Former Names Of Asian Cities Trivia Quiz

Answer: Calcutta

Kolkata is the 2nd biggest city in India. Kolkata is the official name, but most people outside India still call it Calcutta.

Answer: Madras

Chennai is 5th largest city of India.

Answer: Bombay

Mumbai is the biggest city in India.

Answer: Rangoon

Yangon is the capital of Burma, or now officially Myanmar.

Answer: Dairen

This is a Chinese city with a rich colonial history. Dairen was leased by Russia 1898 and was supposed to be the terminus of Siberian railroad. Occupied by Japan 1904.

Answer: Mukden

It's the 5th biggest city of China.

Answer: Port Arthur

The seaport of Port Arthur was leased by Russia 1898 and occupied by Japan 1904. After World War II a Sino-Russian naval base. Left by USSR 1955. The twin cities Dairen and Port Arthur were also called Luta.

Answer: Canton

10th biggest city of China. Its resistance to English opium trade led to war with Great Britain 1839-42. Its commercial prosperity was affected by the growth of nearby Hong Kong.

Answer: Amoy

First port with which English and Dutch traded with China, from 1670.

Answer: Ujung Pandang

Seaport of South Sulawesi, Indonesia.
The current name of the city is Makassar. It was originally Makassar, then became Ujung Pandang for a while, and since the late 1990s has been Makassar again.

Answer: Hollandia

Seaport of West Irian, Indonesia, former capital of Dutch Guinea.

Answer: Jesselton

This was the capital of British North Borneo from 1947. Now belongs to Malaysia.

Answer: Batavia

This was capital of Dutch East India. Now capital of Indonesia.

The capital of Indonesia has been known as Jakarta since 1972. From 1948 until 1972, it was known as Djakarta. Prior to 1948, it was known as Batavia (and before that, it was known as Sunda Kelapa and then Jayakarta).

Answer: Brunei Town

Now the capital of the independent state of Brunei.

Answer: Kutaraja

This is a port on North Sumatra in the Aceh region.

Answer: Sverdlovsk

6th biggest city in Russia.

Answer: Tselinograd

This city, also called Akmola or previously Akmolonisk, is now capital of Kazakhstan.

Answer: Leninabad

City of Tadjikistan.

Answer: Frunze

Bishkek is now the capital of Kyrgyz Republic.

Answer: Leninakan

A city in Armenia.

Answer: Ordzhonikidze

Vladikavkaz is capital of North Ossetia, part of Russian Federation.

Answer: Kirovabad

This city is in Azerbaijan.

Answer: Bandar Shahpur

Answer: Toyohara

Answer: Furukamappu

Well, we are at the Southern Kurile Islands, also called the Northern Territories of Japan. These islands were occupied by USSR after World War II, but are claimed by Japan. Yuzhno-Kurilsk on the island of Iturup, or Japanese Etorofu, is called Furukamappu in Japanese.

There is also a city called just Kurilsk on the island of Kunashir og Kunashiri in Japanese. This city is called Shana in Japanese. To make it even more tricky, there exists a town called Severo-Kurilsk on the Northern Kurile Island of Paramushir. Chishima, by the way, is the Japanese name for Kurile Islands.