曾几何时，热腾腾的方便面陪伴无数中国人走过了一段段难忘的岁月。漫漫回家路上，半夜加班的办公桌前，偷懒不愿下楼的学生宿舍里，抗震救灾的救援车中……方便面几乎无处不在。然而现在方便面的销售量却骤然下降，到底是因为什么原因呢？
With their tangy sauces and sachets of dried meat and vegetables, instant noodles were once the bedrock of China’s convenience food, but their sales had declined drastically in recent years.
有着气味浓郁的酱包加上脱水的肉丁蔬菜包，中国方便面一度是速食产品的主力军，但是近些年来，其销量急剧下滑。
For Geng Mei, an English teacher in Beijing, munching bowls full of steaming instant noodles was a highlight of her childhood.
对于北京英语老师耿美来说，吃上一整碗热腾腾的方便面是童年最快乐的时光。
Cheap and delicious, instant noodles were so popular when I was a child, says Geng, who is in her thirties. "But now I cannot even remember the last time I had them."
30多岁的耿说道:“童年时，便宜又美味的方便面广受欢迎，但如今我都记不清上次方便面何时吃的了。”
Instant noodles were invented in Japan in the 1950s, spreading quickly throughout Asia, Europe and the rest of the world. They flourished in China in the 1980s and 1990s, with noodle bowls and packets ubiquitous in snack shops and supermarkets.
方便面起源于20世纪50年代的日本，风靡亚洲、欧洲乃至世界其他地区。20世纪80年代到90年代初，方便面在中国广为流行，快餐店和大商场里到处可以找到成碗和成包的方便面。
In 2013, sales of instant noodles on the Chinese mainland surpassed more than 46.2 billion packets, according to the World Instant Noodles Association -- that is 1,465 packets of instant noodles opened every second.
据世界方便面协会数据显示，2013年，中国本土方便面销量逾462亿包，也就是说方便面以1465包/秒的速度开袋。
However, by 2016 sales had dropped to just 38.5 billion packets.
然而，到2016年其销量就下降到仅有385亿袋。
Instant noodle companies are feeling the pinch. Tingyi, which makes and sells Master Kong instant noodles, had a revenue slump in its instant noodle business from 4.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2013 to 3.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2016. The company even had to sell its inoperative noodle and beverage factories in the city of Xi’an, northwest China, earlier this year.
方便面公司陷入困境。生产与销售康师傅方便面的康师傅控股有限公司的方便面销售收入自2013年的43亿美元暴跌至2016年的32亿美元。今年年初，该公司甚至不得不出售位于中国西北部西安的一些旗下亏损的方便面与饮料工厂。
Zhang Xin, associate professor with department of economics and finance at Tongji University, says the shrinking migrant population has damaged the industry as they were one of the largest groups of instant noodle consumers.
交通大学财经系副教授张鑫表示萎缩的流动人口数量打破了这个行业的辉煌，因为他们是方便面最大的消费群体。
China’s migrant population decreased for the first time in about 30 years in 2015. The economic rise of China’s interior regions is luring back migrant workers from coastal cities. Skills and capital acquired in cities also help migrant workers start their own businesses in their home town.
2015年，中国流动人口在30年间首次减少。国内内陆地区经济的复苏吸引在沿海地区的打工的农民工回到他们家乡。在外面城市学到的技能以及赚到的钱使得这些民工可以在家乡谋划经营他们自己的生意。
The explosive growth of China’s high-speed railway networks turns out to be unexpected enemy of the instant noodles industry.
对速食泡面业来说，中国迅猛发展的高铁网络实则为不速之客。
I ate instant noodles for breakfast, lunch and as a midnight snack during my 20-hour train trips in the past, says Tang Mingsheng, who works in the eastern Chinese city of Fuzhou.
在中国东方城市福州工作的唐明生说道，在他过去的20小时火车旅途中，他吃方便面作为早餐，午餐和宵夜零食。
But since 2013, Tang’s journey home at Spring Festivals is on a high-speed train that takes just six hours. There is no need for midnight instant-noodle snacking.
但是从2013年开始，唐春节回家坐高铁只要六个小时，这就不需要午夜方便面充饥了。
Trains were once an important market for instant noodles, but railway stations are ordering less and less instant noodles these days, says Long Shuhai, an instant noodle distributor in Yunnan Province.
一个云南省的方便面经销商龙树海说，对于方便面行业来说，火车曾经是一个重要的市场，但是最近火车站预订越来越少的方便面。
Instead, trains sell expensive Haagen-Dazs ice cream, imported fruits and lunch boxes, as the instant noodle market continues to dwindle.
相反，方便面市场持续下降，火车上售卖起昂贵的哈根达斯冰淇淋、进口水果和午餐盒饭。
The rise of food delivery has also played a role in the declining fortunes of the instant noodle industry. From her office, Geng can see dozens of delivery men crowding the streets below, hurrying from office to office to drop off meals.
外卖的增加也在方便面产业的衰退中起了一定的作用。从她的办公室里，耿可以看见几十个外卖小哥挤在楼下的街上，匆忙地把外卖送到各个办公室。
Food delivery gives consumers access to quick meals of more diversified tastes, she says.
“外卖给了顾客食用（与方便面相比而言）更多口味快餐的机会。”她说。
Users of food delivery services reached 295 million by the end of June, a 41.6 percent increase from the end of 2016, according to the China Internet Network Information Center.
根据中国互联网络信息中心的统计，到今年6月底，外卖服务业用户达到了2.95亿，比2016年上升了41.6%。
Food delivery services have even reached high-speed trains. In mid-July, 27 major railway stations across China launched a pilot on-demand food delivery service for high-speed trains passing through the stations.
外卖服务甚至已经落实到了高铁。在七月中旬，中国27个主要的铁路车站应对外卖服务的需求设置了引导人员，负责高铁经过铁路站时提供外卖服务。
The decline of instant noodle sales shows a shift in China’s consumption patterns, says Zhao Ping with the Academy of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. "Consumers are more interested in life quality than just filling their bellies, these days."
中国国际贸易促进委员会赵平说：方便面销量的下滑反映了国内消费模式的转变，这些年来消费者更注重的是生活的质量而不仅仅是填饱肚子了。
The instant noodle industry is trying to regain its lost glory through developing more flavors. It is also upgrading products in a bid a change people’s perception of instant noodles as a "low-end" product. But unlike cooking a packet of instant noodle, that is something that will not happen in an instant.
速食面产业正在尝试通过研发更多口味的产品来挽回失去的荣耀。它们升级产品来扭转人们对速食面是“低端”产品的印象。但是跟泡一包速食面不同，有些事不是马上就会见效的。
