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The village of Dongshan and our future site nestled alongside the beautiful Lake Tai

苏州店所在的东山古镇坐落于壮阔的太湖之滨

The Venice of the East-Suzhou-will soon be hometo our largest heritage site

喜林苑迄今规模最大的文化体验店即将落户“东方威尼斯”—古城苏州

Throughout the past few years, we have dropped hints about the opening of our first site outside of Yunnan. Choosing the location for this site was extremely difficult. We looked at over two dozen historic districts throughout China before agreeing to take on the Rong Chun Tang Mansion in the beautiful old town of Dongshan, 30 minutes south of Suzhou and less than 90 minutes by car from Shanghai.

在过去的数年间，我们一直酝酿着开辟喜林苑在云南省外第一家分店。然而，确定这家分店的选址无疑是一项艰巨的挑战。在全中国的范围内，我们对20余家历史街区进行了详细考察，最终选定了坐落于东山古镇的“容春堂”旧宅。东山古镇位于苏州南部，距苏州市区车程30分钟;到上海亦仅需90分钟。

Our new site, a grand Ming-Qing Dynasty complex, four times the size of our first site in Xizhou, has taken over three years to restore. The complex will have 20 plus upscale boutique hotel rooms, restaurants, a cooking school, gallery space, library, and a dedicated section for education with classrooms and creative dorm spaces that can house 30-40 students.

“容春堂”址是一处宏伟的明清建筑群，所占面积为喜洲喜林苑店的四倍，我们用时三年对其进行了细致的修葺。“容春堂”址将拥有20余间高档精品客房、餐厅、烹饪学校、画廊、图书馆及一处教育专区，其中包含能够同时容纳30-40名学生的教室与创意宿舍空间。

Dongshan is nestled on a peninsula that juts into Lake Tai- China’s third largest lake. The peninsula’s hills are covered with ancient temples, tea plantations and fruit orchards. Quiet roads, perfect for hiking and biking, line the shores and climb into the verdant valleys. Our new site will offer serenity, beauty, and timeless elegance. And, of course, it will provide the same service and education content that have made our Yunnan sites so renowned. Come be among the first to stay with us. We hope to open before the end of 2020.

东山古镇位于一座深嵌在太湖中的半岛上，它的典雅娟秀孕育自中国第三大淡水湖的千年涵养中。半岛的山顶点缀着古寺、茶园与果圃。静谧的街道延湖岸而上，一直绵延到青翠的山谷中，是踏春和骑行的绝佳去处。“容春堂”址将为各地游客提供静谧、优美与典雅的享受，并将一如既往的保持喜林苑所追求的服务与教育项目——正是这些内容为云南喜林苑各店赢得了极高的赞誉。苏州“容春堂”址预计在2020年末前正式营业，我们热忱期待您作为首批客人光临“容春堂”，结缘“喜林苑”。

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Pity and Compassion in China:

The Tables Have Turned

来自中国的关怀：四十年间时势变

Some of my earliest memories, from around the time of Apollo 11, are of food, especially of things I did not want to eat. Liver and beets were at the top of the list, and I would dread the nights when I suspected that they would appear on my dinner plate.

我的童年正当阿波罗11号驶入云霄的时代，其中一些最早的记忆与食物相关，尤其是那些令我厌恶的食物。肝脏和甜菜居于榜首：倘若获知它们将出现在明天的晚餐盘里，我就会遭受彻夜的焦虑。

Even after receiving admonishments from my mother- there were people in China who did not have enough to eat- I could not be convinced to finish my portions of liver and beets. They usually disappeared into my pockets or were tucked into my underwear and disposed of in the gardens after washing the dishes. Those memories clouded my views of China until my first visit in 1984.

即使在母亲这样对我劝告——在中国有许多人得不到足够的食物——我仍旧不能迫使自己吃完我的那份肝脏和甜菜。它们往往被藏匿在我的口袋里或内衣下，并在清洗厨具之后被丢弃到花园里。这些记忆致使我对中国的印象始终笼罩着一层阴影，直到1984年我第一次来到中国。

Recently, the tables have turned. While America struggles with protests and COVID 19, Jeanee and I have been inundated with visits from the Chinese people who are worried about our family and friends back home. Whereas the Western media talks about rare cases of animosity directed toward foreigners by Chinese, we have been experiencing something completely different: concern and pity.

而最近，我发现这一形势似乎经历了戏剧性的逆转。当美国深陷于抗议浪潮和疫情危机中时，珍妮和我迎来了大量中国友人们的造访，他们的目的是来表达对我们在美国家人和朋友们的关切与担忧。当西方媒体选择性的聚焦于报道一些中国人敌视外国人的罕见个案时，我们切身所经历的却与之截然相反：它们是来自中国人的关心与怜悯。

Yesterday, we had our local mosque’s Imam visit with his family and friends. The most commonly heard comments were, “Please don’t go back to America… it is too dangerous,” and “You are one of us now, we would be worried if you were to return home.”

