India’s 100th airport, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the northern-eastern state of Sikkim on Monday, is arguably one of the world’s most beautiful airports.

　　周一，印度第100个机场由总理纳伦德拉·莫迪在东北部锡金邦举行落成典礼，这可以说是世界上最美丽的机场之一了。

　　Sikkim, a tiny former kingdom in the Himalayas, is home to Kanchenjunga, the world’s third-highest mountain. The state is connected to Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal through eight mountain passes.

　　锡金以前是喜马拉雅山脉上的一个小小的王国，是世界第三高山干城章嘉峰的所在地。该邦通过八个山口与西藏，不丹和尼泊尔相连。

　　The state’s first airport at Pakyong, some 30km (18 miles) from the state capital, Gangtok, and carved out of a mountainside has been described as an "engineering marvel".

　　锡金邦第一个机场位于Pakyong，距离州首府甘托克约30公里(18英里)，机场坐落在山腰上，被称为“工程奇迹”。

　　Some 60km from the border with China, the airport is located on top of a hill above Pakyong village at 4,500ft (1,371 metres) above sea level and it’s spread across over 201 acres.

　　该机场距离中国边境约60公里，位于Pakyong村上方一座山顶上，海拔4,500英尺(1,371米)，占地面积超过201英亩。

　　The airport is flanked by deep valleys at both ends of the 1.75km-long runway. It has two parking bays and a terminal building, which can handle about 100 passengers at a time.

　　机场两侧是长达1.75公里的跑道，两端是深谷。它有两个停车位和一个候机楼，一次可以接纳大约100名乘客。

　　Difficult topography and hostile weather conditions made this nine-year-long project "extremely challenging and exciting", according to a spokesperson for Punj Lloyd, an Indian company which built the runway.

　　根据建造跑道的印度公司Punj Lloyd的一位发言人的说法，地形和恶劣的天气条件使这个长达九年的项目“极具挑战性和令人兴奋”。

　　Engineers say the main challenge was to carry out heavy earthwork construction at the site and lug equipment through narrow mountain roads. The weather - Sikkim gets monsoon rains from April to September - hindered work.

　　工程师说，主要挑战是在现场进行重型土方施工，并在狭窄的山路运行设备。天气也阻碍了工作进程， 锡金从四月到九月是季风降雨季节。

　　The hilly terrain and high seismicity were among some of the other challenges engineers faced on the rocky slopes.

　　工程师在岩石斜坡上面临的其他挑战包括丘陵地形和高地震活动。

　　The entire airport, including the runway, has been built on land which was itself created by building an embankment wall as high as 263ft in deep valleys. Punj Lloyd says it is one of the tallest "reinforcement" walls in the world.

　　包括跑道在内的整个机场都是在陆地上建造的，这块陆地本身是通过在深谷中建造高达263英尺的堤坝而建成的。 Punj Lloyd说它是世界上最高的“加固”墙之一。

　　Commercial flight operations from Pakyong will begin on 4 October.

　　Pakyong的商业航班将于10月4日开始。

　　The airport is expected to boost tourism to Sikkim, which is home to a number of peaks, glaciers and high altitude lakes.

　　预计该机场将促进锡金的旅游业，这里拥有许多山峰，冰川和高海拔湖泊。