Numerous cities adorn our planet - large and small, new and ancient. However, each of them is unique in its own way. Each has its own atmosphere and special energy. Today we suggest you find out which capital in the world is the largest in terms of population and area. It should be noted that these are two different cities.
Tokyo is the most populated capital of the world.
Located in the southeastern part of the largest Japanese island of Honshu, this ultra-modern metropolis is located on the Kanto Plain, in the cozy bay of Tokyo Bay. Once upon a time in its place (back in the 15th century) stood the fortress of Edo.
This city is the largest capital in the world in terms of population. Tokyo is also huge in area - 2188 square meters. km The population is 13.7 million people, however, according to unofficial data on unregistered residents, it is 37.8 million.
Tokyo is not only an industrial and political center, but also just a beautiful city. It is noteworthy that it was almost completely destroyed in 1945, but over the years the Japanese managed to not only restore, but also improve it. Alas, this was not the first destruction that the current capital of the empire experienced. In 1923, a monstrous earthquake almost completely destroyed the city and caused the death of about 90,000 people.
Tokyo seems absolutely modern - life does not cease here, day or night. But even in it you can find old streets with dilapidated houses that do not even have a name. They survived 45 years. Tourists admit that they get tired of the mad rhythm of the city, but at the same time fall in love with it.
Due to the high cost of housing in the largest capital in the world, micro-apartments are popular in terms of population. Their area does not exceed the size of our kitchens. It is hard to say how the Japanese fit in these tiny apartments. Moreover, in most households it is forbidden to keep pets. And since Japanese people love cats, cat cafes are very popular in Tokyo. Visitors have the opportunity to enjoy chatting with fluffy handsome men and enjoy coffee.
The largest capital of the world by population
Officially, 21.54 million people live in Beijing, the capital of China (as of 2018). Its area is 16 808 square meters. km, that is, the city is 12 times larger than Moscow. Translated from Chinese, the name means "northern capital." In ancient times, there were 4 capitals in China (one on each side of the world), and Beijing was one of them. It is noteworthy that the city residents call it Beijing. Beijing is an obsolete name that has been preserved only in Russian.
Beijing is one of the most polluted cities in the world. The level of air pollution exceeds the norm by 5 times. This is due not only to transport and industrial enterprises, but also to sandstorms, which from time to time paralyze the life of the city. Therefore, many residents wear masks, as they try to protect their lungs from smog.
In Beijing, there are entire neighborhoods resembling European towns. This is because the Chinese love to borrow what they like. At the same time, English citizens are practically not spoken. Tourists who do not know Chinese in the city have a hard time. However, it pleases at least that in Beijing, thefts are very rare, even in poor areas.
The largest capitals of the world
And we will continue to discuss the largest capitals of the world in terms of area. And the second (after Beijing) city on our list is Melbourne.
Melbourne 9,990 km²
It is the capital of the Australian state of Victoria. This is the most populated city in the country and the second largest after Sydney (unless, of course, we take into account the unknown Australian city of Mount Isa with an area of more than 43,000 sq. Km). Melbourne is located in the southeast of the state. The facts that we will tell about one of the largest capital cities in the world by territory, you probably did not know.
It is worth noting that in Australia, Melbourne is the oldest city. It was founded in 1862. Initially, it served as a center for the acclimatization of animals that were brought to the country. Since then, much has changed, and from a small village, Melbourne has grown into a huge city.
He was recognized as the best city to live for 7 consecutive years. It is a sports and cultural center of the country. It annually hosts sporting events and festivals. In addition, the average salary of a city dweller is $ 60,000 a year, which is even more than the income of Parisians. Therefore, Melbourne is one of the most comfortable cities to live in. Although it should be noted that high salaries affect the cost of food and utilities. Life here is much more expensive than in other cities.
Melbourne is notable for the fact that it has the longest tram network. It has 450 trams, and its length is 244 kilometers. There are also many tunnels in Melbourne.
