Johannesburg, a city of gold
- By Maverick Chen
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China.org.cn, August 29, 2011
Johannesburg shot to fame when early European settlers discovered gold and diamond underneath the present-day city late in the 19th century. A major city in South Africa, its international fame – alongside Pretoria and Cape Town – greatly overshadows that of Bloemfontein, the country's capital.
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| A street corner in Johannesburg [Maverick Chen / China.org.cn] |
![A street corner in Johannesburg [Maverick Chen / China.org.cn]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20110829/001fd04cea510fc5c5564a.jpg "A street corner in Johannesburg [Maverick Chen / China.org.cn]")
The locals have a variety of explanations for the origin of the name, "Johannesburg." One popular version says that a British man named Johannes convinced others of the gold reserves under the city. A less widespread tale holds that Johannes was a popular name of the African gold miners. "You yell Johannes, and a lot of black people working on the mine would turn around to respond," said Jimmy Gao, a Chinese man who has lived in South African for more than 15 years.
People in Johannesburg, however, don't seem to care for a debate about the city's name. Instead, they hunger for gold and diamond, the treasures that brought them here from other parts of the country and beyond.
The influx of treasure seekers from around the world also brought the city culture and wealth, and Johannesburg looks trendy, modern, and without the slightest trace of conflict and poverty infesting other parts of the continent. Top brand cars like Maserati and Ferrari roam the city's wide motorways, while Steve Job's latest inventions fill the windows of Apple stores in downtown shopping malls.
During the late 19th century, European colonial settlers, primarily from the Netherlands and Britain, rushed to South Africa to seek out gold and diamond, and Johannesburg was the place where they found both.
South Africa supplies 60 percent of the world's diamonds with the price only half of retail prices elsewhere, like Europe or Hong Kong.
Johannesburg's gold, however, has long been exhausted by tireless miners. Primitive mining machines now rest on sidewalks of downtown streets, casting an ancient and nostalgic light on the otherwise luxurious recreational districts. The deserted mines themselves have often turned into museums, exhibiting its dangerous halls and primitive tools. As they earlier-on provided plenty of gold, they continue to generate a profit, albeit in quite different ways.
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