>Specialty shops boom in cities as private economy expands“小店经济”持续升温 释放消费市场创新活力

A view of the Lujiazui area in Shanghai. [Photo/VCG]

With the rapid expansion of the private economy and the uptick in consumption in China, Shanghai added more than 30,000 specialty shops in the first quarter of this year, according to data from China"s e-commerce platform Meituan.根据中国电子商务平台美团的数据，随着中国民营经济的快速扩张和消费的上升，今年一季度，上海新增特色小店超3万家。

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In a studio in the Yuandong Building in Shanghai"s financial hub of Lujiazui, more than a dozen audience members held their breath as they followed the movements of a magician"s hands. 在上海金融中心陆家嘴远东大厦的一间工作室里，十几名观众屏住呼吸，跟着魔术师双手的动作表演。

The Gala Magic Club has set up several shops in Shanghai in just two years. 在短短两年内，魔术旮旯俱乐部已经在上海开设了几家分店。

Although some of the shops are less than 10 square meters, they have become a source of happiness for many customers.虽然一些门店的面积不足10平方米，但它们已经成为许多顾客的幸福之源。

"Watching a magic show can drive away our unhappiness," one netizen commented on social media, just one of many positive reviews online.“看魔术表演可以赶走我们的不快。”一位网友在社交媒体上评论道，这只是网上众多正面评论中的一条。

The club"s shops staged more than 100 magic shows in just five days this year, a fact that owner Li Fan views as a sign of success. 今年，俱乐部的门店在短短五天内就上演了100多场魔术表演，老板李凡（音译）认为这是成功的标志。

"Magic is an ancient form of entertainment, and it"s showing new vitality and constantly bringing fresh consumption experiences to urban people," Li said.“魔术是一种古老的娱乐形式，它正显示出新的活力，不断给城市群体带来新鲜的消费体验，”李说。

From January to March, nearly 500,000 small shops across the country registered on Meituan. 从1月到3月，全国有近50万家特色小店在美团注册。

More than 40,000 new specialty shops have opened in Beijing alone since the beginning of this year.美团的数据显示，自今年年初以来，仅北京就新开了4万多家特色小店。

Chinese authorities issued a guideline in mid-July on boosting growth of the private economy, promising to improve the business environment, enhance policy support and strengthen legal guarantees for its development.7月中旬，中国政府发布了促进民营经济发展壮大的指导意见，承诺改善营商环境，加强政策支持，并为民营经济的发展加强法律保障。

>Japanese farmers develop sweet and sour ‘lemon melon’日本农民培育出酸酸甜甜的“柠檬西瓜”

Credit: Suntory Flowers

The Lemon Melon is a newly developed type of melon that combines the sweetness and aroma of the melon with a slight sourness reminiscent of a lemon. 柠檬西瓜是新开发的西瓜品种，兼具西瓜的香甜和柠檬的微酸口感。

Japanese horticulture company Suntory Flowers reportedly spent five years developing the lemon melon, breeding it from a type of melon originally imported from overseas. 日本三得利花卉园艺公司据称花了五年时间用一种进口西瓜的种子培育出了柠檬西瓜。

The final product, which is blended with actual lemons, is juicy and sweet like a melon but slightly sour like a lemon, making the perfect fruit to enjoy on a hot summer day.和柠檬杂交后培育出的成品瓜既像西瓜般多汁甘甜但又有柠檬般的微酸，非常适合在炎热的夏日食用。

The lemon melon has the usual round shape of a melon, but its rind lacks the characteristic stripes and striations of a melon, and has white flesh. 柠檬西瓜和普通西瓜一样是圆形，但是外皮没有西瓜的标志性条纹，果肉呈白色。

The texture is comparable to pears, but it softens as it ripens and ends up like Yubari melons. 口感和梨类似，但是熟透了的柠檬西瓜会更软，比较接近夕张蜜瓜。

There are currently only five farmers in Hokkaido growing lemon melons, and they are expected to grow about 3,800 of them this year.目前北海道只有5个农民在种植柠檬西瓜，他们今年预计会种出大约3800个柠檬西瓜。

Lemon melons have already hit Japanese supermarket shelves, selling for around 3,220 yen a piece. 柠檬西瓜已经在日本超市上架销售，一片瓜的价格大概为3220日元（约合人民币166元）。

Those lucky enough to have tried it can’t stop raving about its delicious taste.有幸尝过柠檬西瓜的人对这种美味的瓜赞不绝口。

"It has a faint sourness like a lemon, but the strong sweetness of a melon. It’s delicious,” a reporter from HBC News said. 《北海道放送》的记者称：“有柠檬的微酸，又和西瓜一样很甜。太好吃了。”

"It has a good balance of sweet and sour. It would be the perfect fruit for a hot day,” another person said.另一个人表示：“甜和酸的比例恰到好处，堪称热天消暑的完美水果。”

The lemon melon is the latest addition to Japan’s popular luxury fruit market, which includes edible wonders like the world’s most expensive watermelon, square-shaped watermelons, Ruby Roman, the world’s most expensive grapes, and white jewels, Japan’s iconic white strawberries.柠檬西瓜是日本备受欢迎的奢侈水果市场上的最新产品，日本曾经推出的珍奇水果包括世界上最昂贵的西瓜——方形西瓜、世界上最昂贵的葡萄——罗马红宝石葡萄，还有日本经典的白色草莓——白宝石草莓。

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来源：chinadaily.com.cn