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Starting weeks before Christmas, Robert Ravens had to ration sales of teddy bears to people visiting his lavender farm in this remote corner of Australia to one per customer. Demand was so fierce that as soon as each furry purple Bobbie Bear shell was stuffed with a mixture of lavender and wheat, it was rushed straight to the gift store.
从 诞节前好几个星期开始，由于来自己这个位于澳大利亚偏远角落的薰衣草农场购买泰迪熊的人太多，罗伯特·拉文斯 (Robert Ravens)不得不实行每人只能购买一只的限制。由于需求太过旺盛， 被塞上薰衣草和小麦的混合物后，毛茸茸的紫色博比熊(Bobbie Bear)就直接被送到了礼品店。
Mr. Ravens had already stopped shipping overseas and interstate. He had stopped taking Internet orders. His small staff at Bridestowe Lavender Estate couldn't keep up with demand coming almost solely from one place: China.
拉文斯已经停止了向海外和州外供货，也不再从网上接收订单，因为他在Bridestowe Lavender Estate薰衣草庄园的小团队无法维护如此大量的需求。这些需求几乎来自一个地方：中国。
'We're not aiming to dominate the world of fluffy bears. Our business is fine lavender,' said Mr. Ravens. 'But somehow we've tapped the cultural psyche of 30-year-old Chinese ladies.'
拉文斯说：“我们没打算控制绒毛熊的世界。我们的主营业务是优质的薰衣草，但却莫名其妙地触碰到了30多岁中国女性心灵深处的需求。”
The rush on Bobbie Bears is what happens when suddenly insatiable Chinese demand meets limited supply. Mr. Ravens said the farm -- where a spacious gift shop overlooks trim rows of lavender, an hour's drive through quiet farmland from the closest airport -- has seen 'near riot' conditions since the rationing began. The annual number of visitors has nearly tripled in six years to 60,000 in 2013.
当中国人突如其来的强烈需求遭遇有限的供应，就会出现类似博比熊需求旺盛这样的情况。拉文斯说，自限购开始后，农场就出现了“近乎暴乱”的情形。从最近的机场到这片宁静的农场有一小时车程，从宽敞的礼品店可俯瞰一排排修剪整齐的薰衣草。2013年，全年游客人数较六年前增长了近两倍，达到6万人。
Wealthy Chinese have bid up the price of investment assets in recent years from property in Vancouver to French Bordeaux and modern art. As prosperity in China spreads, Chinese are doing the same with consumer goods.
近几年，从温哥华房产到法国波尔多红酒，再到现代艺术品，富有的中国人已经抬高了全球各地资产投资的价格。随着中国繁荣势头的扩散，消费商品也遭遇了同样的情形。
Voracious demand from Chinese tourists for luxury goods to give as gifts or to sell at a markup back home often threatens to clear the shelves of major brands in France. Gucci stores in Paris sometimes limit the number of bags customers can buy per passport to ensure supply.
薰衣草小熊中国游客对奢侈品的旺盛需求常常会导致法国各大品牌的货架被一扫而空，他们把这些奢侈品带回中国送人或涨价转手。巴黎的古驰(Gucci)商店有时会限制每本护照可购买手袋的数量，以确保供应。
Karicare, a brand of milk powder made from New Zealand goats' milk that sells in Australia and New Zealand, has quadrupled production to 20,000 tons over the last three years to meet demand from Chinese consumers, some of whom are reselling online in China. Even that might not be enough.
在澳大利亚和新西兰有售的新西兰羊奶奶粉品牌Karicare在过去三年内将产量增加了三倍，至2万吨，以满足中国消费者的需求，他们中的一些人会买来后在中国网上转售。但即便如此，产量还是供不应求。
The company, a unit of Group Danone, says on its website that due to 'unprecedented demand' it cannot find enough high quality goats milk.
隶属达能集团(Group Danone)的Karicare在公司网站上宣布，由于“前所未有的旺盛需求”，公司无法找到足够的高品质羊奶。
The craze for Bobbie the teddy bear has come with all the attendant effects of a China boom.
博比熊热就是伴随中国繁荣带来的影响而出现的。
Bridestowe sells Bobbie for about $48.50 or about 300 yuan, up from about $23 five years ago, after raising the price five times. In China, online retailers currently sell them for about 400 yuan, up from 300 only a few months ago. But, Mr. Ravens said, many are knockoffs; his authorized distributor estimates 100,000 fakes have been sold online. Three online retailers reached in China all said they were selling authentic Bobbie Bears.
博比熊五年前的定价是23美元左右，后来Bridestowe庄园陆续涨价五次，目前价格约为48.5美元，相当于人民币300元左右。在中国，网上零售商目前要价约400元，而几个月前才300元。但拉文斯说，很多都是冒牌货；他的授权经销商估计网上售出的假货共有10万个。记者在中国联系的三家网上零售商均表示自己出售的是正品博比熊。
The price of lavender in Australia is also rising, selling for $55 to $90 per kilogram, up from less than $40 a year ago, according to Jean Sargeant, president of the Australian Lavender Growers Association.
澳大利亚薰衣草种植者协会(Australian Lavender Growers Association)会长让·萨金特(Jean Sargeant)表示，澳大利亚薰衣草的价格也在上涨，每公斤售价在55到90美元之间，一年前还不到40美元。
'I've had three lots of Chinese here over the picking season,' said Ms. Sargeant. 'One guy said 'I'll buy the entire crop.' '
萨金特说：“采摘季的时候这里有相当于三块薰衣草田面积的中国人。有一个人说‘ 我全都包了’。”
Bobbie Bears have tapped into Chinese consumers' desire for peace of mind after recurring food and product safety scandals at home.
