The blue of Jiuzhaigou has many depths. By the shore it is pale enough to reveal the grain of the stones; farther out it gathers into a dense turquoise, held between the dark trees. Follow it with your eyes and the hillside, the branches, even a white cloud enter the water. With so much before me, I find myself lingering over a single stone on the lakebed.九寨沟的蓝，是有深浅的。近岸浅得能看见石头的纹路，往远处去，渐渐浓成一片青碧，被深绿的树林围着。目光顺着那片水色沉下去，山坡、树枝，连一朵白云也跟着入了水。满眼都是风景，偏偏会为水底的一块石头看上许久。
A lake of turquoise一湖青碧
At first, the colour seems almost too vivid to belong to water. Yet beneath it lie ordinary things: uneven stones, a pale bed of sand, a fallen trunk with its branches still stretched out. Clear water lays them open to view. The tree has fallen, but has not disappeared; its bare limbs remain suspended in blue, as though the lake has kept a place for it.初看那一湖颜色，几乎不敢相信水能这样浓。可水底都是再寻常不过的东西：高低错落的石头，一片浅沙，一株还伸展着枝杈的倒木。清水把它们一一摊开。树倒下了，却没有就此消失，光秃的枝干仍舒展在青碧之间，仿佛湖水替它留了一个位置。
Nearer the bank, the blue thins and the grey-green of the stones returns. A tree casts its reflection across them, softening their hard edges. My eye wanders between the stones and the reflected leaves, no longer certain of the depth. Water so transparent ought to leave nothing in doubt; here, it makes the world a little harder to grasp.再往岸边看，蓝色薄下来，石头原本的灰绿便透出来。树影覆在上面，坚硬的棱角也有了柔和的样子。目光在石块与树影之间来回，反而拿不准它们究竟有多深。水清到这个地步，眼前的一切明明白白，却又有些捉摸不定。
Mountains among the clouds半山云影
Across the broader lake, the forest grows twice: once up the hillside, once down into its reflection. Pale clouds spread over the water, leaving a clear patch beneath the overhanging branches. There the submerged wood is still visible. The sky lies close, the lakebed farther away, and between them is a surface so slight that it almost escapes the eye.开阔的湖面上，山林长了两遍。一遍朝着山坡向上，一遍沿着倒影向下。白云在水里铺开，只在探出的树枝旁，让出一角清透的青碧，露出底下横斜的木头。天空近了，湖底远了，中间隔着一层几乎看不见的水面。
A few rings spread across the foreground, loosening the clouds at their edges. Far away, visitors make a narrow line along the opposite shore, small beneath the trees. The lake takes in all of it: the crowd, the mountains, the sky. A ripple passes, and for a moment the whole reflected hillside trembles.近处几圈涟漪漾开，云的边缘便松了。对岸游人连成一线，在树下显得很小。湖面宽宽地接着这一切：人群、山影，还有头顶的天。一道水纹过去，水里的半面山坡都轻轻晃了一下。
Light along the stream山谷流光
Between the cliffs, the water begins to move more openly. It turns around a patch of grass, narrows beside a tree, then widens again among the stones. Light falls across the high rock face, revealing its creases and seams; below, the stream breaks that brightness into small, restless pieces. The cliff seems all the taller beside such slight ripples.到了两山之间，水有了行走的模样。绕过一片草，贴近一株树，在石头间收窄，又慢慢铺开。高处的岩壁落着光，褶皱与裂隙都显出来；低处的溪流把这片亮色揉碎，细细地带走。水纹这样小，衬得山壁愈发高了。
In the meadow, green comes in layer after layer. Tender grass leans over the water; shrubs gather behind it; farther up, the forest darkens against the rock. Narrow channels remain between the grassy banks, carrying pieces of sky through the valley. A boardwalk follows the mountainside. Seen at this distance, it is only a fine line, enough to let people pass through the immense folds of the hills.草甸的绿是一层层铺过去的。嫩草俯向水边，灌木围在后面，再往高处，密林渐渐深下去，贴住岩壁。草岸之间留着弯弯的水道，把一小片一小片天空送进山谷。栈道沿着山脚延伸，远看只是细细一道，让人得以从这巨大的山势褶皱间走过。
Deep in the trees林深处
There is also a small pool tucked beside the forest. It offers little of the open lake's brilliance. Moss climbs a rock on one side, long grass bends around the other, and the water rests between them in a deeper green. Trees crowd the slope behind it. Almost the entire hillside is green, yet that small patch of water holds the eye.林边还有一小湾水，藏得很深。它没有开阔湖面那样明亮，左边的石头生着苔，右边的长草弯下来，水就在两者之间，静静蓄着一汪深绿。背后满坡都是树。几乎整面山都绿着，偏偏这一小片水，让目光有了停处。
A few blades reach beyond the bank, their tips hovering just above the surface. Looking at them, I forget for a moment the cliffs and the wide lake. It is enough to follow the curve of the shore, to see where the moss ends and the water begins. I had expected to be drawn to the grandest views; this small, sheltered corner is just as difficult to leave.几缕草叶探出岸边，叶尖悬在水上。看着它们，竟会暂时忘了远处的高崖和大湖，只想沿着这道岸线再看一会儿，看看苔痕在哪里收住，水色又从哪里起头。原以为最留人的该是开阔处，到这里，却也舍不得轻易移开眼睛。
Now, turning through the photographs, I pause longest at the meeting of grass and water. The cliffs are still there, the clouds still spread across the lake, but my eye returns to those few blades and the dark green beneath them. I close the photographs, and that small curve of shoreline stays with me.如今再翻照片，停得最久的，仍是草与水相接的地方。高崖还在，白云也还铺在湖上，目光却总绕回那几缕草，和草底下深深的绿。把照片合上，眼前还留着一道弯弯的水岸。