Asian Cities
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50 free Asian Cities trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
Asia is home to more than half of the world's people, and many of them live in cities with very long memories. Some were imperial capitals a thousand years before skyscrapers arrived, some grew up around a single harbour, temple or caravan stop, and some were fishing villages within living memory. This quiz asks you to name the city from a clue: a landmark on its skyline, the name it used to go by, a nickname, or the moment that put it in the history books. The questions travel from the Mediterranean coast to the Pacific, by way of the Gulf, the Silk Road, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The opening questions cover places most people have heard of, and later ones reward travellers and map lovers. It suits geography students, quiz hosts who need a ready-made round, and anyone planning a trip or simply curious about the continent. Every answer comes with a short explanation, so a wrong guess still teaches something.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which Indian city on the Yamuna River, once the capital of the Mughal Empire, is home to the Taj Mahal?
Agra
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.
Q 02Which Gulf city, founded as a pearling and fishing village, is home to the Burj Khalifa skyscraper?
Dubai
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.
Q 03Which Japanese city was hit by 'Little Boy', the first atomic bomb used in war, in August 1945?
Hiroshima
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.
Q 04Which Chinese city, a capital under the Han and Tang dynasties, is the base for visiting the Terracotta Army?
Xi'an
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.
Q 05Which Turkish city, once called Constantinople, straddles the Bosporus with districts in both Europe and Asia?
Istanbul
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.
Q 06Which Indian city, built on what were once seven islands, is the home of the Bollywood film industry?
Mumbai
Mumbai was officially named Bombay until 1995. Beginning in 1782, land reclaimed from the Arabian Sea filled the gaps between its seven islands.
Q 07Which city, whose name translates as 'fragrant harbour', did Britain hand over to China in 1997?
Hong Kong
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.
Q 08Which Saudi Arabian city, the birthplace of Muhammad, is home to the Kaaba and closed to non-Muslims?
Mecca
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.
Q 09Which Southeast Asian port, founded by Stamford Raffles as a British trading post, is home to the Merlion statue?
Singapore
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.
Q 10Which city, known as Edo under the Tokugawa shoguns, was the first in Asia to host the Summer Olympics?
Tokyo
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.
Q 11Which Southeast Asian capital on the Chao Phraya River was known in the 19th century as the 'Venice of the East'?
Bangkok
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.
Q 12Which Chinese city on the Huangpu River is famous for the historic waterfront called the Bund?
Shanghai
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.
Q 13Which city, holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, has a walled Old City divided into four quarters?
Jerusalem
Q 21Which Indian city on the Ganges, also called Benares or Kashi, is famed for ghats where pilgrims perform rituals?
Varanasi
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.
Q 22Which ancient city of the Nabataeans is called the Rose City for the colour of the sandstone it is carved from?
Petra
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.
Q 23Which city in the Indian state of Punjab is home to the Golden Temple, the holiest site in Sikhism?
Amritsar
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.
Q 14Which Malaysian city, first developed around 1857 to serve nearby tin mines, is home to the Petronas Towers?
Kuala Lumpur
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.
Q 15Which city, the capital of South Vietnam until its capture, was renamed in 1976 after the communist leader Ho Chi Minh?
Saigon
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.
Q 16Which city, home of the Forbidden City palace, was the first to host both Summer and Winter Olympics?
Beijing
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.
Q 17Which Indian city on the Hooghly River, the capital of British India until 1911, is nicknamed the City of Joy?
Kolkata
Kolkata was officially called Calcutta until 2001. Its imperial landmarks include the Victoria Memorial and the Howrah Bridge.
Q 18Which Japanese city, the imperial capital for over a thousand years, is home to the Golden Pavilion temple Kinkaku-ji?
Kyoto
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.
Q 19Which city, home to the Joseon dynasty's Five Grand Palaces, hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics?
Seoul
Seoul also hosted the 1986 Asian Games and three matches at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Its Joseon palaces include Gyeongbokgung, finished in 1395.
Q 20Which Chinese city, ruled by Portugal until 1999, is known as the gambling capital of the world?
Macau
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.
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.
Q 24Which Japanese city, known for its Dōtonbori canal district, has a castle first built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1583?
Osaka
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.
Q 25Which southern Indian city, the capital of Karnataka, is known as the Silicon Valley of India for its IT industry?
Bengaluru
Bengaluru was officially called Bangalore until 2014. Its parks and greenery earned it an older nickname, India's Garden City.
Q 26Which Cambodian city is the gateway to the temples of Angkor?
Siem Reap
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.
Q 27Which city on the Tibetan Plateau, about 3,650 metres above sea level, is home to the Potala Palace?
Lhasa
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.
Q 28Which Rajasthani city, founded in 1727, was painted pink in 1876 to welcome the Prince of Wales?
Jaipur
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.
Q 29Which port on the Arabian Sea, the largest city in Pakistan, served as the country's first capital?
Karachi
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'.
Q 30Which West Bank town, the biblical birthplace of King David, is home to the Church of the Nativity?
Bethlehem
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.