50 Fun Facts About Asian Cities

Which Indian city on the Yamuna River, once the capital of the Mughal Empire, is home to the Taj Mahal?

Agra owes the Taj Mahal to Shah Jahan, who built it between 1632 and 1648 in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. The emperor also renamed the city Akbarabad after his grandfather.

Which Gulf city, founded as a pearling and fishing village, is home to the Burj Khalifa skyscraper?

Dubai opened the Burj Khalifa in 2010, taking the title of world's tallest building from Taipei 101. It had declared itself a free port back in 1901 to draw in trade.

Which Japanese city was hit by 'Little Boy', the first atomic bomb used in war, in August 1945?

Hiroshima keeps the ruined A-Bomb Dome as its peace memorial, a World Heritage Site since 1996. The city was rebuilt after the war with help from the national government.

Which Chinese city, a capital under the Han and Tang dynasties, is the base for visiting the Terracotta Army?

Xi'an was long known as Chang'an, meaning 'Perpetual Peace'. Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, ordered his clay army built just east of the city soon after taking the throne.

Which Turkish city, once called Constantinople, straddles the Bosporus with districts in both Europe and Asia?

Istanbul has about two-thirds of its people on the European side and the rest in Asia. Under its old name it was the capital of four empires over nearly 16 centuries.

Which Indian city, built on what were once seven islands, is the home of the Bollywood film industry?

Mumbai was officially named Bombay until 1995. Beginning in 1782, land reclaimed from the Arabian Sea filled the gaps between its seven islands.

Which city, whose name translates as 'fragrant harbour', did Britain hand over to China in 1997?

Hong Kong was handed over at midnight on 1 July 1997, after 156 years of British rule. The name may recall the incense factories that once lined the coast of northern Kowloon.

Which Saudi Arabian city, the birthplace of Muhammad, is home to the Kaaba and closed to non-Muslims?

Mecca draws pilgrims from across the Muslim world for the annual Hajj, one of the Five Pillars of Islam. The Kaaba stands inside its Great Mosque, the Masjid al-Haram.

Which Southeast Asian port, founded by Stamford Raffles as a British trading post, is home to the Merlion statue?

Singapore takes its name, through the Malay Singapura, from the Sanskrit for 'lion city'. Lions appear on national symbols such as the coat of arms.

Which city, known as Edo under the Tokugawa shoguns, was the first in Asia to host the Summer Olympics?

Tokyo hosted the Games in 1964 and again in 2021. Its Shibuya Crossing is billed as the world's busiest pedestrian crossing, with around 3,000 people crossing at a time.

Which Southeast Asian capital on the Chao Phraya River was known in the 19th century as the 'Venice of the East'?

Bangkok earned the nickname because most of its people lived near or on the water. It is also the site of the Grand Palace, the official residence of the Thai king.

Which Chinese city on the Huangpu River is famous for the historic waterfront called the Bund?

Shanghai began as a fishing village and market town before 19th-century trade made it a global port. The Bund's buildings range from neoclassical banks to Art Deco hotels.

Which city, holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, has a walled Old City divided into four quarters?

Jerusalem fits the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre into an Old City of under one square kilometre. Its quarters are Armenian, Christian, Jewish and Muslim.

Which Malaysian city, first developed around 1857 to serve nearby tin mines, is home to the Petronas Towers?

Kuala Lumpur means 'muddy confluence' in Malay, after the meeting of the Gombak and Klang rivers. Its Petronas Towers were once the world's tallest buildings.

Which city, the capital of South Vietnam until its capture, was renamed in 1976 after the communist leader Ho Chi Minh?

Saigon officially became Ho Chi Minh City after reunification, yet the old name lives on in everyday use. It is the most populous city in Vietnam.

Which city, home of the Forbidden City palace, was the first to host both Summer and Winter Olympics?

Beijing staged the Summer Games in 2008 and the Winter Games in 2022. The Forbidden City, its vast imperial residence, took from 1406 to 1420 to build.

Which Indian city on the Hooghly River, the capital of British India until 1911, is nicknamed the City of Joy?

