It was once said， “Kyoto is in Japan， but the real Japan is in Kyoto.” As one of the oldest cities in Japan， Kyoto is home to many cultural and historical1 sites. It is thought of as the heart of Japan.

Kyoto was Japans capital where the emperor2 lived from 794 until 1868. The thousand-year history of being a capital， has given Kyoto a strong historical background. Its architecture3， art， gardening and folk customs showcase a lot of ancient4 Japanese characteristics. Therefore， Kyoto is “the true Japan” in Japanese peoples eyes.

Over the centuries， Kyoto was destroyed by many wars and fires. But it was saved during World War II from bombs because of its history. It is now the countrys third largest city. It has a population of 15 million people. Today， you can still find a lot of priceless5 old temples， shrines6 and buildings in Kyoto.

The thousand-year capital city Kyoto， was also called “Safe Jing” in the past. At the same time， because of Chinese cultural influence， the design of Kyoto can be referred7 to by many layouts of ancient Luoyang and Changan of ancient China. Until this day， there are still a lot of marks of “Luo”.

Traditional Japanese art， such as fabrics8， ceramics（陶瓷）， ikebana（花道）and sado（茶道）have been existing in Kyoto for a very long time. And they are still developing. When visitors go to Kyoto， they can always find a lot of celebrations， events and holidays. Kyoto is one of the best cities to learn about Japanese culture and traditions.

曾經(jīng)有人說：“京都在日本，但真正的日本在京都?！弊鳛槿毡咀罟爬系某鞘兄唬┒紦碛泻芏辔幕蜌v史遺址。它也被看作是日本的心臟。

從794年到1868年，京都曾是日本的首都，也是天皇居住的地方。千年之久的建都?xì)v史，賦予了京都深厚的歷史底蘊(yùn)。它的建筑、繪畫、園藝和民俗，都保留了許多古老的日本特色。因此，京都被看作日本人民心目中“真正的日本”。

幾百年來，京都曾在不同的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)和火災(zāi)中被摧毀。但在第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間，由于京都在歷史上的重要性，它免于戰(zhàn)火炸彈的襲擊。如今的京都是日本第三大城市，人口約有1500萬。今天，你依然可以在京都找到很多無價(jià)的古老寺廟、神社和建筑。

千年古都京都在古代又被稱作“平安京”。同時(shí)，由于受到中國文化的影響，京都的格局借鑒了中國古代城市洛陽和長(zhǎng)安的設(shè)計(jì)原理。直到今天，京都仍有很多“洛”的痕跡。

在京都，日本傳統(tǒng)紡織物、陶瓷、花道、茶道等民間手工藝留存久遠(yuǎn)，仍在不斷發(fā)展中。游客到達(dá)京都時(shí)，總會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)各種各樣的慶?；顒?dòng)和節(jié)日。京都是了解日本傳統(tǒng)文化的最佳城市之一。

Tip

was destroyed：采用動(dòng)詞的“被動(dòng)語態(tài)”形式，其構(gòu)成方式為：be +done（過去分詞）。英語中時(shí)態(tài)很多，但語態(tài)只有兩種：主動(dòng)語態(tài)和被動(dòng)語態(tài)，相當(dāng)于“被……”“由……”的句式。如：1）His bicycle was stolen.（was stolen意為“被偷”）2）The building has been built in 2000.（has been built意為“被建于”）。