沙洋女养蜂人32年追花酿蜜，每年奔波12000公里带动乡邻致富
32 Years of Beekeeping: 53-year-old Covers 12,000 km Annually to Bring Community a Lifetime of Sweetness
极目新闻记者 张盼 高伟
JIMU News Reporter:Zhang Pan, Gao Wei
翻译：张悦 韩晓龙 卫拉 （湖北大学）
Translators: Zhang Yue, Han Xiaolong, Lisa M. K (Hubei University)
阳春三月，湖北省沙洋县80万亩油菜花竞相开放，铺成一望无际的金色花海。对于53岁的女养蜂人刘晓梅来说，这是一片得天独厚的蜜源宝地。每年油菜花盛开时节，她都会带着上千群蜜蜂踏上归乡路，在故乡的花海中，续写自己32年的追花酿蜜传奇。
ThisMarch, marking the arrival of spring, 800,000 mu of rapeseed bursts intofull bloom in Shayang County, Hubei, creating a sprawling sea of gold brimming with nectar. For Liu Xiaomei, a 53-year-old female beekeeper, this is an unrivaledhoney source. Every year during the rapeseed bloom, she migrates back home with over 1,000 bee colonies, continuing her 32-year migratory beekeeping legacy.
每年油菜花盛开时节，刘晓梅都会带着蜜蜂大军踏上归途 通讯员供图
Every spring, when rapeseed enter full bloom, Liu Xiaomei migrates back home withher bee colonies(Courtesy of Correspondent)
这场与蜜蜂、花海相伴的坚守，始于1995年。彼时21岁的刘晓梅，带着10箱蜜蜂试水养蜂，毫无经验的她常被蜜蜂蜇得鼻青脸肿。但凭着一股不服输的韧劲，她慢慢摸索，从蜂群养护到蜂蜜酿造，一步步从新手成长为养蜂“土专家”。
Her career began in 1995. At 21, Liu started beekeeping with just 10 hives as a novice. With no experience at all, she was frequently stung black and blue by bees. Yet driven by her unyielding spirit, she learned through practice, graduallyhoning her skillsfrom colony care to honey production, evolving from a beginner into an expert in beekeeping.
32年来，她的足迹遍布全国各地，为了让蜜蜂赶上最佳花期、酿出优质蜂蜜，每年奔波里程不少于12000公里。后来，发现家乡沙洋的油菜花田面积广、蜜源纯，是天然酿蜜宝地，她便调整行程，每年6个月在外追花，其余时间回到家乡，让漂泊的脚步有了归宿。
Over the past 32 years, her itinerant lifestylehas taken her all across thecountry. To take full advantage of the prime flowering season and ensure her bees produce high-quality honey, she travels no less than 12,000 kilometers annually. After discovering the vast rapeseed fields in her hometown Shayang with abundant and pristine nectar—a natural treasure for honey making—she adjusted her route. Now, she spends six months each year chasing blooms elsewhere and the rest of the time at home, giving her wandering life a place to return.
“家乡的花海，不仅是蜜蜂的‘粮仓’，更是我的乡愁。”刘晓梅笑着说。2022年，她与丈夫携手创办公司，不仅深耕蜂蜜酿造，还打造“蜂情小镇”农旅融合项目，以“公司+农户”模式，带动周边乡邻参与养蜂产业，一起走上致富路。如今，“蜂情小镇”已成网红打卡地，游客们在花海中赏蜂、品蜜，感受养蜂人的甜蜜日常。
“Theseblooming fields are more than justa‘granary’for my bees.They remind methat Shayangis home,” Liu said with a smile. In 2022, she and her husband co-founded a companythat integrateshoney productionwith tourism through a bee-themed park. Adopting a “company + farmers”model, they have inspirednearby villagers to join the beekeeping industry, helping others find better livelihoods. Today, the agritourism project has become a tourist favorite, where visitors can watch the bees and samplehoney, experiencing the sweet life of beekeeping.
从10箱蜜蜂到上千群蜂群，从孤身追花到带领乡邻共富，32载光阴，刘晓梅将奔波的辛苦酿成了生活的甘甜。
From 10 hives to over 1,000 honey bee colonies, from chasing blooms alone to leading her communitytoward shared prosperity, over 32 years, Liu has turned the toils of her nomadic beekeeping life into the sweet joys of daily living.