疯狂动物园第八只狮子:宜家上海店，DIY你的相亲

一位老年中国男子和妇女在上海的一座公园中聊天。数百位老年上海住民每两周去一次宜家来参加一个非正式的单身俱乐部。

If you're retired, single and looking for love in Shanghai, try IKEA.

如果你退休了，单身并在上海寻找真爱，可以试试宜家。

Twice a week, hundreds of Shanghai residents who have formed an informal lonely hearts club of sorts gather at the cafeteria of the Swedish furniture megastore for free coffee and conversation.

每两周，数百的上海住民，聚集在瑞典的家具巨头的食堂中享受免费咖啡以及谈话，他们已经形成了一个非正式的孤独之心俱乐部。

The pensioners begin arriving around 1 in the afternoon and fill nearly 20 tables in the store cafeteria. They sit for hours drinking coffee, gossiping and subtly checking each other out.

退休的老人们在下午一点到达，并占据了店内食堂中将近20个桌子。他们数小时坐在那里饮用咖啡，唠家常，然后小心翼翼的分别付款离开。

"You can find a boyfriend or girlfriend, or just make friends and chat. It makes you a little bit happier," says Ge, a smartly dressed 50-year-old woman who retired this year.

你可以寻找男朋友或者女朋友，抑或简单的交朋友并交谈。这会使你更开心些。Ge说，她是一名穿着时髦的50岁妇女，今年退休

Ge's friend, with the surname Han, is a retired bus-ticket seller and says IKEA is a good place to meet people if you're divorced or widowed, because there is so much matchmaking going on.

Ge的朋友，姓Han，是一名退休的公交车售票员，表示说宜家是一个与人会面的理想场所，如果你已经离婚或者守寡，因为这里总有相亲活动。

"If I meet a guy and he's appropriate for me, we can call each other," Ge explains. "But if he finds someone more suitable for me, he'll help and introduce me to the other guy."

如果我碰见一个人并且觉得他很合适我，我们会打电话给对方。Ge解释道，但是如果他发现了某些更合适我的人，他会帮助并介绍我给那些人。

Both women refuse to give their full names because they don't want their families to know they visit IKEA. Han says it's just too embarrassing.

两人都拒绝给出她们的全名因为她们不希望她们的家庭知道她们去宜家。Han表示这实在是有些尴尬。

"When we go out, we don't tell people we're going here," Han says. "We tell them we're going to a tea house. We don't tell them we go to IKEA, because IKEA is the place to find boyfriends and girlfriends."

当我们外出的时候，我们不会告诉他们我们将要来这里。Han说，我会告诉他们我将去一个茶馆。我们不会告诉他们我们去宜家，因为宜家是一个寻找男女朋友的地方。

A Result Of Changing Demographics

这是人口结构变化的一个结果。

Retirees began coming to the IKEA in Shanghai's Xuhui district about three years ago. The phenomenon is a result of the nation's rising divorce rate, changing demographics and the comfort of the stores themselves.

自从三年前，退休的人们开始光临上海徐汇区的宜家。这个现象是由于国家不断攀升的离婚率，变化的人口结构，以及商店的舒适性造成的。

Shao, a former manager at a local Unilever factory who won't give his first name either, is 70.

Shao，一名同样不愿具名的本地联合利华工厂的前管理员，已经70岁了。

"Shanghai has become an aging society with many single senior citizens," Shao says. "They need to make friends, they feel lonely at home. So what IKEA does is laudable, and we wish IKEA's business will prosper. I am thankful for IKEA's tolerance toward us."

上海已经开始进入老龄化社会，并且拥有大量的单身老年人。Shao表示。他们需要交朋友，他们在家里感到孤独。因此宜家所做的一切是值得称颂的，我们也希望一家的业务更加红火。我非常感谢宜家对我们的容忍。

Actually, IKEA's tolerance has pretty much run out.

事实上，宜家的耐心已经快用尽了。

The company is tired of the lonely hearts drinking gallons of coffee but never buying anything. Recently, when some lonely hearts became unruly, IKEA cordoned off a section of the cafeteria to pen them in.

宜家已经对这些孤独的心灵们喝着数加仑的咖啡但是从不购买任何商品的行为忍无可忍了。近期，当某些孤身者们过于不守规矩的时候，宜家关掉了食堂的一部分以阻止他们进入。

IKEA managers refused to discuss the problem — they don't want the publicity.

一家的管理者们拒绝讨论这个问题，他们不希望引起公众的注意。

But they have posted a sign that reads: "Your behavior is affecting the normal operations of the IKEA cafeteria. Frequent fights and arguments do serious harm to the image both of Shanghai residents and IKEA."

但是他们已经贴出了一张标牌，上面写道“您的行为已经影响了宜家食堂的正常运营。经常打斗以及正常将会伤害上海市民的形象以及宜家的形象。”

A Different Kind Of Store

一个不同种类的商店

Torsten Stocker studies consumer products in China for Monitor Group, a U.S.-based management consulting company.

Torsten Stocker为摩立特集团（Monitor Group）——一个美国的管理咨询公司在中国研究消费品。

He says Chinese feel comfortable being themselves in IKEA because the shopping experience is so different from most here.

他认为中国人在宜家感到舒适因为购物体验与大多数本地商铺完全不同。

"It feels more like a place of leisure than a place where you would buy furniture," Stocker says. "You know, it also represents to some extent the home that they aspire to and they would like to have."

这里感觉像是一个休闲之地而非一个你来买家具的地方。Stocker说，你知道，这也一定程度上代表了他们所倡导的家庭以及他们所希望拥有的家庭模式。

In fact, some Chinese have always treated IKEA like an extension of their own homes. When the first store opened in Beijing in 1998, people napped on the beds. Families camped out on sofa sets, reading newspapers, drinking tea from glass jars and eating biscuits.

事实上，有些中国人已经将宜家作为他们自己家庭的一个延伸。当1998年第一个分店在北京开业，人们在床上小憩。经常有家庭在沙发套件上安营扎寨，读报纸，从玻璃罐里饮茶以及吃饼干。

Ge, one of the lonely hearts, admits they don't treat the company very well.

Ge，其中一名孤身人，承认他们对公司的做法并不太适宜。

"I don't think it's appropriate, because this is a money-making business," Ge says. "The best thing would be if we had places like this in our own community, even if there is no coffee or tea, we can bring our own."

我不认为这是适当的，因为这是一项赚钱的买卖。Ge说如果我们的社区中有这样的地方就最好了，哪怕没有咖啡或者茶，我们可以自带。

For now, IKEA and the lonely hearts are in an uneasy truce. The long-suffering Swedes are unwilling to force the Chinese seniors out.

现在，宜家公司与孤身人们仍然处于紧张的休战阶段。已经忍受很久的瑞典人们并不希望将这些中国老人驱逐出去。

And the lonely hearts don't want to give up IKEA's modern comforts — and all that free coffee.

但是，这些孤独的心灵们也不愿意放弃宜家的现代化的舒适服务——以及免费咖啡。