Chinese residents don't have to worry about rain spoiling their annual Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations this year.
中国百姓无需担心降雨会破坏今年的中秋节庆祝计划。The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the moon festival, is held every year in the fall and traditionally involves family gatherings that feature mooncakes and time spent outdoors admiring the full moon.
每年到了秋季，也就迎来了中秋节。这个节日的传统风俗是家人团聚，吃月饼，到户外赏月。Part of the moon-watching tradition during the holiday traces back to a traditional folk belief that a female deity who lives on the moon named Chang'e can be spotted during the festival. But just in case bad weather strikes, the Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao is partnering with Allianz China General Insurance to offer novelty Mid-Autumn Festival insurance to cover people whose view of the full moon might be blocked by storms.
中秋赏月的习俗一定程度上源于民间传说：这一天可看到一位居住在月亮上的嫦娥仙子。但为以防万一，中国电子商务平台淘宝(Taobao)与安联财产保险（中国）有限公司(Allianz China General Insurance)联手，推出了极具创新意义的中秋节保险，投保人若因暴风雨等原因看不到月亮，可获赔偿。
The plans are available in more than 40 cities across China, including Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and offer consumers protection against nighttime clouds on the holiday, which falls on Sept. 19.
这一保险计划在上海、北京、广州和深圳等40多个城市推出，今年9月19日中秋这天若因天气原因而无法赏月，投保人可获赔偿。The cost and availability of the plan varies from city to city. The cheapest plans are available in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, where insurance can be purchased online for 20 yuan (about US$3) with payouts of up to 50 yuan. In other cities including Beijing, premiums are a higher 99 yuan (US$16), with a 188 yuan (US$31) possible payout. (For a higher 188 yuan premium, customers also get a box of mooncakes in the deal.) Allianz says it used 20 years of meteorological data to establish its risk model.
这一保险计划的价格和承保范围在各个城市有所不同。最便宜的是上海、广州和深圳，在这些城市，网上只需花人民币20元（约合3美元）即可购买赔付额最高可达50元的保险。在包括北京在内的其他城市，保费则更高，为人民币99元（合16美元），最高赔付额为188元（合31美元）。（对于保费为188元的保险计划，客户还可以获得一盒月饼）。安联说，它利用20年的气象数据建立了自己的风险模型。Allianz representative Janice Jiang said the novelty insurance plan was launched as part of the company's effort to expand its digital presence, and that Chinese insurance companies may in the future do more to focus on niche markets by collaborating with e-commerce platforms.
安联的代表Janice Jiang说，推出这一创新性的保险计划是该公司努力扩大其网络业务的行动之一，中国的保险公司未来可能通过与电子商务平台进行合作而更多地专注于小众市场。In a statement, Taobao Insurance's General Manager Jiang Xing said the plan is a form of 'quality of life' protection, eliminating the possibility of regret during the festival. It's also a way to boost attention for Taobao's insurance portal, which was launched in 2010.
淘宝保险的总经理姜兴（音）在一份声明中说，这一计划是对“生活质量”的一种保护，消除中秋节期间留下遗憾的可能。这也是一种吸引人们关注淘宝保险门户网站的途径。该门户网站于2010年推出。But the insurance plan still might leave people disappointed. The company will only reimburse insurance-holders if their view of the moon is blocked by rain, as defined by official meteorological reports recorded at 6 p.m. The insurance plan will not protect against clouds, fog or haze--all frequent occurrences in China's big cities, thanks to high levels of air pollution.
但这一保险计划仍可能令人们失望。只有因为下雨而无法赏月时，该公司才会向投保人进行赔付，是否降雨则是由当天晚上6点发布的官方气象报告界定的。这一保险计划承保范围不包括多云、有雾或雾霾的情况，而由于空气污染严重，中国的大城市常常出现这些天气现象。Air pollution can be a sensitive subject in China, and its scope has for years been downplayed by officials and state news agencies. Regular levels of intense smog in recent years have postponed flights, caused widespread respiratory problems and been found to cut years off the lives of the country's citizens.
空气污染在中国可能是一个敏感话题，多年来，中国空气污染的影响范围一直被官员们和国有通讯社所淡化。近年来，时常发生的严重雾霾令航班延迟，导致普遍的呼吸系统疾病，甚至有报告说，空气污染导致中国居民的寿命缩短数年。