While it normally takes over 10 hours to fly from Amsterdam to Shanghai, if you've ever wondered how long the trip would take by bicycle, Ole Bouman has the answer — 156 days.
Born in 1960 in Amersfoort, Netherlands, Bouman is a Dutch-German historian, writer, publisher, photographer, curator, lecturer and practitioner of design and architecture, and now a professor at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University in Shanghai.
奥雷·伯曼和他的自行车在上海外滩合影，此时距离他的启程终点还有7公里。（本人供图）
今年2月，奥雷·伯曼骑着一辆18公斤的自行车，携带45公斤重的行李，从荷兰阿姆斯特丹出发，目标是欧亚大陆另一端的中国上海。在这段10756公里的行程中，他一路向东，横跨10756公里，途经18个国家和地区，参观了500个历史古迹，记录了无数个关于人、文化、故事、理解和联结的精彩瞬间。他给这趟旅程起了个名字——“东游记”。
“从阿姆斯特丹骑行到上海，这趟旅程不仅仅是为了跨越千山万水，更是为了遇见沿途的人们、聆听他们的故事、以及每蹬一次脚踏板带来的全新视野。自行车不再只是简单的交通工具，它更像是我的伙伴，是我近距离感知世界的方式，”他在博客中如此写道，并在接受中国日报采访时笑称他这只是“在通勤去上班”。
Departing from Amsterdam in early February, Bouman cycled 10,756 kilometers through 18 countries and regions, as well as more than 500 historical sites, mapping an adventure filled with discoveries about people, cultures, stories, understanding and connection.
"From Amsterdam to Shanghai, the journey was never just about the distance. My bicycle became more than just a way to get from point A to point B; it was a companion, a tool, a way to dig into the world up close," writes Bouman in his blog, making a joke that he was just "commuting from home to work".
看着轻描淡写，但其实奥雷·伯曼的这趟“东游记”并非是一时兴起。这个念头在他脑海里盘旋了许久（a long-lingering idea），而后在过去的两年间变得逐渐清晰和坚定。也是从那时候起，他开始正式为出发做身心、手续和经济上的各种准备。
奥雷·伯曼对“东方”好奇已久，可以追溯到上世纪90年代。作为一个文化历史学家，中西方之间的关系与联结一直驱使着他进行探索。同时，他与中国的渊源也颇深，在此居住已近十年。此间，他担任过深港城市/建筑双城双年展（UABB）的创意总监、也是深圳国际合作项目设计互联平台（Design Society）的创始馆长。
“我认为很多人去到不同的地方是为了抓住一个机会。设计互联这个平台之于我来说就是一个绝佳的机会，它也是我人生中最精彩的篇章之一。我抓住了这个机会，也对这个机会背后的原因和历史感到着迷，”他说，“而这不是在深圳、上海这样的城市里能够探索到的，而是需要我一步步地、慢慢地走近东方、融入东方。”
"I think many people go from one world to another because of opportunity. The Design Society as a cultural platform was an unbelievable, high-speed project for me and one of my most exciting chapters. I caught this chance and felt so fascinated by the reason and the whole history behind it," says Bouman.
He further explains that he has always been interested in the background and context of things, which makes him want to better understand the deeper drive of his choice to live here. "It does not just mean to be dropped in the middle of Shenzhen or Shanghai but to experience what it takes to go step by step toward the East, to be slowly embraced by the East and to see how the journey would change my mindset. That was an important personal motivation."
旅途中，奥雷·伯曼到达保加利亚中部巴尔干山脉的布兹卢扎纪念碑。（本人供图）
在走近东方的漫漫旅途中，奥雷·伯曼跨越了约300条河流和溪流、100个山口，穿越3个沙漠和16个语言区。他用一种设计建筑的方式规划整个旅途，在平均7小时的时间里，每天骑行120到130公里。
作为一名建筑师，奥雷·伯曼并不认为建筑就是建设一幢楼或者一幢好看的楼，而是一种“精心的空间设计和组织”（the careful organization of space or spatial arrangement），而这种思路可以运用在很多其他的事情上，如文化、工程、故事、价值观，包括这段长途旅行。
在旅途中，奥雷·伯曼在同济大学的授课也并未停止。以每周一次的频率，他会在不同的地方和他的学生们在课堂上分享见闻和思考，并和同学们一起规划和“建设”这段旅途。
在路上的每一天，奥雷·伯曼都朝着新的地平线和目的地进发。他说他觉得最理想的线路和节奏是每天可以顺畅地有一些进展，但又不能过于顺畅——因为那将让他失去新的发现和新的体验。也正因为如此，奥雷·伯曼在旅途中遇见过许多困难和挑战，如酷暑、严寒、逆风、漫长的路程、高山、洪水、崎岖不平的道路、路上的钉子和石块、野生动物、严厉的守卫。
Every day, Bouman rode toward new horizons and different destinations. He tried to find a road that was smooth enough to make some progress, but not so smooth to gain new experiences. Such a journey has brought him many unexpected challenges and deeper thinking.
