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Birmingham (UK)
Surrounded by sprawling motorways, bisected by canals and punctuated by
modern shopping centres, Birmingham can seem like a concrete maze(迷宫). Best to
set your bearings on the massive Council House, one of the few 19th-century
buildings spared by World War Two, which has a domed facade overlooking the
pedestrian precinct(区域) in the heart of town. This precinct comprises Victoria
and Chamberlain Squares, which boast the most attractive architecture in the
city. West of here are Centenary Square, the International Convention Centre and
Symphony Hall. Also to the west are the trendy bars and cafes. To the northwest
is the colourful Jewellery Quarter. Southeast of the pedestrian area are the
Pallasades and Pavilions shopping centres and the City Plaza.
Birmingham doesn"t have a peak season as such. The main theatres shut for
the summer, but all other attractions remain open. Large conventions and
exhibitions run year-round, and accommodation can be harder to find at these
times. As a rule if you go between May and September you"re more likely to get
blue skies than during the colder winter months, but, as any Anglophile(亲英派)
knows, the heavens could open at any time.
It"s hard to believe that the sprawling Birmingham we know today used to be
nought but a small market town. The first rumblings(隆隆声) of its industrial
future came in the 16th century when local metal workers gained a national
reputation, but it wasn"t until the Industrial Revolution that Birmingham hit
the big time. Luminaries of that age include Matthew Boulton and James Watt, who
built the first steam engine in Handsworth in 1775; William Murdock, who
invented gas lighting(煤气灯); printer John Baskerville and chemist Joseph
Priestley. As the local coal and iron trade boomed and jewellery became an
important industry, a massive system of canals was built to cope with the
traffic.
The enormous growth of the 18th and 19th centuries led to grotty(差劲的;恶劣的)
housing conditions. Joseph Chamberlain (1869-1940) introduced civic improvements
during his time as mayor and in 1911 the city"s boundaries were enlarged to make
it the second largest in England.
Unfortunately WWII bombs destroyed much of Chamberlain"s good work and
attractive buildings were replaced by some of the eyesores(废墟) for which
contemporary Birmingham is known.
The 21st century sees a Birmingham whose industries are at the mercy of a
strong British pound and faltering foreign investment. It"s still a successful
conference city, with the NEC (National Exhibition Centre), ICC (International
Convention Centre) and NIA (National Indoor Arena) continuing to host high
profile events. The city even put in a bid to host the national stadium but lost
out to Wembley, only to see those plans buried under escalating costs. Like much
of the rest of the country, tourism in the Midlands suffered with the crisis
over spiralling petrol prices, extensive flooding, and then the foot and mouth
epidemic, which allegedly cost Birmingham and the surrounding area ￡10 million a
week at its height.
Birmingham refuses to be beaten. New construction work is still going ahead
and multi-million-pound regeneration(重建) schemes are giving the city a
much-needed makeover(翻新). Clubbers give the nightlife a thumbs-up and the
cultural scene is undeniably happening. It may still be overshadowed(失色) by
cities like Manchester and of course the capital, but Birmingham is determined
to compete. |
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发表于 2016-7-9 23:18:53