The rise and fall of the ancient Chinese towns are one of the most typical, vivid, and intuitive portrayals of the long-standing and splendid part of Bashu civilization . In ancient times, Sichuan, with relatively developed small- scale peasant economy and handicraft industry, had fertile soil and abundant products. They created the prosperity of Sichuan’s traditional fair trade and promoted the development of the town and its market. Sichuan has a large number of towns with a long history and a considerable scale. The construction of the “Ten Ancient Towns” is a silhouette. For Chengdu Plain, which is reputed as “the one town in ten miles” is even more evident.

A resume of a historical architecture typology, a legacy with a once tremendous importance for the Middle Kingdom.

This book employs textual and archaeological material to reconstruct the various features of daily life in ancient China.

This book provides a survey of modern debates on Greek and Roman cities, and a sketch of the cities' chief characteristics.

In 2008 for the first time the majority of the planet's inhabitants lived in cities and towns. Becoming globally urban has been one of mankind's greatest collective achievements over time. Written by leading scholar, this is the first detailed survey of the world's cities and towns from ancient times to the present day.

Presents the development of Chinese urbanism. Equipped with source material and maps, this book applies metrological methods. Including about 300 drawings, it gives an overall view of the urban life and culture that existed in the traditional society of late Imperial China.

Rome was the largest city in the ancient world. As the capital of the Roman Empire, it was clearly an exceptional city in terms of size, diversity and complexity. While the Colosseum, imperial palaces and Pantheon are among its most famous features, this volume explores Rome primarily as a city in which many thousands of men and women were born, lived and died. The thirty-one chapters by leading historians, classicists and archaeologists discuss issues ranging from the monuments and the games to the food and water supply, from policing and riots to domestic housing, from death and disease to pagan cults and the impact of Christianity. Richly illustrated, the volume introduces groundbreaking new research against the background of current debates and is designed as a readable survey accessible in particular to undergraduates and non-specialists.