Living in the City

City Life

More than half of China’s population lives in cities — this is more than 750 million people!


Living in the city makes it easy to access important things such as schools, stores, and banks.


Most cities in China have very large populations. Shanghai is the largest city with more than 24 million people.

中国大部分城市人口众多。 上海是中国最大的城市。 上海人口有2400多万人。

Big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou are Westernized. Many people speak English, and there are Western restaurants and stores. Living in these cities is usually more expensive than living in smaller cities.

北京，上海，广州等大城市西方化。 很多人说英语，并且拥有西式餐厅和商店。 生活在这些城市通常会比生活在小城市花费更多。



Beijing is the capital city of China, located in Northern China. The city has a 3000 year history, it has been the capital city of many dynasties. Beijing is the national culture, political, technology innovation and international communication centre. It is a modern city that has been developing fast. Beijing also has the most world cultural heritage sites in the world. The Imperial Palace, Temple of Heaven, The Great Wall and Summer Palace are grand and magnificent. These historical sites attract countless tourists to visit Beijing. Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008. Many modern buildings have been built for sports competition.



Sugar Craft

Sugar craft is a traditional art in northern China. This video was made in Beijing, which is the capital of China. As an ancient city, there are many historic buildings that retain Chinese culture. People have been doing sugar craft in Beijing for many years. People can earn money from selling these crafts. This video shows how to make sugar craft objects.



Here are two videos showing a man doing sugar craft in Beijing. One has English voice and sub-titles the other has Chinese voice and both Chinese and English sub-tiles.











Nanjing (南京) is a major city in southeast China. It is the capital of Jiangsu province, and a city of great historical significance. Nanjing has existed for nearly 2500 years.

南京是中国东南部的主要城市之一。 南京具有深厚的历史文化。 它是江苏省的首府。 南京城具有近2500年的历史。

It has been the capital of Jiangsu for nearly 450 years. It is known as the “capital of six dynasties” and “capital of ten dynasties”. A lot of the historical buildings in the city have been preserved.

它也有近450年的资本历史。 被誉为“六朝首都”和“十王朝首都”。 这座城市保留了很多历史建筑。

One of the famous historical buildings is the city wall from the Ming dynasty. It was 35 kilometers in total, and built for the purpose of fortification, but some of the wall was damaged. The rest of the wall has been restored and is still in use now, but as a tourism site.

其中一个著名的历史建筑是明朝的城墙。它的建造源于防御目的，全长三十五公里，但是墙壁的一些部分被破坏了。 剩下的其余部分已经恢复，并且作为旅游景点还在使用。



Town of Xitang

Xitang is located in Zhejiang province. It is 1000 years old and filled with ancient residences. It is renowned for its many bridges, lanes, and covered corridors.

西塘位于浙江省，是一座拥有古老住宅的千年古镇。 因有许多桥梁，车道和有盖的走廊而闻名于世。

Inside the town, there are many well-preserved sites of architectural significance constructed during the Ming and Qing dynasties. These sites boast high artistic and research value, which is why they have been highlighted by local and international experts who study antique buildings.

在镇内，建有许多保存良好的明清建筑群。 这些建筑具有较高的艺术和学习价值，并受到国内外专家研究古建筑的重视。

Due to the fact that this town is built along the river, boats are one of the main methods of transportation.
People visit the traditional pavilion in order to play traditional Chinese instruments and sing.

由于这个小镇沿河而建，船只成为整个城市旅游的主要交通工具之一。 这里的人在中国传统文化馆演奏中国传统乐器和歌唱。