Turku vs Taipei

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Turku ( TOOR-koo; Finnish: [ˈturku] (listen); Swedish: Åbo [ˈǒːbʊ] (listen), Finland Swedish: [ˈoːbu] (listen); Latin: Aboa; Russian: Турку, formerly Або) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (Varsinais-Suomi) and the former Turku and Pori Province (Turun ja Porin lääni; 1634–1997). The region was originally called Suomi (Finland), which later became the name for the whole country. As of 30 September 2018, the population of Turku was 191,499 making it the sixth largest city in Finland after Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa and Oulu. There were 330,192 inhabitants living in the Turku sub-region, ranking it as the third largest urban area in Finland after the Greater Helsinki area and Tampere sub-region. The city is officially bilingual as 5.2 percent of its population identify Swedish as a mother-tongue.It is unknown when Turku gained city rights. The Pope first mentioned the town Aboa in his Bulla in 1229 and the year is now used as the foundation year of Turku. Turku is the oldest city in Finland, and served as the most important city of the eastern part of the Kingdom of Sweden (modern-day Finland). After the Finnish war, Finland became an autonomous grand duchy of the Russian Empire in 1809. Turku lost its status as capital of the Grand Duchy in 1812, when Tsar Alexander I of Russia decided to move the capital to Helsinki.

It was only after the last great fire in 1827 that most governmental institutions were moved to Helsinki along with the Royal Academy of Turku (Turun Akatemia) founded in 1640, which then became the University of Helsinki. Turku continued to be the most populous city in Finland until the end of the 1840s, and it remains the regional capital and an important business and cultural center and port. Because of its long history, it has been the site of many important events, and has extensively influenced Finnish history. The history of the country is closely linked to Turku, the former capital. Along with Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, Turku was designated the European Capital of Culture for 2011. In 1996, it was declared the official Christmas City of Finland. Also, Turku has been officially declared the "Food Capital of Finland", because it holds a number of Finland's oldest and high-qualited restaurants, including the country's top-rated Indian restaurant Delhi Darbar, and a historically famous fish market held twice a year.Due to its location, Turku is a notable commercial and passenger seaport with over three million passengers traveling through the Port of Turku each year to Stockholm and Mariehamn.

Source: Wikipedia

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Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of Taiwan (officially the Republic of China, ROC). Located in northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about 25 km (16 mi) southwest of the northern port city of Keelung. Most of the city lies on the Taipei Basin, an ancient lakebed. The basin is bounded by the relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung and Xindian rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River along the city's western border.The city proper is home to an estimated population of 2,646,204 (2019), forming the core part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, which includes the nearby cities of New Taipei and Keelung with a population of 7,047,559, the 40th most-populous urban area in the world—roughly one-third of Taiwanese citizens live in the metro district. The name "Taipei" can refer either to the whole metropolitan area or the city proper. Taipei is the political, economic, educational, and cultural center of Taiwan and one of the major hubs in East Asia. Considered to be a global city and rated as an Alpha - City by GaWC, Taipei is part of a major high-tech industrial area.

Railways, highways, airports, and bus lines connect Taipei with all parts of the island. The city is served by two airports – Songshan and Taoyuan. Taipei is home to various world-famous architectural or cultural landmarks, which include Taipei 101, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Dalongdong Baoan Temple, Hsing Tian Kong, Lungshan Temple of Manka, National Palace Museum, Presidential Office Building, Taipei Guest House, Ximending, and several night markets dispersed throughout the city. Natural features such as Maokong, Yangmingshan, and hot springs are also well known to international visitors. In English-language news reports the name Taipei often serves as a synecdoche referring to central government of Taiwan. Due to the ambiguous political status of Taiwan internationally, the term Chinese Taipei is also frequently pressed into service as a synonym for the entire country, as when Taiwan's governmental representatives participate in international organizations or Taiwan's athletes participate in international sporting events.

Source: Wikipedia