Chittagong: Bangladesh’s main seaport, from a Wikivoyage travel guide

Chittagong, officially Chattogram, is the main international seaport and second largest city in Bangladesh, on the Bay of Bengal. Many Bangladeshi companies have their headquarters there, including the Chittagong Stock Exchange. The British newspaper The Telegraph has named it one of the ten fastest-growing cities in the world.

City Gate. Photo: Rafi Bin Tofa, CC BY-SA 4.0.

History and character

Chittagong is one of the great port cities of Asia. It flourished on the Maritime Silk Road and was the eastern terminus of the Grand Trunk Road. Medieval visitors included the Venetians Niccolo de Conti and Caeser Frederick, the Arab traveller Ibn Battuta and the Chinese admiral Zheng He. The Portuguese, Mughals and British held the port in turn until the 20th century. After the Partition of British India it became a major financial centre and the largest port of modern Bangladesh.

The metropolitan area has about 6.5 million people. As in Dhaka, rickshaws fill the streets, and rolling hills and greenery dot the landscape. The guide says Chittagong makes a little more effort than other Bangladeshi cities to keep streets and sidewalks clean, and that residents are called Chittagonians. It also warns of beggars at certain intersections, such as the Central Railway Station. The old quarter has several historic mosques and Sufi shrines.

Chittagonians are known for inviting people to massive feasts called mezbani, which feature a tremendously hot curry, usually beef; approach with caution if you are not used to it. Chittagong is the center of the Bangladeshi seafood industry, and the guide says you might find some of the world's best lobsters here.

Shah Amanat Bridge over the Karnaphuli River. Photo: Abdulmominbd, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Climate

The climate is tropical monsoon: hot and very humid in the summer monsoon season (April to September), drier and cooler from October to March. The city is vulnerable to tropical cyclones from the North Indian Ocean; the deadliest was the 1991 Bangladesh cyclone, which killed 138,000 people and left as many as 10 million homeless.

Economy

Chittagong contributes about 12 per cent of Bangladesh's GDP, along with 40% of industrial output, 80% of international trade and 50% of government revenue. As of June 2015 the Chittagong Stock Exchange had a market capitalization of $32 billion and over 700 listed companies.

What to see

Patenga sea beach. Photo: Moheen Reeyad, CC BY-SA 4.0.

• The river and beaches. The Karnaphuli River, which runs through the city to the country's main seaport, is 161 km long in Bangladesh. Beaches include Patenga, Khejurtala, Anandabazar and South Kattali. Foy's Lake is an artificial lake excavated in 1924 under the Assam-Bengal Railway Authority and named after an English railway engineer.
• Sights. The Chittagong Buddhist Monastery in Nandan Kanan is one of the holy places of Buddhists in Bangladesh and holds a library of rare manuscripts. Chittagong Zoo, on a small site about 3 km northeast of the city, shows Indian lions, Asian black bears and chital. J M Sen Hall, begun in 1916 as the first Town Hall, is named for the Bengali lawyer and activist Jatramohan Sen.

The Karnaphuli River at night, with Chittagong Port. Photo: Moheen Reeyad, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Getting there

Shah Amanat International Airport is the second largest and busiest international airport in Bangladesh, with flights from cities including Kolkata, Kuala Lumpur, Doha, Dubai and Bangkok. Around the city the guide lists options such as auto rickshaws, buses, taxis and a local train.

Sources

• Wikivoyage contributors, “Chittagong” (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Chittagong), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Changed here: shortened to a few topics and rewritten in hubnx's own words; phone numbers, opening hours and most sections and pictures are left out. Pictures: City Gate by Rafi Bin Tofa, Shah Amanat Bridge by Abdulmominbd, Patenga beach and the river at night by Moheen Reeyad, each CC BY-SA 4.0, as credited on the Wikivoyage page.