Bandung

Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia, located on the western highland of Java island. Situated in a river basin surrounded by volcanic mountains, it enjoys one of the coolest climates among Indonesian provincial capitals, with its highest point in the north and lowest in the south. The city lies roughly southeast of Jakarta, and its natural defensive ring of mountains was the primary reason the Dutch East Indies government planned to move the colonial capital from Batavia to Bandung. Dutch tea plantations first appeared in the surrounding mountains in the 18th century, and a road connecting the area to Batavia was built in the early 19th century for defense and transport. By the early 20th century, the European population successfully petitioned for a municipal government, granted in 1906, and the city developed into an exclusive resort for Europeans, featuring hotels, cafés, and shops. Braga Street became a fashionable district lined with boutiques and restaurants, and the abundance of Parisian fashion imports earned Bandung the nickname “Parijs van Java.” After Indonesia’s 1945 independence, rapid urbanization transformed the once-idyllic town into a dense metropolitan area of over 8 million people, with a population density of 16,500 per square kilometer. New skyscrapers, bridges, and gardens were built, but natural resources were heavily exploited, particularly through conversion of protected uplands into villas and real estate. Despite challenges such as waste disposal, floods, and traffic congestion, the city attracts many tourists and migrants. In 2017, it won a regional award for having the cleanest air among major ASEAN cities. Bandung is also recognized as a Smart City, using technology to improve government services and alert residents to floods or traffic jams, and it joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2015. It is Indonesia’s major technology centre. The historic 1955 Asian-African Conference was hosted here, now a decennial event. The existing Husein Sastranegara International Airport was redeveloped in 2016, and a larger second airport, Kertajati International, now serves the greater metropolitan area.