１．日本語
海鮮料理って、魚好きの日本人の非常に多くの人の大好物ではないでしょうか。でも、日本の海鮮は、お刺身系が真っ先に出てくるのに対し、中国の海鮮はほとんどは熱が加えられます。その代わりに、店の規模からしてどーんと、いかにも中国的に巨大なのです。
中国に住んでいたときに行った店は何しろ４年間もの長い間で膨大にあるのですが、家族との特別な記憶を除けば、一番印象に残るのはやっぱり海鮮です。
有名な海鮮街と言われるのは深圳にたくさんあります。しかし私的に一番なのは塩田の海鮮街です。
どんなところか、実は当時の写真がほぼ消失してしまい😿、しかたないので他者さんの動画でイメージしてもらえるとありがたいです（中国語でスミマセン）。どうです、ぜひ何人かで食卓を囲んでみたくなるでしょう！
塩田は、深圳のかなり東側に位置していて、今は地下鉄で行けるのですが当時は車を使うしかありませんでした。我々が住んでいた南山からだと１時間以上、道路混雑次第で２時間かかることもある、結構遠いところなのですが、何で塩田なの？って言うと、貿易系に詳しい人はよくご存じの、世界でも有数の塩田港があるからです。何と、世界で４位ですよ（深圳港というくくりです）。私には本業の世界で、何回か足を運び、その地でより専門の関係者さんの何人かとも懇意にさせていただき、お連れいただいたのが嚆矢でした。以後、何度か職場の関係者等々を誘って出向いた、かなりの思い出の地となった次第です。
何度か触れましたが、深圳での４年間を、一部フィクションを入れ込みながら、「物語」に仕立て上げるつもりでいます。２０１１年から２０１５年の４年間は、中国の経済成長の中でも、肌感覚的にも、例えば企業で働く事務職の大勢の可処分所得が向上し始めた時期でした。スタッフは女性が多い非常に恵まれた職場💦だったのですが、それぞれのスタッフが日に日に洗練されていく姿を目の当たりにして、自分のことのように嬉しかったものです。
ともあれ「塩田」は中国の躍動の一つの象徴でもある地で、そこは私の物語の舞台としても必須なのですね。香港マラソンの次に深圳に行きます。物語の舞台を複数改めて廻りながら当時の「戦友（不適切な表現かも？）」の何人かとできれば再会するつもりです。しかし、塩田海鮮街はそれでも少々遠いし、一人で海鮮食べに行くのもおかしいし、さあどうしようか、って毎日悩んでおります。
２． English
When it comes to seafood cuisine, isn’t it true that many Japanese people who love fish count it among their absolute favorites? However, while Japanese seafood immediately brings to mind dishes like sashimi, Chinese seafood is, in most cases, cooked with heat. On the other hand, the scale of Chinese seafood restaurants is impressively large—characteristically grand in that unmistakably Chinese way.
During my four years living in China, I went to an enormous number of restaurants. Setting aside the special memories with my family, the most unforgettable experiences for me are definitely those involving seafood. There are many well-known seafood streets in Shenzhen, but for me, the best of them all is the one in Yantian.
Unfortunately, almost all of my photos from that time have been lost 😿, so I’d appreciate it if you could get an image of the place from someone else’s video (sorry, it’s in Chinese). How about it? Doesn’t it make you want to gather a few people around a table and share a meal there?
Yantian is located quite far to the east of Shenzhen. Nowadays you can get there by subway, but back then the only option was by car. From Nanshan, where we lived, it took over an hour—and depending on traffic, sometimes even two. It was quite a distance, but why Yantian, you ask? Well, those familiar with trade will know that it’s home to one of the world’s major ports—Yantian Port, part of the greater Shenzhen Port complex, which ranks as the fourth largest port in the world!
In my line of work, I had several occasions to visit there and became acquainted with a few specialists in the field. One of them first invited me to the area, and that was how it all started. After that, I went several times, often taking colleagues along—it became a place full of wonderful memories for me.
As I’ve mentioned before, I plan to turn my four years in Shenzhen into a kind of “story,” blending in a touch of fiction. The years from 2011 to 2015 were a time when you could really feel China’s economic growth firsthand—for example, when office workers began to see their disposable incomes noticeably rise. I was fortunate to work in an environment where most of my staff were women 💦, and it was truly gratifying to watch each of them grow more polished and confident day by day, as if their progress were my own.
In any case, “Yantian” is a place that symbolizes China’s vitality, and it’s an essential setting for my story. After the Hong Kong Marathon, I plan to visit Shenzhen next. As I revisit several of the story’s key locations, I hope to reconnect with some of my former “comrades-in-arms” (perhaps not the best expression!). However, Yantian Seafood Street is still a bit far, and it feels a little strange to go eat seafood alone… so every day, I’m torn about what to do.
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