P100 - Finland - Helsinki

Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland. It is in the southern part of Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, by the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is 577,928 (28 February 2009), making it the most populous municipality in Finland by a wide margin. The foreign-born population stands at around 10%.

Helsinki, along with the neighbouring cities of Vantaa (Vanda), Espoo (Esbo), and Kauniainen (Grankulla), constitutes what is known as the capital region, with over 1,000,000 inhabitants. The Greater Helsinki area contains 12 municipalities and has a population of over 1,300,000. The Greater Helsinki accounts for a quarter of the population of Finland, 29% of jobs, and a third of the GDP.

Helsinki is Finland's capital for business, education, research, culture, and government. Greater Helsinki has eight universities and six technology parks. Some 70% of foreign companies operating in Finland have settled in the Helsinki region. The immigration of rural residents has made it one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in Europe.

Finland's main international airline hub, Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is 40 minutes from the city center, with direct flights around the world. The busy Helsinki–Tallinn route takes 1.5 hours by sea and 18 minutes by helicopter. Two other big cities in Finland, Tampere and Turku, can be reached in 1.5–2 hours by train[7] and 1.5–2.5 hours by car.

In early 2009, Helsinki has started contemplating a possible merger with Vantaa. On 30 March 2009, the city council of Vantaa agreed to do a review of Helsinki's proposal of a possible merger. The city council emphasises that the review is not about a possible discontinuation of the city of Vantaa.

赫尔辛基（芬兰语：Helsinki），瑞典语称赫尔辛弗斯（Helsingfors），是芬兰的首都，在芬兰南部芬兰湾沿海，所谓“大赫尔辛基”是由赫尔辛基和埃斯波、万塔、考尼艾南四个城市一起组成的首都区，共有接近一百万人口。

赫尔辛基是欧洲夏季旅游胜地，尤其在夏至前后的白夜期间，由于地处高纬度，夏天太阳只落下一个小时，但气温不高，气候凉爽，港口外几个小岛更是游泳的好地方。但冬季常为阴天，太阳仅在空中持续几个小时，可是由于大西洋暖流，气候并不寒冷，比北京的晴空万里的冬日要暖和得多。北欧几个国家统一的交通法律是，只要汽车一启动，不管白天夜晚，大灯一定要打开。芬兰法律规定，任何建筑，没有供暖设备一律不得施工建设。为了适应当地的气候，一般建筑的窗子都相当大，以便采光，门上都按有气压自动关门的设施。桑拿浴是芬兰人发明的，几乎每家在郊外的湖边都有自己的桑拿屋。

芬兰人崇尚古朴，即使五星级旅店的自动玻璃门四边也要镶上雕花木条以示古老，地毯颜色黯淡，赫尔辛基全市找不出金碧辉煌的装饰，市中心还保留砖石砌的旧路，有的酒店内也镶上砖做成清水墙样，打扮的像个砖窑。

芬兰因为自己国家小，但森林面积大，主要工业是出口纸浆，几乎人人都学习外语，会两三门外语的芬兰人比比皆是，连旅店的清洁工英语也非常流利，电视放映外国影片从来不翻译，许多孩子从小看电视就学会了外语，中国人在街上甚至都能碰到从广播中学汉语的芬兰人来搭讪。

References sources : Wikipedia