A discussion of geography and some of the world's famous cities.

1. Geography

2. What is “geography”?
Geography (from Greek γεωγραφία - geographia, lit. "earth describe-write")
is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena
of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the
Earth".

3. Earth

5. The Continents

12. What do you think?
• Why is it important to study the humanities?
The Humanities: art, history, culture, language
• Do you know much about the world? Should
you?
• Why do you think Chinese students spend less
time studying geography than other subjects
like math and science?

13. Which world city is this?

14. New York City
New York is the most populous city in the
United States and the center of the New York
Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous
metropolitan areas in the world. New York
exerts a significant impact upon global
commerce, finance, media, art, fashion,
research, technology, education, and
entertainment. The home of the United
Nations Headquarters, New York is an
important center for international affairs and
is widely deemed the cultural capital of the
world.

16. Mumbai
ɪ
Mumbai ( /mʊmˈba/; Marathi:
, Mumbaī), formerly known as Bombay in
English, is the capital of the Indian state of
Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in
India, and the fourth most populous city in the
world, with a total metropolitan area population of
approximately 20.5 million. Mumbai is the
commercial and entertainment capital of India, it is
also one of the world's top 10 centres of commerce
in terms of global financial flow, generating 5% of
India's GDP. The city also houses India's Hindi-
language film industry, known as Bollywood.

18. Tokyo
Tokyo (東京 Tōkyō, "Eastern Capital") is the
capital of Japan, the center of the Greater
Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area
of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese
government and the Imperial Palace, and the
home of the Japanese Imperial Family.
Tokyo has been described as one of the three
"command centers" for the world economy,
along with New York City and London. In 2010
Tokyo was named the second most expensive
city for expatriate employees, according to
the Mercer and Economist Intelligence Unit
cost-of-living surveys,[10] and named the
fourth Most Liveable City and the World’s
Most Livable Megalopolis by the magazine
Monocle.

20. Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, commonly referred to simply as Rio, is
the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest
metropolitan area in South America, boasting
approximately 6.3 million people within the city
proper, making it the 6th largest in the Americas, and
26th in the world.
Rio de Janeiro is the most visited city in the southern
hemisphere and is known for its natural settings,
carnival celebrations, samba, Bossa Nova, and
beautiful beaches such as Barra da Tijuca, Copacabana,
Ipanema, and Leblon. Some of the most famous
landmarks in addition to the beaches include the giant
statue of Christ the Redeemer ('Cristo Redentor') atop
Corcovado mountain, named one of the “New Seven
Wonders of the World”.

22. Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France.
The city of Paris, within its administrative
limits has an estimated population of
2,211,297, but the Paris metropolitan area
has a population of 12,089,098, and is one of
the most populated metropolitan areas in
Europe. Paris was the largest city in the
Western world for about 1,000 years, prior to
the 19th century, and the largest in the entire
world between the 16th and 19th centuries.
Paris is today one of the world's leading
business and cultural centres, and its
influences in
politics, education, entertainment, media, fas
hion, science, and the arts all contribute to
its status as one of the world's major global
cities.

24. Mexico City
Mexico City (Spanish: Ciudad de México) is
the capital of Mexico. It is a federal entity
within Mexico which is not part of any one of
the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the
federation as a whole. Mexico City is the
country's largest city as well as its most
important political, cultural, educational and
financial center. The city was originally built
on an island of Lake Texcoco by the Aztecs in
1325 as Tenochtitlan, which was almost
completely destroyed in the 1521 siege of
Tenochtitlan, and subsequently redesigned
and rebuilt in accordance with the Spanish
urban standards. Today it is one of the largest
and most important cities in North
America, and the whole of the Spanish-
speaking world.

25. What do you think?
• Which of the cities we have talked about
today would you most like to visit?
• How are these cities like the ones in China?
How are they different?
• Is it good that all of the places in the world are
very different, or should they be the same?