Hangzhou  杭州市 is the biggest city and the capital city of Zhejiang  浙江 There are almost 12 000 000 people in Hangzhou, and 13.035 million in its metropolitan area. It is a major economic and e-commerce hub within China, and the second biggest city in the Yangtze Delta.  Forbes Magazine has rated Hangzhou as the best commercial city in China and the Chinese city with the highest growth potential. Alibaba, Ant Group, and NetEast all call Hangzhou home.  Hangzhou is also a major city for scientific research in the Asia-Pacific Region.  The Globalization and World Cities Research Network lists Hangzhou as a Beta city.  Hangzhou was awarded the 2022 Asian Games (to be contested in 2023). 

A nice card from Ostholstein on the Baltic Sea.  The writer has never been there but her sister visits there quite a bit.  Stuttgart is the 6th largest city in Germany and at 5.3 million people, is the fourth largest metropolitan area in Germany. It is a Beta-status global city on the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.  The Stuttgart Rebels EC is one of two major hockey teams in Stuttgart. They play in the Landesliga (4th tier). The Bietigheim Bissingen Steelers play in the second division of DEL.

Cape Town is one of South Africa's three capital cities. Cape Town is the legislative capital, while Pretoria is the executive capital, and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital and home to the Supreme Court of Appeal.  Cape Town is considered a Beta City on the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. The Dutch India Company founded the town as a supply station for Dutch ships sailing to East Africa, India, and the Far East. Jan van Riebeeck arrived on 6 April 1652 and established the first permanent European settlement in South Africa.  Robben Island, located 6 kilometers from Cape Town, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nelson Mandela is its most famous prisoner having spent 18 of his 27 years of imprisonment here. He, of course, went on to serve as South Africa's president from 1994-1999. Two other South African presidents also spent time on Robben Island as prisoners - Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma. Mandela also went on the win the Nobel Peace Prize. The island h...