Kinshasa 9965 km²
The capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is only slightly inferior to Melbourne in size and is rightfully included in the list of the largest capital cities in the world by area. The official language is French, they hardly know English here. With a population of more than 11 million (as of 2017), the city seems more like a rural area than the capital of the state.
This is primarily due to a lack of finance - in 2012, the Democratic Republic of the Congo received the title of the poorest country in the world. However, it is precisely the absence of newfangled high-rise buildings that preserves the indescribable color of this city, filled with bright colors of greenery.
Buenos Aires - 4000 km²
The capital of Argentina (in the main photo) was founded in the 16th century. A few years after construction, the city was burned down by the Indians, but it was quickly restored within a few decades. Today it is a large and multinational city, which consists of 48 districts. Buenos Aires is divided into squares measuring 100 by 100 meters. The numbering of houses is based on the footage of the quarter, and not the number of buildings on the street. That is, the number indicated in the address does not indicate a house, but a door. This avoids confusion and is easy to navigate in the city.
It is also one of the largest in South America. The name translated into Russian literally means “good wind” or “clean air”. The city is also known as South American Paris. He earned this title due to the similarity of local architecture with French.
Buenos Aires taverns are home to the famous Argentinean dance. The capital of Argentina also has the largest number of football clubs in the world than it is especially famous for.
Moscow - 2511 km²
The first mention of the village, which much later became a huge metropolis, dates from the 12th century. The city received its name in honor of the Moscow River. But the river itself got its name either from the ancient Slavic word “wet” or from Finnish, where “mosk” meant a bear, and “va” - water.
Today, Moscow is the largest city by area in Russia. According to official figures, more than 12 million people live in it. However, in fact, the number of inhabitants exceeds 15 million. Moscow seems to be a troubled and inhospitable city, but it has quiet harbors - chic parks like Tsaritsyno, Aleksandrovsky, etc. Locals love to spend time away about city noise.
If you add all the streets of Moscow, then their length will be about 4350 kilometers. It will take more than a month to overcome this path for a pedestrian walking at a speed of 5 kilometers per hour without stopping.
It is noteworthy that, according to Forbes magazine, the largest number of billionaires in the world lives in Moscow - 78 people. In this indicator, it surpassed even London and New York. In addition, Moscow has the most expensive hotels in the world.
Moscow is the capital of the largest country in the world. Russia is only slightly inferior in area to the planet Pluto.
Chongqing - the largest city in the world
It is located in the southwest of China. Its size is amazing - 82,300 square meters. km The population is more than 30 million. It was founded more than 3,000 years ago at the confluence of two rivers. Today it is the largest center of Chinese industry. Numerous factories produce automotive parts. The chemical and metallurgical industries are developed. The city is the largest drug producer in the country.
The city is notable for preserving a truly Chinese culture, not spoiled by outside influence. However, few know about it because of the location of the city inland. Chongqing continues to be completed, in place of old houses (and there are not many of them), more and more skyscrapers grow.
Ordos - the world's largest ghost town
About 15 years ago, local authorities invested in this city. They planned to make it the cultural and economic center of China. During the construction, they counted on a million inhabitants, but the area of the city is huge - 86 752 square meters. km However, in the end it turned out that millions of dollars were wasted. Most of Ordos is empty, 90% of apartments are not populated. Residents of the nearby city (which is located very close to Ordos) did not want to move because of high housing prices and poor construction quality, because they built quickly, so the structures are not reliable.
The government partially corrected the situation thanks to the university, whose students were placed in empty houses, converted into dormitories. Today, about 100,000 people live in a ghost town.
The city makes a favorable impression due to its cleanliness, beautiful architecture and lack of people. He is surprisingly calm and harmonious. There are no traffic jams or queues. But there is a local travel agency. Its employees admit that they most often play computer games.
Today, the hope that Ordos will still become the cultural and economic center of the country is still alive. Officials say the number of Ordos residents is growing.
Conclusion
So, today we discussed the largest cities and capitals of the world. Of course, in this article it was not possible to fit all the interesting information. We did not discuss many cities, which certainly deserve the attention of our readers. But in this article we described the largest capitals of the world and interesting facts about them.