About Ahmedabad City
Situated on the banks of the Sabarmati River, Ahmedabad city is a beautiful historic place in West India known by many locals as the ‘Manchester of the East’. It is the former capital and the largest city of the vast state of Gujarat. A growing metropolis, Ahmedabad is the sixth-largest city in India and the fifth most populous with a population of over seven million people.
Having been home to several textile mills in the past, Ahmedabad is one of the leading industrial cities in India. It is famous for diamond cutting and the manufacture, supply, and export of cotton textiles. There are still many sites throughout the city that are important to the textile heritage. One of the most popular attractions in Ahmedabad is Textile City, a museum where you can learn about India’s rich textile history and the many different types and varieties of antique textiles made in India.
An ancient city with a magnificent past and a hospitable community, the city attract masses of visitors from all over the world for its unique and striking architecture as well. In addition to boasting several cultural and natural sites of ‘Outstanding Universal Value’ like Textile City, many visitors visit Ahmedabad for business and educational purposes as well.
Appointed the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district, the city has become an educational hotspot with noteworthy institutes like the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad and the Gujarat University Exhibition & Convention Centre. As a result, this developing city is now home to the recent development of skyscrapers, businesses and stylish hotels with upscale amenities, like the Radisson Blu Hotel Ahmedabad.
Although this brilliant location in the heart of the city has become the center of business events and conferences in Ahmedabad, the many local street markets throughout the city have also made it easy to dive into the city’s local culture, even while visiting on a short business trip. One of the most famous and busiest markets in the city is the Lal Darwaja Market, where you can buy clothes, electronics, and food every day of the week.
Recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ahmedabad boasts many historic sites that hold great cultural significance. Among the most popular attractions in Ahmedabad, you can find sacred places like the Ahmed Shah Mosque, one of the oldest mosques in the city built in the year 1414; the Sabarmati Ashram, one of the residences of Mahatma Gandhi; the Hutheesing Jain Temple, a grand and beautiful temple constructed in 1848. Other important attractions in Ahmedabad are natural sites like Kankaria Lake, once a royal bathing spot now a scenic natural site with a garden in the center with beautiful pathways to enjoy an afternoon stroll.
Also read: Top 10 Places to Visit in Ahmedabad
Aside from a rapid increase in population in recent years, this major city has also made a major leap forward in terms of its economic and social development and is actively coming forth as an important economic and industrial hub in India.
The many recent developments have attracted so much worldwide attention that in 2010 Ahmedabad ranked third in Forbes’s list of fastest-growing cities of the decade and in 2012 it was named India’s best city to reside in. Ahmedabad has also recently been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city as part of India’s urban renewal program, Smart Cities Mission.