4 famous cities in China 文明中国的四座城市

王涛涛

1 Everyone knows China has the worlds largest population. But do you know China has well over 100 cities with over a million people？ The following are 4 famous cities in China.

Beijing

2 Everyone knows the capital of China is Beijing， though some may still call it Peking. Peking is rather traditional， and no longer used in China， except in some terms such as Peking duck， which originated in Beijing as an imperial （皇帝的） food. Beijing is more of a “modern” imperial capital， being Chinas seat of power for most of the last 1，000 years， and not featuring much before that. Beijings imperial attractions include the Forbidden City， the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace.

Shanghai

3 Most people have also heard of one of Chinas largest city， Shanghai. Shanghai has reaped （取得） the benefits of its location jutting （伸出） out into the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Yangtze River， and has become the worlds busiest container port， shipping “made in China” products all over the world. With a population of over 20 million， Shanghai rivals the largest cities in the world for size and prosperity， and the Shanghainese are proud of it. Shanghai is the showcase for Chinas economic success.

Hong Kong

4 Hong Kong is famous for its movies popularizing Chinese culture， and its movie star Jackie Chan. Hong Kong is also known for its overseas Chinese population. Most Chinatowns have a Hong Kong character and the Cantonese language. The vast majority of the second and third generation of Chinese in Chinatowns originated from Hong Kong， as while the rest of China was closed before 1978， Hong Kong was open and mobile.

Guangzhou

5 For those who do manufacturing business with China， the chances are that you have heard of Guangzhou， the largest manufacturing area in China. Probably Guangzhous most famous exports are Cantonese food and the Cantonese language. Guangzhou was called Canton when it gave its name to the Cantonese language， which is spoken all over the southeast corner of China， especially Hong Kong， and Chinatowns worldwide.

[Reading][Check]

Ⅰ. Choose the best answers according to the text

Detail    1. Which city will you choose if you want to visit traditional attractions？

A. Beijing. B. Shanghai.

C. Hong Kong. D. Guangzhou.

Detail    2. What can we learn about Shanghai from paragraph 3？

A. It is the biggest city in China.

B. It lies at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

C. It has a population of 20 million.

D. It shows the success of “made in China” products.

Detail      3. What do Hong Kong and Guangzhou have in common？

A. They are large and open. B. They are known for movies.

C. They have the same language. D. They focus on manufacturing.

Inference    4. Where can the text be found？

A. In a history book. B. In a travel brochure.

C. In a book review. D. In an art magazine.

[Language][Study]

Memorize some text?centered chunks

no longer 不再 the Forbidden City 紫禁城;故宫

the Temple of Heaven 天坛 the Summer Palace 颐和园

made in China 中国制造 all over the world 世界各地

be famous/known for 因……而著名