世界城市博览（57）Birmingham（英国）

世界城市博览（57）Birmingham（英国）       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

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