Guangzhou City vs Berlin

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Guangzhou (; simplified Chinese: 广州; traditional Chinese: 廣州, Cantonese pronunciation: [kʷɔ̌ːŋ.tsɐ̂u] or [kʷɔ̌ːŋ.tsɐ́u] (listen); Mandarin pronunciation: [kwàŋ.ʈʂóu] (listen)), also known as Canton and formerly romanized as Kwangchow, is the capital and most populous city of the province of Guangdong in southern China. On the Pearl River about 120 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong and 145 km (90 mi) north of Macau, Guangzhou has a history of over 2,200 years and was a major terminus of the maritime Silk Road, and continues to serve as a major port and transportation hub, as well as one of China's three largest cities.Guangzhou is at the heart of the most-populous built-up metropolitan area in mainland China, which extends into the neighboring cities of Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan and Shenzhen, forming one of the largest urban agglomerations on Earth, the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone. Administratively, the city holds subprovincial status and is one of China's nine National Central Cities. At the end of 2018, the population of the city's expansive administrative area was estimated at 14,904,400 by city authorities, up 3.8% from the previous year. Guangzhou is highly ranked as an Alpha- (global first-tier) city together with Melbourne (Australia), San Francisco (the U.S), and Stockholm (Sweden). Guangzhou also ranks 21st globally (between Washington, D.C. and Amsterdam) and 8th in Asia (behind Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, Shenzhen and Dubai) in the 2020 Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI). There is a rapidly increasing number of foreign temporary residents and immigrants from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa.

This recent population influx has led to it being dubbed the "Capital of the Third World".The domestic migrant population from other provinces of China in Guangzhou was 40% of the city's total population in 2008. Together with Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, Guangzhou has one of the most expensive real estate markets in China. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, nationals of sub-Saharan Africa who had initially settled in the Middle East and other parts of Southeast Asia moved in unprecedented numbers to Guangzhou in response to the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis.Long the only Chinese port accessible to most foreign traders, Guangzhou was captured by the British during the First Opium War. No longer enjoying a monopoly after the war, it lost trade to other ports such as Hong Kong and Shanghai, but continued to serve as a major transshipment port. Nowadays, in modern commerce, Guangzhou is best known for its annual Canton Fair, the oldest and largest trade fair in China. For three consecutive years (2013–2015), Forbes ranked Guangzhou as the best commercial city in mainland China.The city is home to multiple China's prestigious universities, including Sun Yat-sen University, South China University of Technology, South China Normal University and Jinan University. Guangzhou is also one of the top city in the world by scientific research as tracked by the Nature Index and it ranks 15th globally and fifth in China (after Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Wuhan).

Source: Wikipedia

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Berlin (; German: [bɛʁˈliːn] (listen)) is the capital and biggest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3,769,495 inhabitants as of 31 December 2019 make it the most populous city of the European Union, according to population within city limits. The city is also one of Germany's 16 federal states. It is surrounded by the state of Brandenburg, and contiguous with Potsdam, Brandenburg's capital. The two cities are at the middle of the Berlin-Brandenburg capital region, which is, with about six million inhabitants and an area of over 30,000 km2, Germany's third-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr and Rhine-Main areas. Berlin straddles the banks of the River Spree, which flows to the River Havel (a tributary of the River Elbe) from the western borough of Spandau. Among the city's main topographical features are the numerous lakes in the western and southeastern boroughs formed by the Spree, Havel, and Dahme rivers (the biggest of which is Lake Müggelsee). Due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. About one-third of the city's area is composed of woods, parks, gardens, rivers, canals and lakes. The city lies in the Central German dialect region, the Berlin dialect being a version of the Lusatian-New Marchian dialects. First documented in the 13th century and situated at the crossing of two important historic trade routes, Berlin became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1417--1701), the Kingdom of Prussia (1701--1918), the German Empire (1871--1918), the Weimar Republic (1919--1933), and the Third Reich (1933--1945). Berlin in the 1920s was the third-largest municipality in the world. Following World War II and its subsequent occupation by the victorious nations, the city was divided; West Berlin became a de facto West German exclave, surrounded by the Berlin Wall (1961--1989) and East German territory. East Berlin was declared capital of East Germany, while Bonn became the West German capital. Following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all of Germany. Berlin is a world city of culture, politics, media and science.

Its economy relies on high-tech firms and the service industry, encompassing a diverse selection of innovative industries, research facilities, media corporations and conference venues. Berlin functions as a continental hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination. Significant industries also include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction and electronics. Berlin is home to world-renowned universities like the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin (HU Berlin), the Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), the Freie Universität Berlin (Free University of Berlin), the Universität der Künste (University of the Arts, UdK), ESMT Berlin and the Berlin School of Economics and Law. Its Zoological Garden is the most visited zoo in Europe and one of the most popular worldwide. With the world's oldest large-scale film studio complex, Berlin is an increasingly popular location for international film productions. The city is well known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, modern arts and a very high quality of living. Since the 2000s Berlin has seen the development of a cosmopolitan entrepreneurial scene.Berlin Comprises three World Heritage Sites: Museum Island; the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin; and the Berlin Modernism Housing Estates. Other landmarks include the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag building, Potsdamer Platz, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Berlin Wall Memorial, the East Side Gallery, the Berlin Victory Column, Berlin Cathedral and the Berlin Television Tower, the tallest structure in Germany. Berlin has numerous museums, libraries, galleries, orchestras and sporting events. These include the Old National Gallery, the Bode Museum, the Pergamon Museum, the German Historical Museum, the Jewish Museum Berlin, the Natural History Museum, the Humboldt Forum, which is scheduled to start in late 2020, the Berlin State Library, the Berlin State Opera, the Berlin Philharmonic and the Berlin Marathon.

Source: Wikipedia