中国接连发生食品及产品安全丑闻后，博比熊抓住了中国消费者寻求内心平静的渴望。
'Anything natural from somewhere with blue skies and clean air and water is dreamy for Chinese consumers,' said Chen Huan, a 28-year-old who works for a public-relations firm in Shanghai. She bought four bears -- three as gifts -- from a friend.
供职于上海一家公关公司、现年28岁的Chen Huan说：“从蓝天到干 的空气和水，任何自然的东西对中国消费者来说都是梦寐以求的。”她从朋友那里买了四个博比熊，其中三个是礼物。
The outside of the bear itself is made in southern China. What consumers want is stuffing: lavender grown in Tasmania, without pesticides or herbicides, and locally-grown wheat, which warms up when microwaved so that the bear also works as a heat pack.
博比熊外皮是在中国南方地区制造的。消费者想要的是里面的填充物：塔斯马尼亚(Tasmania)种植的薰衣草，没有杀虫剂和除草剂，还有当地种植的小麦，微波加热后会变暖，所以小熊还能当保暖袋用。
Mr. Ravens, who used to be chief executive of a chemicals company, and his wife Jennifer bought the 92-year-old farm in 2007 as a retirement project. They started making teddy bears as a way to use the shed-loads of dried lavender that came with the farm. Soon they developed the idea of selling the bears to market the farm for tourism. Seeing the bear was popular among Chinese tourists to the farm, they got a store near Chinatown in Sydney to stock them. Two years ago they started marketing them in Hong Kong with the help of a celebrity chef from there.
拉文斯曾经是一家化学药品公司的首席执行长，他和妻子詹妮弗(Jennifer)于2007年买下了这座有92年历史的农场，作为他们退休后的项目。他们最初做泰迪熊是为了把农场剩下的大量干薰衣草用掉。不久他们有了通过卖泰迪熊推广农场旅游的想法。看到这些熊很受来到农场的中国游客的欢迎后，他们在悉尼中国城附近盘下一家店来存货。两年前，他们开始在香港通过那里的一位名人主厨推广泰迪熊。
Demand in mainland China took off in July. A 26-year-old Chinese celebrity famous for dating a Hong Kong television personality -- and whose ex-boyfriend is a distributor of Bobbie in China -- posted a photo of herself with the bear on social media. 'The ideal bedtime companion for a cold Shanghai night,' Zhang Xinyu told her 8.7 million followers on Weibo, a microblogging site.
中国内地的需求是从去年7月开始高涨的。盛传与香港某电视名人交往的26岁中国明星张馨予──前男友是博比熊在中国的经销商之一──在社交媒体上发了一张与博比熊的照片。她在微博上对870万粉丝说，在上海这么寒冷的夜晚，它是陪我睡觉的理想伴侣
Bridestowe stuffed 30,000 bears last year -- up from 3,500 in 2011 and 7,500 in 2012 -- and expects to double production this year, using a full ton of lavender for stuffing, rather than for aromatic oils, its traditional use.
Bridestowe去年生产了3万只泰迪熊，而2011年和2012年分别为3,500个和7,500只。今年产量还将翻番，他们准备用一整吨薰衣草来填充泰迪熊，而不是按照传统，将其制作成精油。
Nancy Li, a tour guide from the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, led a group of middle-aged Chinese men around Tasmania in late January. She said that she intended to buy 60 bears for family and friends from Bridestowe, but decided not to visit when she heard she could only buy one.
深圳导游Nancy Li今年1月带领一个中国中年男性的旅游团去塔斯马尼亚附近旅游。她说她原打算到Bridestowe买60个熊送亲戚朋友，但听说只能买一个后就决定不去了。
Mr. Ravens said people regularly try to get around the bear-buying restriction. Some people hire students to enter and leave the Bridestowe farm multiple times a day, repeatedly buying an admission ticket of about $14 that entitles them to the right to buy a bear, he said. Some tour guides will buy the admission tickets but then not hand them over to the group, instead hoarding the bears for themselves, he said.
拉文斯说，人们常常会试图绕过限购规定。他说，有人雇佣学生一天进出农场好几次，重复购买约14美元的门票，因为有门票才能买熊。他说，有些导游会买门票，但不会把票给旅游团，而是自己囤货。
While at the farm, a middle-aged Chinese academic approached this reporter to try to buy an additional bear.
在农场时，有一名中年中国学者接近记者，想再买一只熊。
Mr. Ravens said people often get angry when they learn they can only buy one bear. 'The staff are always on edge. Tempers get frayed,' he said. 'Our staff don't cope so well' with the animosity.
拉文斯说，在听说只能买一只熊的时候人们通常会很生气。他说：“员工总是处于紧张的状态，脾气变得很不好。我们的员工对人们愤怒的情绪应付得不好。”
With this year's lavender crop now in, Mr. Ravens has resumed selling the bears wholesale again to some stores. He is also fighting back against the counterfeiters, with each Bobbie coming with an identification tag that buyers can verify on line.
由于今年的薰衣草种植又流行起来，拉文斯又开始把熊批发给部分商店。同时他也在努力打击假货，每个博比熊都会有识别标签，消费者可以在网上验证。
As far as Mr. Ravens is concerned, one sniff is enough to determine authenticity. 'The Bridestowe lavender is a global classic. It's unmatched. It's rich and deep,' he said. 'You can tell a fake from the smell.'
拉文斯表示，其实闻一闻就能辨真假。他说：“Bridestowe的薰衣草是畅销全球的经典，它是无与伦比的，香味浓郁深沉，从气味就能闻出是不是假货。”
