一、丝绸之路
丝绸之路（the Silk Road）是中国古代最著名的贸易路线。在这条路上运输的商品中，丝绸占很大部分，因此得名“丝绸之路”。丝绸之路起点始于长安。终点远达印度、罗马等国家。丝绸之路从汉代开始形成，到唐代达到鼎盛，骆驼曾是丝绸之路上的主要交通工具。中国的造纸、印刷等伟大发明通过这条路传播到了西方，而佛教等宗教也被引入中国。丝绸之路不仅仅是古代国际贸易路线，更是连接亚洲、非洲、欧洲的文化桥梁。
The Silk Road is the most well-known trade routein ancient China. It got its name because silk comprised a large proportion of commodities transported along this road. The Silk Road extended fromChang’an to countries as far asIndia and Rome. It came into being during the Han Dynasty and reached its peakin the Tang Dynasty. With camels being the major means of transportation, great inventions in China, such as paper-making and printing were spread to the Western world along this road and religions like Buddhism werealso introduced toChina. The Silk Road was not only an ancient international trade route, but also a cultural bridgelinkingAsia withAfrica and Europe.
二、中国高铁
中国五年前根本没有高速铁路。但是现在高铁列车(high-speed trains)的票经常很快就售罄，尽管发车间隔比较短。人们能够很方便地以两倍于美国火车最高速的速度在全国周游。高速铁路系统的运营非常成功，它运载的乘客是全国民航 (civil aviation)系统运载的乘客的两倍。中国有世界上最先进的、低排放的快速运输系统之一，而做到这一点仅仅用了五年。
China didn't have a high-speed railfive years ago. But now the tickets of high-speed trains are usually sold out very quickly, even though the departure intervalis quite short. And people can conveniently travel around the nationat a speed that doubles the speed of the fastest American train. The operation of high-speed rail system is very successful; it carries twice as manypassengers asthe nation's civil aviation system. China has one of the most advanced rapidtransit systems with low emissionsin the world, and it only takes five years to achieve this.
三、共享经济
共享经济正在中国急速发展。近几个月来，共享单车在中国已成为风险资本最关注的目标之一。中国本土的共享企业是在这个十年之初出现的，即在优步公司（Uber）和爱彼迎公司（Airbnb）在美国创立不久后。去年，中国共享企业的融资额接近250亿美元。在中国许多经济领域正在减速或陷入停滞之际，共享模式在中国比在几乎其他任何地方看起来都拥有更加光明的未来。预计到2020年，中国的共享经济将在国内生产总值中占到10%的份额。
The sharing economy is boomingin China. Bike sharing has been one of the country’s most visible destinations for venture capitalover the last few months. Homegrownsharing enterpriseemerged in China early this decade, shortly after Uber Inc. and Airbnb Inc. launchedin the U.S. Last year, China's sharing enterprisesraised almost USD 25 billion. Even as much of the Chinese economy is slowing or stalling, the sharing modelseems to have a brighter future in China than almost anywhere else. It is estimatedthat China’s sharing economy will account for10% of GDP by 2020.
四、医疗改革
我国已经织起了世界上最大的基本医疗保障网。2015年，城镇职工基本医疗保险、城镇居民基本医疗保险、新型农村合作医疗3项基本医疗保险参保人数超过13亿，参保率保持在95%以上，较2010年提高了3个百分点。2015年新农合、城镇居民医保人均筹资增加到500元左右，其中政府补助标准提高到380元，比2010年（120元）增长了2.2倍。2014年3项基本医疗保险住院费用政策范围内报销比例均达到70%以上。实施城乡居民大病保险，全面建立疾病应急救助制度。
China has woventhe largest basic health care networkin the world. In 2015, over 1.3billion people participated in Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance, Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance, and New Rural Cooperative Medical Insurance.The insured rate remained at more than 95 percent, increasing by 3 percentage pointscompared with that of 2010. In 2015, NRCMI and URBMI per capitafunding increased to 500 yuan, with an increase to 380 yuan in government subsidies,which has grown by 2.2 times compared to the figure in 2010 (120 yuan). In 2014, more than 70 percent of hospitalization expenses were reimbursable under the three basic medical insurances policy. Critical illness insurance program for urban and rural residents has been implemented. Disease emergency relief system has been fully established.
五、大学教育
大学教育是人类文明的体现，大学教育水平则反映社会的文明程度。中国的大学教育近些年快速发展，有助于普及高等教育。大学的数量和大学生的人数增长迅速，在2010年，在校大学生人数就已经达到了3000万。大学教育为社会培养了大量的专业人才，他们是国家未来发展的核心动力，因此，大学教育极大地促进了社会的进步。但中国的大学教育也面临着不少的问题，如专业设置不合理、教学质量下降、毕业生就业难等。University education is an embodiment of human civilization, and the level of university education reflects the degree of social civilization. University education in China boomsrapidly in recent years, which helps to popularize higher education. The numbers of universities and undergraduates surge quickly. In 2010, there were already 30 million undergraduates at college. University education has cultivated a substantial number of professionalsfor society, who are the core motive forceof a country’s future development; thus it promotes social advancement remarkably. But some issues are also bothering university education in China, such as the unreasonable specialty set-up, the declining teaching quality as well as the tough employment situation of graduates.
六、中国经济
中国自20世纪70年代实行改革开放政策以来，经济一直以惊人的速度发展。粮食、肉类、钢等工农业产品的产量一直在显著增长；原子能(atomic energy)、计算机技术、航空航天(aviation and aerospace)技术等方面也已经达到世界先进水平。预计到21世纪中叶，中国将基本实现现代化，达到中等发达国家的水平。目前，中国经济发展水平的地区差异较大，东部沿海地区比较发达，而西部地区相对不那么发达。中国正在进行西部大开发(Western Development Strategy)，以缩小各地区的经济发展差异。
Since China implementedthe reform and opening-up policy in the 1970s, its economy has kept developing at a remarkably high speed. The output of the industrial and agricultural products, such as grain, meat and steel etc., has been growing markedly. And the technologies of atomic energy, computer, aviation and aerospace have reached the world advanced level. It is predicted that China will basically realize modernization and reach the level of the medium-developed countries by the middle of the 21st centuiy. Currently, China's economic level varies widely among regions.The areas along the east coast in China are fairly developed, while those in the west are comparatively underdeveloped. Due to this, China is carrying out the Western Development Strategy so as to narrow down the economic gaps between different regions.
七、电子商务
电子商务在近几年迅猛发展，使传统零售业遭受重击。传统零售业的营业收入大幅减少，而电子商务却占领了原属于传统零售业的市场。在过去的一年中，很多品牌关闭了全国的几千个实体店（physical store）。对于很多消费者来说，线上购物已成为他们生活中不可缺少的一部分，因此在实体店消费的时间和金额就下降了。分析家预测，在5年内电子商务将占据中国零售总额的1/5，因而一些传统零售店很可能被逐渐取代。E-commercehas experienced tremendous growth in recent years, giving a heavy blowto the traditional retail industry. The revenue of the traditional retail industry has shrunk substantially, and its market has been occupied by e-commerce. In the past year, companies of a great many brands closed thousands of physical stores nationwide. For many consumers, online shoppinghas become an indispensable part of their lives; thus they spend less time and money in physical stores. Analysts predict e-commerce will account fora fifth of the total retail sales in China within 5 years, so some traditional retail stores might be replaced gradually.
