Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
尊敬的深圳市服装协会会长沈永芳女士， 各位来宾， 女士们、先生们：
It's a great pleasure for me to join you tonight. The history of London stretches back over 2000 years.By contrast, Shenzhen is a young city whose history started a mere 32 years ago. Today, London and Shenzhen are coming together. What makes this possible is a shared big business interest. This is the fashion industry.
伦敦是一座古老的城市，约有2千年的历史；深圳是一座年轻的城市，只有32年历史。今天，古老和年轻的两座城市再度相会，是由于一个令人，尤其是女士们心动的元素：时尚。
London is known worldwide as the fashion capital. Also London Fashion Week ranks as one of the \fashion London never fails to impress people with its vitality and creativity. Shenzhen is home to the most advanced sectors of the fashion industry in China. Shenzhen is where there is the biggest concentration of Chinese fashion brands and manufacturers. Shenzhen is leading the way in China for research, development and design in the fashion sector.
If you visit Shenzhen—as I hope many of you will—you will find these strengths:
? Over 3,000 garment manufacturers. ? More than 800 local brands.
? There are around 350,000 people employed in the industry.
? And last year, Shenzhen sold 8.9 billion US dollars worth of garment products.
I can give you one measure of the strength of Shenzhen's fashion industry inside China. For every 10 clothing items on sale in high street department stores in Chinese major cities, 5 to 6 are made in Shenzhen.
伦敦是世界知名时尚之都，每年两次的伦敦时装周是世界四大时装展示会之一，以充满活力和创意而著称。深圳是中国时装业特别是品牌服装最发达的城市之一，时装的总体研发、创意设计在中国居领先地位。现在，深圳有服装企业3000多家，自有品牌800多个，从业人员35万多，去年出口89亿美元。据说，在中国一线城市大商场销售的10件服装中，约有5至6件来自深圳。
Shenzhen is well-positioned to be China's \ Let me explain why:
First, Shenzhen is a young city. Just 32 years ago Shenzhen was a tiny fishing village. The transformation into an advanced modern metropolis is a most telling example of how China has been transformed by the reform and opening-up strategy. The phenomenal growth of Shenzhen has been driven by the strength, energy and spirit of a young population. In turn from that youth a creative zest has flourished and thus creativity is always the defining character of Shenzhen. This has produced a powerful foundation for fashion to evolve. The
result is a fast developing global centre in Shenzhen of new exciting brands and design.
深圳成为中国的“时尚创意之都”，我想:
一是年轻。深圳不仅是城市年轻，随着中国的改革开放才从一个“小渔村”奇迹般地发展成为一座现代化大都市，更因为它的人口构成年轻、文化氛围年轻、思想意识年轻，因而创新、创意总是这座城市的主色调，时装产业走得也是品牌和设计之路。 Second, Shenzhen is a tireless pioneer.
Here was the first city of China to open to the outside world over 30 years ago. So, Shenzhen has always been a trail blazer for China. The result of that pioneering means Shenzhen is at the forefront of China's economic reform. In China this leadership is recognized as \development and incredible growth are the trademark of the city.
It is in Shenzhen that the Chinese people were first exposed to the fashions and dressing styles in the West. In turn Shenzhen absorbed these trends and spread these global fashion influences across China.
二是开拓。深圳作为中国首批对外开放的城市之一，30多年来，始终“敢为天下先”，引领中国经济改革，创造了举世闻名的“深圳速度”，打造了全国领先的“效益深圳”，同时深圳也是最早在中国引进、传播和开创流行时尚。
Third, Shenzhen is advancing as a highly cosmopolitan city. Shenzhen is now an international city of migrants. Its people come from all over China and many parts of the world. Here, eastern and western cultures and ideas blend and inspire each other. It is now a melting point of creativity that has formed a diverse and unique Shenzhen culture.