昨天，本地清真寺的阿訇与他的家人和朋友们到访喜林苑。在与他们的对话中，我们最常听到的词句是“现在千万不要回美国，那里太危险了”和“您早已是喜洲的一员，如果您现在回到美国我们将非常担心您的安全”。

This type of angst echoes throughout our courtyards daily. Jeanee and I feel like we are receiving visitors who are paying respect to a departed loved one. Some may argue that it is unwarranted, representing views that are being manipulated by the media. While we are not in a position to question the validity of the protrayals, we can objectively share the responses of the hundreds of Chinese people who visit us daily.

类似的焦虑与关切每天萦绕在我们的院子里。珍妮和我有时甚至会觉得，我们的访客们是前来追思他们所关心的逝者的。或许一些人认为这样的担忧毫无根据，仅仅来自于中国媒体的刻意营造。尽管我们不便去置疑相关描述的有效性，但却仍然可以客观的分享每日造访我们的数以百计的中国朋友们的真实反馈。

The provincial and local governments are also regularly reaching out to us. “Are we okay?” “Are our children safe?” “Can the capital do anything to help us during these hard times?” They come to our hotels unannounced, they come to offer help and moral support; we have never asked them for any assistance. Their encouragement, especially during a time of increased political tension, goes against everything we hear about this country in the West.

就连云南省和当地的政府也会定期与我们联系：“你们还好吗”，“你们在美国的孩子们安全吗”……他们主动造访喜林苑并提供各项帮助和精神支持，即使我们从未要求他们这样做。在当前中美政治关系如此紧张的局势下，他们的鼓励完全消解了我们从西方听到的对这个国家的偏见和污名。

Forty years ago, China was a threat during my evening meals. Now it seems like paradise compared to the scenes from America’s cities that we are seeing online.

四十年前，中国是母亲用来说服我接受讨厌的晚餐的理由。而现在，相较于我们在网上看到的发生在美国城市中的景象，中国仿佛是一片安宁的桃花源。

While some Chinese may derive schadenfreude glee from the recent events, they are a minority. The Chinese people we meet daily are coming to our door, expressing true concern about America, and welcoming and embracing Jeanee and me as part of their tribe. America does not need pity- some could have argued that China did not need it as well in the 1970s- but its genuine existence in our courtyards is a cause for humility and perhaps hope.

尽管或许会有些中国人幸灾乐祸于当前美国遭受的乱象，但他们绝对是中国人中的极少数派。就我们每日接待的大量中国民众们而言，他们来到喜林苑表达对美国局势的深切关注，并用拥抱和欢迎来接纳我们成为中国的一员。事实上，今天的美国不需要怜悯——正如一些人认为七十年代的中国同样不需要怜悯——但这些真实存在于我们庭院中的怜悯正是我们谦逊与希望的根源。

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Expansion in 2021

2021扩展计划

While business slowly recovers here in rural China, our recent downtime has not been wasted. For the past six months, in addition to working on our Suzhou and Shibaoshan sites that will open later this year, we have focused on upgrading our facilities, increasing our programs, training our staff, and exploring potential future sites for our expansion in 2021. We have been encouraged by the optimism and entrepreuneurial spirit of the Chinese people. We have been researching new destinations within Yunnan and in neighboring provinces. These include a beautiful historic tea plantation along the Mekong River 200 kilometers south of Dali, a series of sites along the UNESCO protected Nu (Salween) River valley, one of China’s most remote regions, and the development of a 300 kilometer hiking trail that would connect our national park sites in Shibaoshan and Gaoligongshan.

尽管中国农村经济仍处于缓慢复苏的过程中，但我们并未荒废这段停工的时间。在过去的六个月中，除了致力于准备将在今年下半年正式开放的苏州和石宝山项目外，我们同时聚焦在喜林苑中升级设备、增加项目、培训员工并考察适宜我们2021年扩展计划的潜在项目选址。在这些过程中，我们深深感动于中国人民的乐观态度与企业家精神。我们考察了位于云南省内及周边省份的多项新选址，其中包括在大理以南200公里处湄公河边的一座古老而美丽的茶庄;沿受联合国教科文组织(UNESCO)保护的怒江河谷带分布的一系列选址——它们处于中国的最边陲;及一条长达300公里，能够连接石宝山和高黎贡山国家公园的徒步旅游路线。

The Linden Centre has been heralded as one of the best examples of rural tourism development in Yunnan, and we have been in discussions with numerous local governments about replicating our model throughout the region. We will keep all our friends updated on the selection process. By the end of this year, we should have our list of new sites available to share with everyone.

长期以来，喜林苑被誉为云南乡村旅游建设的最佳典范之一。我们与多个地方政府探讨在各地复制我们的成功模式的可能性。我们将及时向广大朋友们发布相关选址的进展，并预期在今年年末能够与大家分享喜林苑的新选址列表。