Manchester

Manchester, the city made famous by cotton in the Victorian times. Mills and factories emerged rapidly, turning the city into an industrial stronghold. Their owners became rich and wealthy in a very short time. People flock into the city from the countryside, hoping for a better life. Together with the cities in northern England, their advances during the Industrial Revolution made England the richest nation in the world. Such was the fame of Manchester that cities like Osaka in Japan are dubbed the “Manchester of the East” due to its textile industry that rivaled the scale of Manchester.

The millionaires in Manchester started to build grand structure as their residence and as shopping complexes. The face of Manchester is transformed completely. However, the city council of Manchester faced a problem. Unlike London, they do not have a landmark that symbolizes the city. Hence, they came to a decision – to build a town hall that even amidst all the grand structure can be regarded as unique and even greater. The result is a castle-like structure whose floor and windows are decorated with patterns of cotton. This shows how important cotton means to the people of Manchester.

The cotton industry faced a decline after the wars, and now, what makes Manchester famous all over the world is no longer its industry, but the two very famous stadiums – Old Trafford and the City of Manchester Stadium. The former is the world champions and the latter is the richest football club in the world.

On public transport, Manchester does not have the convenience of the underground in London. Instead, it has metrolink, a network of trams that links the city and its suburbs. Unless it is absolutely necessary, I won’t consider using it. The speed is incredibly slow.

There is also a Chinatown in Manchester. It’s not quite big. It’s very very small if you compared it to that in London. The arc in front of the Chinatown reads, “曼彻斯特中国城” or “Manchester’s China Town”.