世界城市博览（47）Bangkok（泰国）

世界城市博览（47）Bangkok（泰国）       The ancient ruins of Ayutthaya are a short day trip from Bangkok
It''s worth putting up with the traffic jams, pollution, annual floods and sticky weather to experience one of Asia''s most exciting cities. Bangkok has dominated Thailand''s urban hierarchy, as well as its political, commercial and cultural life, since the late 18th century. Although the late 20th-century boom（迅速发展）is over - you can still shop in air-conditioned comfort in Western-style malls（设在郊区的大规模购物中心）.
Bangkok proper seethes（沸腾，热闹）on the east side of the Chao Phraya River. The city is reportedly sinking at a rate of 90cm (36in) every year, but there''s too much happening in this vibrant city for anyone to get that sinking feeling for too long.

Metropolitan Bangkok covers 1569 sq km (612 sq mi) of southern Thailand, sitting in the middle of the most fertile rice-producing delta in the world. A network of natural and artificial canals crisscross（纵横交错地分布于） the city, feeding to and from Thailand''s hydrological lifeline - the broad Chao Phraya River - which snakes through the city providing transport for passengers and cargo.



A dancer in traditional Thai costume
Bangkok is divided in two by the main north-south train line. Old Bangkok, where a large proportion of the city''s temples and palaces and its Chinese and Indian districts are found, lies between the river and the railway. East of the railway, comprising the main business, tourist and spra

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