Kolkata was officially called Calcutta until 2001. Its imperial landmarks include the Victoria Memorial and the Howrah Bridge.

Which Japanese city, the imperial capital for over a thousand years, is home to the Golden Pavilion temple Kinkaku-ji?

Kyoto was spared large-scale destruction in World War II, so much of its prewar heritage survives. It is also where the video game company Nintendo is based.

Which city, home to the Joseon dynasty's Five Grand Palaces, hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics?

Seoul also hosted the 1986 Asian Games and three matches at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Its Joseon palaces include Gyeongbokgung, finished in 1395.

Which Chinese city, ruled by Portugal until 1999, is known as the gambling capital of the world?

Macau was first leased to Portugal by the Ming dynasty as a trading post in 1557. Its casino takings overtook those of the Las Vegas Strip in the 2000s.

Which Indian city on the Ganges, also called Benares or Kashi, is famed for ghats where pilgrims perform rituals?

Varanasi is one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities. Its ghats are flights of steps leading down the steep river bank to the water.

Which ancient city of the Nabataeans is called the Rose City for the colour of the sandstone it is carved from?

Petra, in southern Jordan, was named one of the New 7 Wonders of the World in a 2007 poll. Its best-known facade, the Treasury, appears in the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Which city in the Indian state of Punjab is home to the Golden Temple, the holiest site in Sikhism?

Amritsar takes its name from the 'Pool of Nectar' that surrounds the Golden Temple. Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh guru, is credited with founding the city.

Which Japanese city, known for its Dōtonbori canal district, has a castle first built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1583?

Osaka was long considered Japan's primary economic centre. Its merchants once stored feudal lords' rice and traded it for receipts, a forerunner of paper money.

Which southern Indian city, the capital of Karnataka, is known as the Silicon Valley of India for its IT industry?

Bengaluru was officially called Bangalore until 2014. Its parks and greenery earned it an older nickname, India's Garden City.

Which Cambodian city is the gateway to the temples of Angkor?

Siem Reap has a name that can be translated as 'defeat of Siam'. The story that it marks a victory over the Siamese is probably apocryphal.

Which city on the Tibetan Plateau, about 3,650 metres above sea level, is home to the Potala Palace?

Lhasa became the seat of the 5th Dalai Lama, who unified Tibet and moved his administration there in 1642. The first structures on the Potala's hill were raised in 637.

Which Rajasthani city, founded in 1727, was painted pink in 1876 to welcome the Prince of Wales?

Jaipur has been known as the Pink City ever since, and many of its avenues remain painted that colour. It is named after its founder, Sawai Jai Singh II.

Which port on the Arabian Sea, the largest city in Pakistan, served as the country's first capital?

Karachi lost the capital role in the late 1950s, when the government moved north to Rawalpindi. In the 1960s and 1970s its nightlife earned it the name 'City of Lights'.

Which West Bank town, the biblical birthplace of King David, is home to the Church of the Nativity?

Bethlehem's church was commissioned by Constantine the Great in 327, on the spot revered as the birthplace of Jesus. Christmas pilgrimages are central to the town's economy.

Which Silk Road city in Uzbekistan, the capital of Timur's empire, is famous for Registan Square?

Samarkand grew rich from its place on the Silk Road between China, Persia and Europe. Its monuments are known for their cobalt and turquoise tilework.

Which Indian port, the capital of Tamil Nadu, is nicknamed the Detroit of India for its car industry?

Chennai, also known as Madras, earned the nickname as the hub of India's automotive industry. Its Marina Beach is the longest natural urban beach in India.

Which South Korean city, the country's second largest, has its busiest port and a major international film festival?

Busan hosts its film festival every autumn at the Busan Cinema Center. The city also has Haeundae, one of the country's most famous beaches.

Which city, Myanmar's capital until the mid-2000s, is home to the gilded Shwedagon Pagoda?

Yangon, also romanised as Rangoon, has the largest number of colonial-era buildings in Southeast Asia. The government moved to the purpose-built capital Naypyidaw.

