Kolkata is a city in eastern India, the capital of the large eastern state of West Bengal, a major area of Indian hemp spinning, located in the Ganges River delta, and India's largest port and second-most-populous city, bordering the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean.
The most important city in East India Kolkata is the most important city in eastern India, is the capital of the large eastern state of West Bengal, it covers an area of 568.8 square kilometers, the population of 1991 10.92 million people, is one of the world's most populous cities. Kolkata is strategically located in the Ganges delta, bordering the Bay of Bengal, and is the largest port on the east coast of India. After airplanes became an important means of transportation for mankind, Kolkata built a huge international airport, thus becoming an important transportation hub linking Asia, Africa and the Middle East by sea and air.
Once upon a time: a second London
Kolkata was not only famous in India, it was once one of the largest shopping centers in the entire Eastern world. However, history is merciless, with the passage of time, Kolkata due to various reasons, the former prestige in the past unknowingly away from it, become a famous city in the decline.
More than three hundred years ago, Kolkata was still desolate. There were only three small villages called Gharikat, Govindpur and Sudhanathi. It is said that the name Kolkata evolved from Galikat, which means "seat of Goddess Gali". Till today, Goddess Kali remains a very important deity for the local people and there is a very elaborate temple of Goddess Kali in Kolkata.
Toward the end of the 16th century, European adventurers traveled around the Cape of Good Hope to India, following the same route as Da Gama. They then traveled up the Bay of Bengal and broke into the fertile land of the Ganges Delta from the Hooghly River. And so began the history of European colonization of Calcutta. The Portuguese came, the French came, the British came. In the end, the British "East India Company" prevailed, crowding out the Portuguese and the French, and monopolizing the trade of Bengal. 1698, the East India Company bought the three villages mentioned above at a very low price, and from then on, they settled here, and built freight yards, merchant houses, churches, theaters, and barracks. 1716, the British built a huge building here, which was the first of its kind in Bengal. In 1716, the British built a huge castle here, named "Fort William". This Fort William played an unenviable role in history as the headquarters of the British colonizers who conquered Bengal and then all of India by force. Therefore, Kolkata's initial development was centered on Fort William, gradually expanding in all directions.
With the growing power of the British colonizers in India, the status of Calcutta was also rising. After the famous Battle of Plassey in 1757, Kolkata became the home of the British colonizers in South Asia, and after 1858, when the British colonists had conquered virtually the whole of India, Kolkata became the capital of "British India". India was Britain's largest overseas colony, and the center of that largest colony was Calcutta, which, as you can imagine, was so important that it was once called the "second London" of the British Empire.
Today's decline: India's old Shanghai
The "second London" under British rule once enjoyed a prominent position, but after 1911, British India moved its capital to Delhi, and in 1931, New Delhi was built, and the center of power in British India shifted to the north, so the importance of Kolkata was undoubtedly greatly weakened. In 1947, after the independence of India, the capital was set at New Delhi, and Kolkata still failed to regain its original authority. The partition of India and Pakistan and the subsequent independence of Bangladesh had a negative impact on the development of Kolkata. After the independence of India, although Calcutta is also vigorously developed, Calcutta's railroad to all parts of the country, built a huge international air terminal, air routes to the five continents, but also India's largest jute processing center, jute products accounted for 90% of the production of India. However, the political center of the country is in the capital city of Delhi, and the commercial center is in Mumbai, so Kolkata can only be considered the most influential city in the eastern region of India. Interestingly, when we Chinese mention Mumbai, we say "that is the Shanghai of India", but our Indian friends think that Kolkata is the "Shanghai of India". But the Shanghai they refer to is the Shanghai of the 1930s. It's true, as soon as you arrive in Kolkata, you can feel the atmosphere of Shanghai in the 30's in the movie. European-style buildings stand tall, dilapidated slums are crowded, narrow streets are crowded, yellow buses through the streets and alleys, beggars are everywhere. At night, the eaves of the buildings on both sides of the street can often be seen huddled under a homeless person. Calcutta traffic congestion is notorious, every rush hour, a