架子床的下鋪都堆滿了「財產」。然而我想，即便是最吝嗇的守財奴也很難枕著這滿屋的財富安然入眠。 Looking at the “richest” house of the area where “wealth” took up all the space under the bed. I thought that even the stingiest miser couldn’t sleep peacefully with this houseful of “wealth”.

16. 路過一門口，裡面那位正在整理垃圾的大嫂笑問婆婆今天的收成。 Passing one door way, I asked the woman who was sorting her rubbish how her harvest was today.

17. 得知我的身份後，大嬸與我的距離瞬間拉近了，因為她的孩子目前也正在上大學，而這些垃圾換來的每一張人民幣，則化為天之驕子那昂貴的學費。 大嬸活得很精神，在她的心目中，孩子一畢業便可以改變一家人的命運了。我不敢告訴她，現在大學生的就業已經大不如前，前方的路途也許還很遙遠。 After being introduced, the distance between this woman and me dissolved immediately because one of her children was also going to university, and all these rubbish could be turned to cash to pay for her pride and joy’s exorbitant school fees. The lady was very healthy. In her eyes, once her child graduates, then the life of her family would improve. I didn’t dare tell her that a university grad’s future was not as it was before. The road ahead is still very bumpy and long.

18. 巷子裡，一個四處留痕的小男孩吸引了我的目光，他是我在這裡看到的唯一一位男子漢。希望生在此地的他今後能像此刻般執著地成長起來。 Inside the lane, a boy who was leaving his mark every where caught my eyes. He was the only male in this area. I hope that he who lived here could grow up properly as he was at the moment.

19. 走慣了水泥、瓷磚和大理石鋪就的道路，看慣了城裡的高樓大廈和綠樹、噴泉，如今走在垃圾山之間，我不禁百感交集 ? I, who have been accustomed to walking on concrete, tiled and marbled streets, looking at skyscrapers, green trees and fountains, was now walking between mountains of rubbish, had very mixed feelings.

20. 我們的到來攪亂了此地的寧靜，熱情的大媽們看到我們的攝像機後，帶我去拜訪一位居民。 Our presence here disturbed the peace of the place; but the hospitable ladies, seeing our camera, invited us to visit one of the residents.

21. 一個漆黑的小屋門口，我見到了此地年齡最大的主人。觸眼的景象，使我難以用言語和文字來形容。 In a darkened door way, I met the oldest resident of the area. From what I saw, it was hard to describe the scene with words.

22. 跟這裡所有好客的主人一樣，太婆顫悠悠地扶著門來歡迎我，然而深度佝僂的她，已經無法抬起頭來了。 Like all the hospitable residents, the old lady, shakily held on the door frame to welcome us. But her rickets made it impossible for her to look up.

23. 太婆今年八十多歲，一個兒子殘疾，一個兒子結了婚就丟下她走了。殘疾兒子現在騎三輪車掙錢，婆婆就揀垃圾，但是年齡大了，腿腳行動不便，只能在附近的垃圾堆裡揀些塑料袋之類的垃圾，一個月只能揀幾十塊錢，而且她犯有肺氣腫，但是沒錢看病，只能拖一天算一天 ? The old lady was in her 80s. One of her sons was handicapped, the other son got married and left her. The handicapped son rode a tricycle to make a living. She herself gathered plastic bags and the like from garbage to make a living. She could make less than 20 yuan a month. She also had pulmonary emphysema but did not have the money to looked after it. All she could do was live day-to-day.

24. 這裡的所見所聞讓我心裡好痛，無法再呆下去了。逃離之時，我把媽媽早上給的零花錢轉贈給老人家。迄今為止，她那讓人心碎的眼神依舊在我腦海裡盤旋不去！ All I saw and heard made my heart ache, couldn’t stay any longer. Before I escape, I gave the allowance my mother gave me to the old lady. Even now, her heart-breaking eyes still haunts my mind.

25. 要走了，回頭再望一眼。我黯然地發現，這個巷子的「地裂」很淺，但是它跟外部的鴻溝卻很深、很深 ? I had to leave, I took a last glance back. Sadly I discovered that the crack in the alley was very shallow, but the gulf between this place and the outside world was very, very deep.

26. 走上鬧市街頭，觸眼一派繁華景象，五彩繽紛的燈火將都市裝扮得宛如全身鑲滿了金銀首飾的貴婦。放在以前，我也是深深地沉醉其中，被她高貴典雅的氣息深深迷住，時常在高檔商場和專賣店間流連忘返。然而今天，我不再有心情，試問，我們大家醉心於這位貴婦的迷人丰采時，還有多少人牽掛著養大她的老娘親？ When I got to the city centre, all I could see was prosperity. All the colourful lights and the decorations were like a wealthy lady bedecked with gold and silver jewellery. Before, I was deeply immersed in the scene, bewitched by her expensive and classy looks, often lingering in the expensive brand-name stores. But today, I don’t have the heart any more. I’ll ask, when you are enchanted by the beauty of this high-class lady, how many of you still care for the old lady who raised you?

27. 回到自己的小天地裡，發覺這裡依然是那麼的溫馨、舒適，但心卻難以平靜。我希望把今天看到的一切記錄下來，作為成長的經驗。 Once I returned to my little world to find that everything is still warm and comfortable but there is unrest in my heart. I record everything I saw today as my growing experience. ~ English translation by Patrick TAM 談伯楷 , Vancouver, BC, CANADA . All the errors in the translation are mine. I