Cities more than just a skyline

The rumbling and shaking subway cars and the dirty and smelly stations in New York often come as a big surprise to visitors from Shanghai, who are used to their city's brand-new subway system.

Even Times Square, which New Yorkers proudly call the "Crossroads of the World", seems a disappointment to these visitors because it lacks the grandiose scale of People's Square in Shanghai or Tian'anmen Square in Beijing.

But this is a superficial view of the Big Apple.