POCA Wong Shiu Ching Secondary School: The Amazing City, Edinburgh!

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas, but in 1603 and 1707 political forces moved south to London several times.  The autonomy of the Scottish Parliament was established in 1999. Important cultural institutions such as the National Museum of Scotland, the National Library of Scotland and the National Gallery of Scotland are also located in Edinburgh.  Economically, Edinburgh now relies mainly on the financial industry and is the largest financial centre in the UK outside London. Moreover, many historic buildings in Edinburgh are well preserved such as Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, St. Giles Cathedral are located here.  In 2004, Edinburgh became the world's first city of literature. Edinburgh's education is also very developed, and Edinburgh University, one of the oldest universities in the UK, is located here. It is a world-famous prestigious university with a history of more than four hundred years.  Together with cultural events such as the Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh is the second largest tourist city in the UK after London.

Since Edinburgh had a long history and successfully to protect most of the building ao there are lots of cultural attractions valuable to go such as Mary King's Close, Edinburgh Castle…. One of the day, my host family brought me to visit the Mary King's Close. It was a real underground close that was still protected in a good way. You can learn about the past of the Edinburgh that the dirty situation of the poor. Cholera was a popular disease at that period of time. If you walked into the castle, you can know many different kinds of history like wars, some famous people…. And you can watch the view of the town in Edinburgh! 

From the sources of the Office for National Statistics, the population in Edinburgh in around 5.438 million which lower than Hong Kong more than 2 million even the land in Edinburgh is larger. Most of them can have their own flat. For example, my host family have a 2 floor houses with 8 rooms but only 4 family members. Instead, in Hong Kong, most of us have to share the room with sisters or brothers. 

If you want to go to Edinburgh , remember to be careful for the season. The summer in Edinburgh will be sunny with green colors , it's comfortable that around 15°c. However, it only between June to September . In the early November, it still higher than 25°c in Hong Kong but it is mostly lower than 8°c in Scotland. The lowest temperature can be 1°c. Besides, it will rain all the day so you should bring your umbrella or some waterproof clothes and shoes. If you want to see snow then you need to wait for January. For me, it is the best season to visit Scotland in summer. Many special festivals in Scotland is held in summer and the view is the most beautiful period. 

Last but not least, you should prepare enough pound sterling. I suggest you not to exchange 50 pound from the bank since some of the shop will not accept it. Even some of the Scotland students have never seen the 50 pound. Also, be careful for the money change. If the shop gives you some Scotland pound, you should use them all before you leave since it is useless in other UK areas except you wanted to collect them. 

S4 Emily Hung

POCA Wong Shiu Ching Secondary School

Host school: Gracemount High School, Edinburgh