中国的西南边陲，“彩云之南”云南，美轮美奂的自然风景和多姿多彩的民族风情，对小时候的我，一直有种童话世界般的魔力。纪录片《鸟瞰中国》云南篇，不仅全面展示了当地的自然之美、民族之美，也将镜头对准了当地颇有名气的“土特产”，那就是燕窝。

On the border of southeast China, there are beautiful natural scenery and rich ethnic customs, which had magically influenced my childhood. The documentary China of Above of yunnan has perfectly shown the beauty of nature and the ethnic culture, which also turns the camera on the famous local special, that is the bird’s nest.

建水县有一处别有洞天的地方，被称作燕子洞。从空中俯瞰，这里是一处令人惊叹的自然奇观。洞内簇立石笋、钟乳石等，光线阴暗，成为了众多金丝燕的栖息之地。燕子洞不仅带动了当地的旅游发展，它产出的燕窝，也是广受人们追捧，远销海内外。

There is a hidden but amazing place in Jianshui County which is a wonder of nature when seen from above where clusters stalagmites and stalactites in the cave. It’s dark there and is a good habitat for numerous swiftlets, which has driven the tourism as well as the trade of the bird’s nest both home and abroad.

在亚洲的许多地区，燕窝已经开始采用商业养殖模式，来应对燕群日益减少的问题。但是在中国建水，人们仍然在用传统的攀爬方式采集野生燕窝。这种燕窝，量少、天然、健康，是具有极高药用价值的滋补佳品。

In many places of Asia, there have been commercial breeding bases to conquer the problem of the decrease of bird’s nest. While in Jianshui County of China, people still use the traditional method of climbing, whose products are extremely rare, natural, healthy, and full of medical value.

从前的建水，经济并不发达，人们只得靠山吃山靠水吃水，攀岩取燕窝算是不得已而为之。

The economy of Jianshui used to be undeveloped, people had to live on what the land provided to them, and climbing the rock to fetch the bird’s nest was their stark choice.

39岁的徐建明就是一位经验丰富的采集者。14岁开始，他就已经能够徒手攀上50多米高的岩壁，在钟乳石丛中采集燕窝。这项工作虽然辛苦，危险性也很高，但作为全家营生的手段和建水人生活传统的一部分，后继者需要继续做下去。

The 39-year-old Xu Jianming is one of the experienced gatherers. From 14 years old he could climbed on 50 meters rock and fetch the bird’s nest. This is a tough job and is incredibly dangerous, but as a way of supporting the family and a custom of the local, it needs successors.

从前看过一个纪录片，是在喜马拉雅的峭壁之上采集崖蜜，这些人被称为“天堂采蜜人”。而今，就在中国的建水，同样有这样勇敢又矫健的燕窝采集人。老徐说：“攀岩一定要记性好，记性不好，记不住路，你就在上面下不来了。”与攀岩运动员一样，采集者要利用崖壁上天然的裂隙作为立足点，徒手攀爬而上。如果不巧赶上了下雨，岩壁就会变得非常滑，踏错一步就会酿成大祸。

I remember a documentary about gathering honey on the cliffs, and the gatherers are called “honey gatherers of heaven”. Today, there are also brave and strong gatherers in Jianshui County. Xu said: “you have to get good memory, if not you will forget the ways down, and can’t get back.” It’s the same with rock climbers that one has to take advantage of the natural cliffs as footholds, and if it happens to rain, the cliffs will be very slippery, and one wrong step will lead to serious trouble.

这项工作非常危险，但采集者的报酬却很微薄。为了维持生计，老徐通过向游客展示攀岩技巧来获得额外收入。虽然危险，但攀岩给老徐也带来了极大的成就感，他早已习惯了在陡峭的岩石间上下“飞舞”。

This job is very dangerous with poor reward. In order to make a living, Xu has to show the visitors about how to climb in order to get some extra incomes. Though dangerous, it gives him a great sense of achievement, and he has already been used to "flying" up and down between the steep rocks.

在没有危险的地面，他的生活似乎有些沉重。但岩壁上的危险，反而让他更加踏实，那是他朝向自由和美好的一双翅膀。

Living on the safe ground makes his life confusing. While the risks on the rocks make him feel more “grounded”, because that is the wings which will help him fly to the freedom and beautiful life.

撰稿：文小样 译者：尚小桦