Birmingham is the most culturally diverse city in the UK. According to statistics in 2001, 29.7% of the population is not white. There are many immigrants from the Caribbean, South Asia and Ireland, and they are black Jamaicans outside of Jamaica. The area with the most Christians, the Irish celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a parade in Birmingham, the third largest in the world after Dublin and New York. The "Bharati" curry cooking method invented by Indians in Birmingham has become popular everywhere.

Birmingham receives about 22 million tourists every year, and its commercial center is second only to the West End of London.

There are 60 kilometers of rivers in the center of Birmingham. During the Industrial Revolution, these rivers were the lifeblood of industrial transportation, but now they are only used for tourism. People often say that the rivers in Birmingham are longer than those in Venice. Venice is only 43 kilometers away. In fact, Birmingham is larger than Venice, so the river ratio is not as large as Venice.

During World War II, Birmingham was severely bombed and the Victorian-era buildings were completely destroyed. They were all rebuilt in the 1950s and 1960s, making Birmingham the "ugliest" city in the UK. Often referred to as the "concrete forest".

In recent years, the city center has been vigorously transformed, with many old streets restored and many squares built.

History

Birmingham was originally a small village. It became a large town in the 14th century. After the Industrial Revolution, due to the discovery of coal mines nearby, the city developed rapidly. The urban population was 75,000 in 1800. , 650,000 in 1900, and was only included in the British City Directory in 1889.

Economy

The Industrial Revolution made the border areas very prosperous, and various industries developed very fast. Birmingham was the manufacturing center of railway locomotives, steam engines, and ships at that time. It was an industrial and financial centre, the Birmingham Mint is the world's oldest independent mint, and until 2003, British coins were still produced in Birmingham. Lloyds Bank was established in Birmingham in 1765, and the predecessor of HSBC, "Mirland Bank", was established in 1836. More than 25% of the UK's export products are manufactured in the Birmingham area. The economy is currently shifting to the tertiary industry, and the financial industry and tourism are also developing rapidly. The car show is held every two years at the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham. In 2003, the time for the car show was changed from October to May every year.

Important figures

Neville Chamberlain——former British Prime Minister.

John Ronald Tolkien - author of "The Lord of the Rings".

Culture and Art

Music

Birmingham used to be just a dirty "coal city" and a purely industrial city in people's minds, but since the 20th century Beginning in the 1960s, the Beatles appeared in Birmingham, followed by heavy metal music. Birmingham soon became the world capital of modern music, with emerging bands emerging one after another. In the 1970s, with the increase in immigrants from Latin America, Jamaican reggae music spread to Birmingham, and Birmingham became the base of English reggae music. In the 1980s, New Romantic music emerged in Birmingham. Birmingham can always lead the current trend of emerging music in the world.

Birmingham also hosts the International Jazz Festival every year, which is the largest jazz festival in the UK.

Both the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Birmingham Royal Ballet are renowned in the world. From 1784 to 1912, Birmingham held the UK's largest music festival every three years

Literature

Many famous writers are associated with Birmingham:

Arthur Conan Doyle lived in Birmingham from the spring of 1879 to 1882, and many of the places and people mentioned in his books are Related to Birmingham.

Among the works of Charles Dickens is "Birmingham Guildhall".

John Ronald Reel Tolkien, the author of "The Lord of the Rings", spent his childhood in Birmingham, and his parents were from Birmingham.

Sister Cities

France - Lyon

Germany - Frankfurt

Germany - Leipzig

Italy - Milan< /p>

South Africa-Johannesburg

United States-Chicago