A 16m-high glass church in the shape of a high-heeled shoe has been built in Taiwan, apparently in a bid to attract more women.
臺灣建了一座高16米的水晶高跟鞋教堂，以吸引女性游客。

A huge glass... what?
巨型水晶…啥？

Yes, you read that right: a glass church, shaped just like a vast high-heeled shoe as if lost by a titan Cinderella while racing through Chaiyi.
是的，你沒看錯：一座玻璃教堂，外觀就像一只巨大的高跟鞋，仿佛有一位灰姑娘巨人跑過（臺灣）嘉義，不小心把鞋落在了這里。

Made out of over 320 tinted glass panels, the shiny blue building measures more than 10m wide and cost about T$23m.
這座閃耀著藍色光輝的建筑由320多塊有色玻璃構建而成，其寬度超過10米，造價高達2300萬臺幣（約合450萬元人民幣）。

Aerial footage taken in the area also showed the size and scale of the waterfront church, including an open blue stage with spotlights.
空中航拍畫面不僅可以清楚地展現這座濱海教堂的形狀和規模，還能看到一個配備著聚光燈的露天藍色舞臺。

It's set to open its doors to the public on 8 February, just in time for Chinese New Year.
教堂定于2月8日（春節）當天面向公眾開放。

Who was the shoe-maker?
教堂是誰主張建的？

It is the creation of local officials in the Southwest Coast Scenic Area, a prominent tourist area in Taiwan, which decided to build it last June.
去年6月，臺灣著名的云嘉南濱海風景區決定建造這樣一座教堂。

But Pan Tsuei-ping, its recreation section manager, told the BBC that the church will not be used for regular services, but pre-wedding photo shoots and wedding ceremonies.
但負責休閑區的經理潘翠平對BBC表示，教堂不會用于每周做禮拜，而是專門用來拍婚紗照和舉辦婚禮。

"In our planning, we want to make it a blissful, romantic avenue… Every girl imagines how they will look like when they become the bride," Ms Pan told the BBC.
“我們計劃把教堂打造成一個幸福浪漫的場所……每個女孩都曾夢想過自己成為新娘時的情景，”潘女士告訴BBC。

The shoe was inspired by a local story. According to officials in the 1960s, a 24-year-old girl surnamed Wang from the impoverished region suffered from Blackfoot disease. Both of her legs had to be amputated, leading to the cancellation of her wedding. She remained unmarried and spent the rest of her life at a church.
鞋子的設計靈感來源于當地一個故事。據官方記載，上世紀60年代，貧困區有一位24歲的王姓女孩不幸患上了黑腳病，不得不截掉雙腿，她的婚禮也因此取消。最后她終生未婚，在一座教堂里度過了余生。

The high heel is intended to honour her memory.
這只高跟鞋就是為了紀念她而設計的。

To attract women?
為了吸引女性游覽？

This does appear to be the reason behind the design.
這正是設計這只鞋的真正原因。

"There will be 100 female-oriented features in the church like maple leaves, chairs for lovers, biscuits and cakes," a spokesman Zheng Rongfeng is quoted as saying in local media.
“教堂為女性設置了100個特色場景，有楓葉、情人椅、小甜餅和蛋糕，”發言人鄭榮峯告訴當地媒體。

"It will be tailored to women, especially female tourists visiting the area."
“這些全都是為女性量身打造的，尤其是來參觀的女性游客。”

What women want (and actually think)
來看看女性們的真實看法

It has not been an unqualified success, at least on social media. One Taiwan netizen wrote, "Besides copying, what kind of standard does this church have?"
至少從社交媒體上的評論來看，它沒有完全得到肯定。一位臺灣網友寫道：“除了模仿已有的設計，這座教堂還有什么可取之處嗎？”

Women apparently don't all want glass slippers. From another user: "Why don't people say that it's objectifying women this time…"
顯然，并不是所有女性都想要水晶鞋。另一位網友就問道：“大家不覺得這種設計物化了女性嗎……”

Comments streamed in from the Chinese mainland too: "What were the authorities thinking when they commission such a hideous-looking building in the area? " said one user on popular Chinese microblogging site Weibo.
評論中也不乏來自中國大陸的聲音：“不知道當局是怎么想的，居然建了這么一座怪丑的建筑。”一位網友在新浪微博上說道。

Another user Jessie Chou said, perhaps with some disdain: "I wear flip flops anyway".
還有一位名叫杰西·周的網友略帶鄙夷地說：“反正我只穿人字拖。”

But some female users leapt to its defence: "If the shoe fits, why not wear it? I like it, it looks better than most modern churches anyway," said Lao Fu Qing.
但也有一些女網友支持該教堂的設計，其中一位名為“老福慶”的網友稱：“如果鞋子合腳，為什么不穿呢？我就挺喜歡的，它看起來怎么樣也比一些現代教堂要好。”

Another user from Shandong said: "Most girls love fairytales, it's great that officials want to focus on women for once."
另一位來自山東的網友說：“大部分女孩都喜歡童話故事。至少這一次官方考慮到了女性的需求，我覺得挺好的。”

英文來源：BBC
譯者：蒙牛歡歡乳
審校&編輯：杜娟