Major cities

Beside the capital city, London, we have mentioned in the first chapter, the United Kingdom has other capital cities, such as Edinburgh in Scotland, Belfast in Northern Ireland, and Cardiff in Wales. In this part, let’s see some of the major cities in the UK.

Edinburgh（爱丁堡）, the capital of Scotland is a fine old city. Located on a river, the city is stunningly beautiful and its architecture is renowned the world over. Edinburghis Scotland’s administrative, financial, legal，and medical center. It is also famous for the University of Edinburgh, one of the top-rated research universities in Britain.

Cardiff（卡尔迪夫） is Europe’s youngest capital city and has been the capital city of Wales since1955. The city has undergone an enormous amount of urban regeneration and restoration and has recently become one of the most fashionable cities in Britain. With the modern architectures, Cardiff has become a popular city attracting thousands of visitors each year from home and abroad.

Belfast（贝尔法斯特） is the largest city and capital of Northern Ireland. As an important historic city, it is crammed full of spectacular landmarks and monuments, most of which date back many hundreds of years. Belfast has been the capital of Northern Ireland since its creation in 1920 by the Government of Ireland Act.

Birmingham（伯明翰） in central England is the second-most populous British city. The city was a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution（工业革命） in England. Although today Birmingham’s industrial importance has declined, it has developed into a national commercial center, being named as the second-best place in the United Kingdom to locate a business.

Manchester（曼切斯特）, situated in the south-central part of North West England, today is a center of the arts,the media, higher education and commerce. The city’s best-known newspaper, the Guardian（卫报）, is read all over the world. The University of Manchester, establishedin 1880, is a pride of the city. Manchester is well-known for being a city of sport. Two premiership football clubs bear the city’s name, Manchester United （曼联）and Manchester City（曼城）.

Plymouth（普利茅斯） is the main city in South Devon. It is a port city with a fine harbor where the British Royal Navy（英国皇家海军） has its base. Its pillar industries include shipbuilding and fishing.

Glasgow（格拉斯哥） is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the Rive Clyde in the country’s west central lowlands. Today it is one of Europe’s top twenty financial centers and is home to many of Scotland’s leading businesses. The city is also famous for the University of Glasgow,which was established in 1451 and is the fourth oldest university in the English-speaking world.

Other cities in the UK, such as Liverpool（利物浦）,Sheffield（谢菲尔德）, Bristol（布里斯托）, Cambridge（剑桥）, and Oxford（牛津）, are also very important in some way. Due to the limitation of time, we won’t talk about them here. If you areinterested in these cities, remember to leave messages and your comments in thediscussion area.