variety of vehicles form a long dragon without seeing the end, to move a step, it would have to wait for an hour to do. When you go to Kolkata, you must visit Mactan Square. Mactan Square is a huge square made up of huge lawns. It is lush with trees and birdsong. A statue dotted, looking at dozens of skyscrapers through the clouds and standing, close up there is a large area of the racecourse so that you can not see the edge of the ...... The most eye-catching here is the southeastern part of the square of the Victoria Memorial, which is a square building made of white marble, completed in 1935, a blend of British, Italian and Indian architectural styles and carvings, which is the most important part of the square. It was built in 1935, combining British, Italian and Indian architectural styles and carving techniques. The Victoria Memorial is now a museum with paintings, statues, historical documents, ancient weapons and other rare treasures. Fort William, located in the middle of Mactan Square, is a symbol of the British colonizers' trampling of India, but the red walls of the city are also fascinating, and today it is still a military barracks, which cannot be entered without special arrangements. Not far from the Victoria Memorial is the Indian Museum, which displays a large number of stone statues, prehistoric artifacts, currencies, and specimens of India's flora and fauna. The square is also surrounded by St. Peter's Church, Birla Planetarium, Eden Gardens, State House, Parliament House and the 165-foot tall Sahid Pillar, all of which are worth a visit. The Sahidic Column is unique in style, combining Egyptian, Syrian and Turkish architectural styles. Known as the 'Lungs of Kolkata', Maidan Square is often used by Kolkatans for cricket, soccer, political rallies and a breath of fresh air. As the sun sets over the Hooghly River, a leisurely walk to Mactan Square is a great treat.
At the western end of Mactan Square is the north-south Nehru Street, formerly known as Chowringhee Street, which is the busiest part of Kolkata, with stores, restaurants, theaters and hotels. There is also an avenue called Nidhaji Subhas off to the north of the square, which is home to a concentration of exchanges, banks and large commercial firms.
Calcutta has fewer monuments than other major Indian cities, but the most significant is the temple of Goddess Gali in the south of the city, which is the protector goddess of the region and is therefore filled with smoke and worshipped by a steady stream of worshippers.
Kolkata is India's city of culture, with the country's largest library, the National Library, housing more than 10 million books. The home of the world-famous Rabindranath Tagore is situated in the northern part of the city, and is a must-see if you want to understand how the great writer created immortal poetry, music, and dance in his simple life.
Tabba Chinese: a strong Chinese flavor
Chinese are found all over the world, and India is no exception, with Kolkata having the largest concentration of Chinese in India. According to records, the first Chinese to settle in Kolkata was a young Catholic migrant from South China in the 17th century. He was followed by thousands of other Chinese, who flourished from generation to generation. By 1951, the number of Chinese in Kolkata had reached a record high of over 90,000 people. However, due to various reasons, many Chinese left India and by the 1990s, only about 10,000 Chinese remained. Kolkata has a famous Chinatown in the city, but it is now in a state of disrepair. Most of Kolkata's Chinese are concentrated in the northwestern suburb of Taba, known in India as Tangra.
Taba covers just over 10 square kilometers and was first developed by a few Chinese families from a swampy area. There are now 8,000 to 9,000 Chinese living here, the vast majority of whom are descendants of those who moved here from Meixian County in Guangdong Province. India is rich in buffalo hides, and many of these Chinese know tanning techniques, so they helped each other and set up leather workshops, and through the hard work of several generations, Taba finally developed into a decent town.
Today's Taba has become the largest Chinatown in Kolkata, and even in India. As soon as you enter Taba, you can feel the distinct Chinese flavor, the courtyard, the red lacquer gate, the big red lanterns, the red couplets are all flashing the style of Chinese civilization. Most of the Chinese in Taba are engaged in the leather business, and there are more than 220 leather factories, some of which are quite modern. These 200 leather factories process 30,000 buffalo hides every day, accounting for 1/5 of all leather production in India, but because of the serious pollution of the leather factories, the local government is also to take a restrictive attitude, the court had ordered the leather factories to move to a remote village 18 kilometers away. Leather industry has been the Taba Chinese rely on the survival and development of the pillar industry, once the loss of this pillar, their stay in Taba is bound to become an important issue.