Which northern Thai city, whose name means 'new city', was founded in 1296 as the capital of Lan Na?

Chiang Mai's old centre is ringed by a moat and the remnants of red brick walls. The stupa of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep sits at the centre of the city emblem.

Which city, the capital of Pakistan's Punjab province, is home to the Badshahi Mosque and the Shalimar Gardens?

Lahore was the capital of the Mughal Empire under Akbar, and the Badshahi Mosque is its largest Mughal monument. The fort and the gardens are both World Heritage Sites.

Which Indian city is home to the Red Fort, where the prime minister raises the national flag each Independence Day?

Delhi's Red Fort was commissioned by Shah Jahan in the 1630s as the main residence of the Mughal emperors. The Jama Masjid in the Old City, finished in 1656, is one of India's largest mosques.

Which city in China's far northeast, founded in 1898 beside a Russian-built railway, is known as the Ice City?

Harbin earned the name for its bitterly cold winters and its ice sculpture festival. Its first residents were overwhelmingly immigrants from the Russian Empire.

Which city on the Pearl River, long known in English as Canton, was once China's only port open to Europeans?

Guangzhou held the Thirteen Factories, the only legal place for foreign trade with China from 1757 to 1842. Its Canton Fair, held every spring and autumn, is the oldest and largest trade fair in China.

Which city, Japan's first permanent capital from 710, is home to Tōdai-ji and the world's largest bronze Buddha?

Nara's deer are regarded as heavenly animals, after a legend that a god rode into the new capital on a white deer. Emperor Shōmu ordered both the temple and its giant statue.

Which hill city in Sri Lanka, the last capital of the Sinhalese kings, holds the Temple of the Tooth Relic?

Kandy carries a casket of the Buddha's tooth relic through its streets each year in the Esala Perahera procession. The British deposed its last king in 1815.

Which Iranian city, made the Safavid capital by Abbas the Great, is built around the vast Naqsh-e Jahan Square?

Isfahan enjoyed a golden age after Abbas the Great moved his capital there from Qazvin. Its central square is one of the largest city squares in the world.

Which city, the capital of Kazakhstan until 1997, has a name often linked to the Kazakh word for apple?

Almaty was known in Soviet times as Alma-Ata, which translates as 'father of the apples'. The government left for Akmola, the city now called Astana.

Which city, founded by King Mindon in 1857, was the last royal capital of the Burmese kingdom?

Mandalay was the royal capital for only 26 years before Britain annexed the kingdom. Mindon built it at the foot of a hill, ostensibly to fulfil a Buddhist prophecy.

Which Malaysian port, founded around 1400 by the Sumatran prince Parameswara, fell to Portugal in 1511?

Malacca grew into a successful trading port under its sultans, which drew the Portuguese. They built a fortress called A Famosa using stones taken from graves and mosques.

Which Southeast Asian city, a former capital of the Lan Xang kingdom, is known for its monks' dawn alms procession?

Luang Prabang takes its name, meaning 'Royal Buddha Image', from the Phra Bang statue. It became a World Heritage Site in 1995 for its Lao and colonial buildings and its temples.

Which city, long the most populous in Syria, is famous for a laurel soap sold in its covered souqs?

Aleppo is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, perhaps settled since the sixth millennium BC. Its laurel soap is considered the world's first hard soap.

Which city on Java, ruled by its own sultan, served as Indonesia's capital from 1946 to 1948 during the revolution?

Yogyakarta is the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, and a centre of batik and wayang puppetry. The giant Borobudur temple lies about 40 km to the north-west.

Which Turkish port, said to be the birthplace of Homer, was known in English as Smyrna until around 1930?

Izmir is Turkey's third most populous city. Its Greek name was phased out abroad around 1930 in favour of the Turkish one.

Which Vietnamese city on the Perfume River was the capital of the Nguyen emperors from 1802 to 1945?

Hue holds the walled Imperial City on the north side of the river. Inside it stands the Forbidden Purple City, once the emperor's home.