Among the many difficulties that he faced were heat, cold, headwinds, distance, mountains, floods, bad roads, nails and rocks on the pavement, wild animals, aggressive guards, and sometimes the necessary distrust to get out of a situation quickly, according to his blog.
当奥雷·伯曼刚骑到德黑兰，伊朗与以色列之间突然爆发了冲突，前往土库曼斯坦的过境签证暂停发放——这里本来是他计划前往的下一站。无奈之下，他只得改变行程，放弃了这一段路的骑行，转而飞去阿联酋迪拜，再从迪拜前往乌兹别克斯坦首都塔什干继续自己的旅途。而在塔什干，他足足等了4天才拿到自己的行李，其中就包括他最重要的伙伴：自行车。而当他骑行至新疆的戈壁和塔克拉玛干沙漠时，极端的高温和干旱让他在旅途中第二次遇到了无法控制的局面。
在中东地区经历了非预期的绕道后，奥雷·伯曼与他的自行车在塔什干于4天的焦灼等待后终于相聚。（本人供图）
“或许此刻最奇特的一点是，我的《东游记》恰好在这里与中国最著名的传说之一《西游记》相遇。那是寻找佛经的旅程。在这部16世纪的小说中，当玄奘法师到达火焰山时，只能通过徒弟孙悟空的神奇法力来战胜酷热。遗憾的是，我没有徒弟，也联系不到能帮助我降温的铁扇公主。因此，我将放慢步伐，先在这里学习一些东西，一旦找到线索，就会继续骑行之旅，”奥雷·伯曼在博客中如此写道。
奥雷·伯曼骑行至新疆“火焰山”时拍摄的巨大温度计和极端高温。（本人供图）
而这些旅途中的挑战促使着奥雷·伯曼不断思考着他这段旅途中的论点，即“东西方的冲突、现代社会与自然间的冲突，以及如何克服这些冲突”。
A big challenge came in May when he ran into the extreme heat at the Flaming Mountains and the drought of the Gobi and Taklimakan deserts in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
These unexpected encounters inspired Bouman to further explore a core argument during the journey, which he summarizes as "the clash between West and East, as well as the clash between modernity and nature, and how to overcome them".
现在，尽管奥雷·伯曼的“东游记”已经到达了终点，但这段旅途带来的感悟并未停歇。这充满挑战的骑行之旅愈靠近终点，奥雷·伯曼愈发确信这也是一趟“和平之旅”。
“我和各地的人们交流互动的过程中发现，尽管西方和东方在文化、地貌、文学、政治方面有着迥异的不同，但在很多方面大家是相同的（common ground）。无论身处何地，人们都在追寻着相似的生活日常和快乐。而这种‘相似’正是和平的纽带，它远比‘不同’更重要。这一路上我看到，无论是基督教、伊斯兰教、佛教还是道教，大家追寻和平的方式从本质上来说都是相似的，”他说。“而建筑，很多时候正是和平的象征。”
"From the West to the East, there are big changes in culture, landscape, literature, politics and so on. But while pursuing changes and interacting with ordinary people, I increasingly became aware of the common ground we share," says Bouman. "People are pursuing a similar kind of normal life and personal happiness. This common ground is the fabric of peace and is much more important than the differences. Going through the Christian world, the Muslim world, the Buddhist world and the Taoist world along the journey, I found different ways to pursue peace that are, in principle, similar."
"There is a symbiosis between architecture and peace. Architecture can be a strong torchbearer of peace, as its passing on to the next generation can only happen in peaceful situations. Otherwise, it might be destroyed," he adds.
奥雷·伯曼在“东游记”途中写下了许多篇博客，分享感悟、体会和思考。吸引了许多人追更，他说希望能将这段旅程写成一本书，然后保持一个良好的状态。因为或许某一天，他会续写一篇属于他的“西游记”。
For himself, Bouman aims to write a book about his journey, adding with a laugh that he hopes to complete a full circle of the "Journey to the West" one day.
奥雷·伯曼在经过安徽省淮河。（本人供图）
记者：王鑫
见习编辑：黎霈融
推 荐 阅 读
