Sakura, or cherry blossoms, are in full bloom in a park in Osaka, Japan. [Photo/IC]
The people of Japan and millions of tourists should now be enjoying the start of the cherry blossom viewing, or hanami, season.
日本民众和数百万游客现在本应开始享受樱花观赏季（日语中称为“花见”）。
It's an extremely important time of year for the country, both economically and culturally.
无论在经济上还是文化上，这都是日本一年中极为重要的时刻。
Traditionally friends and family get together, and for a new generation it's a perfect Instagram opportunity.
按照传统，亲友们此时会聚在一起，对于年轻一代来说，这是一个在Ins秀照片的完美时机。
But this year the coronavirus pandemic means events have been cancelled and foreign visitors are staying away.
但今年的新冠肺炎疫情意味着赏樱活动被取消，外国游客也不会到来。
Katsuhiro Miyamoto from Kansai University highlighted the financial importance of hanami: "Japan's cherry blossom season has very big economic effects every year".
关西大学的宫本克弘强调了“花见”（赏樱）在经济上的重要性：“日本每年的樱花盛开季节都会对经济产生非常大的影响。”
Cherry blossom in front of Toji temple, Kyoto, Japan. [Photo/VCG]
He estimated that almost 8.5m tourists visited the country during the cherry blossom season between March and May last year, bringing in some 650 billion yen.
他估计，去年3月至5月的樱花盛开季期间，日本接待了近850万游客，带来了约6500亿日元（约合人民币415亿元）的收入。
Seijiro Takeshita from the University of Shizuoka underscored why the gatherings, at which people eat and drink and make merry, are so important to the Japanese economy.
对于为什么人们齐聚一堂吃喝欢宴的赏樱聚会对日本经济如此重要，静冈县立大学的竹下诚士郎如此解释：
"We use an expression 'the wallet becomes loose', meaning people tend to have a very high propensity to spend."
“我们说‘钱包松了’，意思是人们乐于消费。”
propensity[prəˈpensəti]：n.倾向，习性；癖好，偏爱
"We have so much emotional attachment to this flower and the viewing season... It has a lot of cultural factors, a lot of historical factors behind it," Professor Takeshita added as he explained the wider significance of the cherry blossom season.
“我们对樱花和赏樱季节有着如此多的情感依恋……这背后有多种文化因素和历史因素，”竹下教授在解释赏樱季更广泛的意义时补充道。
This year though hanami events are being cancelled across the country as authorities attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
但今年，由于政府试图减缓新冠病毒的传播，“花见”活动在日本全国范围内被取消。
Last week the governor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike urged people to not hold their traditional parties. At the same time Ms Koike made reference to the cultural importance of hanami as she said that it was like "taking hugs away from Italians."
上周，东京都知事小池百合子敦促人们不要举行传统的聚会。与此同时，小池百合子提到了“花见”在文化上的重要性，她说，这就像“让意大利人不要拥抱”。
Professor Miyamoto expects such measures to tackle the pandemic will hit tourism numbers hard this season, with revenue falling by more than a third to less than 400 billion yen.
宫本教授预计，这些应对新冠肺炎疫情的措施将严重影响今年樱花季的旅游业，收入将减少逾三分之一，至不到4000亿日元。
It's not all gloom and doom though. "Once the coronavirus outbreak is over, I believe that the cherry blossom season in Japan will come to life again," he concluded.
但也不全是悲观和厄运。他总结道：“一旦疫情结束，我相信日本的樱花盛开季节将会重现生机。”
[Photo/news.cgtn.com]
武汉大学在线赏樱
On March 16, Wuhan University invited people to enjoy cherry blossoms online.
3月16日，武汉大学邀请人们在线赏樱。
While appreciating the cherry blossoms, many netizens also left their best wishes for Wuhan on social media.
在欣赏樱花的同时，许多网友也在社交媒体上表达了对武汉的美好祝愿。
"When the outbreak passes, let's go see the cherry blossoms together!" one netizen commented. "Breathtaking blossoms, everything will be fine," said another.
一位网友评论道：“等疫情过去了，我们一起去看樱花吧!”另一个人说：“美得令人窒息的花朵，一切都会好起来的。”
Although the live broadcast camera never moved, the cherry blossom viewing on Wuhan University's official Weibo account had been watched more than 4 million times by Monday evening.
虽然现场直播的摄像机固定不动，但截至周一（3月16日）晚上，武汉大学官方微博上的赏樱视频观看量已达400多万次。
