To understand the most important characteristics of a society, one must study its major cities.

If people want to know the most important characteristics of a society, culture is what they should focus. Some people believe that major cities are the best to approach the culture of one country, because they attract people from different places and reject their culture in several major cities. This statement looks convincing at first glance, while it contain a lot of flaws. Actually, major cities are not good places to learn the society.

We all know that cultures are varies though the change of time and space. People can never find cultures in two different places identical. That is why we say the world is multicultural today. If we can put all cultures into one or just several cities, there is no need for cultures to be diversity. Admittedly, cultures are best preserved in those old peaceful places where residents are relatively stable. And out of the reach of migrants. However, almost all major cities are fulfill with migrants from different regions, which determines they cannot be good gatekeepers for cultures.

Almost everyone has this common sense that major cities around the world are almost the same. For example, it is very difficult for people to find some difference between New York, Chicago, Shanghai and Tokyo. They all have countless skyscrapers and people are rushed place to place everyday. We can find restaurants for people all over the world, but few of them can give the taste as their really hometown does. Festivals are just kind of formula, people does not really understand what they are celebrating for. In contrast, small towns are much closer to culture, youth get all information about tradition from their parents and grandparents. The elder are willing to impart their ancestors’ story to the newest generation. That is the way culture inherits. And this can never be replicated by those newborn migrant cities.

Some people may argue that major cities are the fastest to accept different cultures. However, that does not mean they can contain them and keep them intact; instead, they melt and recreate different cultures to adopt their own need. In other word, although major cities are well known as multicultural, those cultures are not as same as what they were in their original place. For example, China has the best food in the world. Nowadays, we can see Chinese restaurants all over the country, but do they really eat like “Chinese food”? Of course not. Plenty of Chinese restaurant change their recipe to fit the favor of native people. “Orange Chicken”, which is one of the most famous dishes among US student actually is not a traditional Chinese food. Therefore, major cities can keep people from different cultures while it is very hard for them to obtain and keep their cultures.

To sum up, the best way to understand the characteristics of a society is to learn its culture. However, the best way to experience its culture is not through major cities. Major cities do assimilate different cultures, but at the same time, they change what the culture really are and reinstruct them into what should best fit the new cities.