Old Life in Hangzhuo China and the Modern Life in New York City Essay

Old Life in Hangzhuo China and the Modern Life in New York City - Essay Example Similar to the modern day New York City, Huangzhuo is one of the most important cities in China in the 13th century. Huangzhuo is the capital of the Southern Song dynasty making it a major cultural and political center. The account of Marco Polo describes this city as "magnificent" and "beyond dispute the finest and the noblest in the world" (Yule 185). Being surrounded by bodies of water, the city is surrounded by twelve thousand bridges in order to facilitate travel to and from it. This physical structure is also present in the modern day New York even though the number of bridges is far smaller. The Staten Island is connected to Brooklyn by the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (New York City). Being the capital of a dynasty, Huangzhuo has also been a seat of entertainment which is performed in what Marco Polo describes as "a rich, beautiful and spacious edifice, furnished in such style as to seem fit for a palace of an Emperor (Yule 186)" in one of the city's island. Within this structure, important celebrations and occasions are held. In the modern day New York City, this can be likened to the Coney Island which is one of the earliest amusement ground in the US, the Madison Square Garden, and the Broadway theatre district (New York City). The economic significance of the two cities is also comparable