Asia it is the most populated and largest continent in the world. It is rich, varied in peoples, languages, landscapes, religions. There are countries as different from each other as Israel and Japan, Russia and Pakistan, or India and Korea. But today we will talk about those that are, in my opinion, the best capitals of Asia.
I mean the cosmopolitan cities of Tokyo, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul and Singapore. Each one offers its own, has its history, its culture, its idiosyncrasy. Did we discover them?
Beijing
Beijing or Peking is the capital of the People's Republic of China and it is the most populated national capital on the planet, with its almost 21 million. It is in the north of the country and has 16 rural, suburban and urban districts.
Is heart of the country on a political and cultural level and due to its size it is truly a megacity. Behind Shanghai, it is the second most populous city and after the last economic revolution it houses the headquarters of the most important Chinese companies worldwide.
Also, Beijing It is one of the oldest cities in the world, with more than three thousand years of existence. It was not the only imperial capital in the country, but it was one of the most important and durable. It is surrounded by hills and its elegant past is still visible today in temples, palaces, parks, gardens and tombs. Impossible to ignore the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Ming Tombs, the Big Wall or the Grand Canal.
La UNESCO has declared seven sites in Beijing as World Heritage (some are the ones we mentioned before), but beyond those places of splendor the city itself, with its streets and traditional neighborhoods, the hutongs, it is a wonder.
Beyond its tourist attractions and its current modernity, is hub most important transport in the north of the country. It has high-speed trains-to cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kowloon, Harbin, Inner Mongolia and so on. The Beijing Railway Station opened in 1959 but there are other stations built in the following decades, as the railway system was expanded and modernized. There is also a metro, with 23 lines and almost 700 kilometers long.
In addition, there are highways and roads that leave the city and others that move inside. These roads are circular, they go around the city considering the Forbidden City as the center of it. And of course, in the city is the international airport. It is worth saying that from 2013 If you come from countries such as Brazil, Argentina, the European Union or Japan, among others, you are allowed a 72 hour visa to visit the city.
Tokyo
Is the Japan's capital, literally means capital or city of the east, and is in the center east of the island of Honshu, in the region of Kanto. Is he political, social, educational, cultural and economic center of the country.
Tokyo has a population of around 40 million people (A country like Argentina, for example, has a total population of 46 million and is a thousand times more extensive), so there are many people in a small space.
It was originally a fishing village called Edo, but it became important in the Middle Ages, at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. For the following century it was a city that in terms of its population was already compared with cities in Europe. It was not always the capital of Japan, Kyoto was for a long time, Nara the same, but in 1868 it became the capital definitively.
Tokyo suffered a major earthquake in 1923 and then the World War II bombs. Its great change and growth began in the 50s, hand in hand with the nation's economic recovery.
Tokyo has not lacked international sporting events such as the Olympics (although the 2020 Olympics will be forgotten), and although it does not have great architectural treasures that have survived so much massacre, the truth is that its modernity is its best attraction.
Do not forget to visit the Tokyo Tower, the Tokyo Skytree, the streets of Shibuya, the elegance of Ginza, Roppongi Hills ...
Seoul
Is the capital of South Korea and the largest city in this country. It has a population of almost 20 million people and it has a very strong economy. Here are the headquarters of companies such as LG, Samsung, Hyundai ...
Seoul has a history with several sad chapters since the japanese invaded the country and they annexed it to their empire in 1910. Then it underwent a westernization, several buildings, and walls were demolished, and only at the end of the war the Americans arrived to liberate it. In 1945 the city was named Seoul, although its life would not be quiet because in the 50s the Korean war.
After her, after the fight between South Koreans and Americans against North Koreans and Soviets, the city suffered a lot of damage. The destruction was compounded by the flood of refugees, so it gained population very quickly. Its urban and economic growth began in the 60s. Today 20% of the total population lives here from South Korea.
It is a city with cold winters and scorching summers. It is divided into 25 wow, districts, of different sizes. One is the famous Gangnam that we heard on that Korean pop hit a few years ago. Seoul then has a population density that is twice that of New York.
It has historical sites to visit, the sector between South Korea and North Korea, the famous Demilitarized Zone, museums, traditional buildings, picturesque neighborhoods and lots of nightlife.
Singapore
It is a country and at the same time a capital city. It is an island state, a city-state that is in Southeast Asia. It is a main island and has around 63 islets or smaller islands so they add up to the surface.
Many people live here and it is a multicultural destination that has four official languages: Malay, English, Mandarin Chinese and Tamil. Modern Singapore was founded in 1819, as a commercial part of the then British Empire. In World War II it was occupied by the Japanese, then it came back to English control and finally gained his self-mastery in 1959, in the Asian decolonization process after the war.
Despite its negative points, lack of land, natural resources, it became one of the Four Asian Tigers And so it developed at light speed. Its system of government is unicameral parliamentary and the government controls everything quite a bit. A single party has ruled the destinies of Singapore forever.
Of course, it is a very conservative society. Same-sex sex is illegal, At least for now. There are also many millionaires, a low unemployment rate and for some time now there is also a lot of tourism. In fact, the city is the fifth most visited city in the world and the second within the Asia Pacific region.
Taipei
Is the capital of Taiwan or Republic of China. It is to the north of the island and has a approximate population of two million or more people, counting the metropolitan area. In fact, the name refers to this whole set.
Obviously, it is the political, economic and cultural heart of the country and one of the most important cities in Asia. Everything passes through Taipei and its airports and rail systems. In addition, it has several popular constructions, renowned either architectural or cultural, such as the famous Taipei 101 building or the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial.
But also Taipei has markets, it has museums, streets, squares, parks. And history, naturally. It has always been related to China, in fact today the People's Republic of China continues to claim the island as its own, but also it was occupied by the Japanese in 1895. After the end of World War II, China returned to control it, but after the Chinese civil war in which the communists won, the nationalists had to emigrate from the mainland and did so to Taiwan.
The country has had coups and dictatorships and economic crises that forced its inhabitants to flee to other destinations. Worse in the '90s another political era began and since 1996 there are several parties and national elections.
Taipei has a humid tropical climate so better escape the summers that are unbearable. It is surrounded by mountains and has rivers and tourism especially visits the Chiang Kai- Shek Memorial, the one that Taiwan founded after losing the civil war, the National Concert Hall, the national theater, its various temples, and cultural festivals, the Freedom Square, the National Museum, the oldest in the country and founded by the Japanese ...
Taipei 101 is the flagship skyscraper of Taipei. It was inaugurated in 2004 and was the tallest in the world for some time until the construction of the Burj Khalifa. Have 509 meters high and the end of the year fireworks are quite a spectacle.
I have chosen these over other capitals in Asia because it is the part of this continent that I like the most. There is nothing like traveling here to feel far from our culture and our beliefs. And as they say, ignorance is cured by reading and racism is cured by traveling.