Chittagong Tourism and Travel Guide

Chittagong /tʃɪtəɡɒŋ/ (Bengali: চট্টগ্রাম Bengali pronunciation: [tʃɔʈʈɔgram]; Porto Grande de Bengala; Mughal Islamabad) is a major coastal seaport city and financial centre in southeastern Bangladesh. The Chittagong Metropolitan Area has a population of over 6.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country. It is the capital of an eponymous district and division. The city is located on the banks of the Karnaphuli River between the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the Bay of Bengal.The natural harbour of Chittagong has been a gateway to the historic region of Bengal for centuries. It was a prominent trading centre and hosted the first European colonial enclaves in Bengal, which were operated by the Portuguese in the 16th and 17th centuries. The district was ruled by the Sultanate of Bengal, the Kingdom of Mrauk U and the Mughal Empire until the 18th century, at which point it was ceded to the British East India Company. The port was the terminus of the Grand Trunk Road and the Assam Bengal Railway. During the Burma Campaign in World War II, the city was also a key base for Allied Forces. Rapid industrialisation followed the war. Becoming a part of East Pakistan in 1947, the city was the site of Bangladesh's Declaration of Independence in 1971.Modern Chittagong is a major hub of trade and industry. The Port of Chittagong is the largest international seaport on the eastern seaboard of the Bay of Bengal. The city is home to many of Bangladesh's oldest and largest companies, as well as the Chittagong Stock Exchange, the Chittagong Tea Auction and the eastern division of the Bangladesh Railway. The Chittagong Naval Area is the largest base of the Bangladesh Navy. Though despite having a high and growing urban per capita GDP in South Asia and being one of the fastest growing cities in the world, the city has a poverty rate of 11.3%, as of 2010. Chittagong is reputed as a relatively clean city, but still confronts substantial logistical and socioeconomic problems.