Introducing Detroit

Detroit is the largest city in the state of Michigan, United States, and the county seat of Wayne County. Founded by French fur traders in 1701, it is an important port city, the world's traditional automobile center and the music capital located in the Midwest of the United States, north of Windsor, Canada, along the Detroit River. The city is named after the Detroit River, which connects Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie. It is derived from the French "Rivière du Détroit", which means "River of the Strait".

In 2005, Detroit ranked as the 11th most populous city in the United States with 886,675 residents, but this number is less than half of its population peak in the 1950s. Detroit has experienced one of the largest urban population declines in the United States over the past 50 years.

Detroit's urban policing is notorious, and racial issues continue to plague it. At the same time, due to insufficient fiscal budgets, the city's public services continue to deteriorate. However, with the construction of the Compaq Software headquarters, the renovation of the Renaissance Center, and the opening of three casinos and a new stadium, Detroit's urban area is recovering, and the city is gradually becoming the entertainment center of the entire metropolitan area.

According to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, Detroit covers an area of ??370.2 square kilometers, of which 359.4% is land area and 11 square kilometers is water area. The highest point in the city is located in the northwest of the city, with an altitude of approximately 204 meters; the lowest point in the city is located along the Detroit River, with an altitude of approximately 176 meters. Detroit is also completely surrounded by two other cities: Hamtramck and Highland Park.

Detroit is the only large city on the US-Canada border. It is connected to Windsor, Canada through the Ambassador Bridge, the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, the Detroit Central Railway Tunnel and the Detroit-Windsor Ferry.

Influenced by the Great Lakes, Detroit's climate is a typical temperate climate in the Midwestern United States. Winters are cold with moderate snowfall; summers are warm. The average maximum and minimum temperatures in July are 29℃ and 18℃ respectively, and the average maximum and minimum temperatures in January are 1℃ and -6℃ respectively. Summer temperatures usually exceed 32°C, and winters are cooler but rarely fall below -17°C. The highest temperature on record occurred on June 25, 1988, at 39°C; while the lowest temperature occurred on January 19, 1994, at -27°C.

Detroit cityscape Detroit has a variety of urban architectural styles and is one of the cities in the United States that has the most preserved skyscrapers and historical buildings from the 1920s and 1930s. Representative examples of Art Deco architecture from this period include the Guardian Building downtown, the Versier Building at New Center near Wayne State University, and the Cadillac Building. Detroit's most prominent buildings are the nation's first Fox Cinema, the Detroit Opera House and the Detroit Institute of Arts. Coupled with the postmodernist-style Renaissance Center, they together form the urban landscape of Detroit.

The city center and the new center are lined with tall buildings, while the rest of the city is made up of shorter buildings and family homes. The southeastern part of Detroit contains many abandoned buildings and vast tracts of desolate land, while the south and west show signs of prosperity. In 2005, Detroit's architecture was named one of the best in the United States, and many of its significant buildings are listed as National Trust of Historic Preservation sites.

Detroit has a professional community dedicated to urban design, historic preservation, architecture, and urban investment. Extensive urban renewal projects have brought parts of Detroit back to life.

Music has been a major feature of Detroit nightlife since the 1940s. The city is home to two of the nation's top live music venues: DTE Energy Music Theater and Auburn Hills Palace. Detroit also has the second-largest theater capacity in the United States. In addition, major theaters include the Fox Cinema, Detroit Opera House and Fisher Theater. Detroit Music Hall is home to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

There is a people mover sightseeing line in downtown Detroit, which is located on an elevated track and has 13 stations. Visitors can take a people mover around down town and see the high-rise buildings of GMC and the Canadian scenery across the Detroit river. There is a small island called Belle Isle on the Detroit river, which belongs to the territory of the United States. In the summer, many people go to the island to relax. Although winter is very cold, you can see many flocks of migratory birds on the island, such as Canada geese.

Detroit has professional teams in the four major sports events in North America, three of which are home in the city of Detroit and one in the suburbs (NBA's Detroit Pistons). There are three major sports venues in the city: Union Park Stadium (MLB's Detroit Tigers), Ford Field (NFL's Detroit Lions) and Joe Louis Stadium (NHL's Detroit Red Wings). Detroit's hockey fans are so fervent that the city has even been nicknamed "Hockeytown".

As for college sports, the University of Detroit Mercy competes in Division I events of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), while Wayne State University competes in both Division I and Division II events. The Motor City Bowl, the NCAA's football tournament, is held every December at Ford Field.

Since 1904, Detroit has been the venue for the American Steamboat Association's Gold Cup hydroplane race. Detroit also hosted the Formula One World Championship from 1982 to 1988. In 2007, Detroit will return to the IndyCar League and American Le Mans Series.