City: Budapest

Country: Hungary

Province:

Mayor: István Tarlós

Introduction:

Budapest, often called the “Paris of the East”, is the capital and the most populous city of Hungary. The Danube River divides the beautiful city into two parts, BUDA in the western side and PEST in the eastern side. The PEST side is the administrative and cultural center, and has most of the parliament buildings and government offices. The length of the Danube River flowing through the downtown area is 28 kilometers, with an average width of 300 to 400 meters and an average depth of three to four meters. The deepest point of the Danube River is about ten meters.

The Royal Palace and Halászbástya in the BUDA side and the neo-Gothic Parliament in the PEST side form a beautiful scene, as if taken from a painting, by both day and night. Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue, is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Known as the pearl on the Danube River, the city was once named the quietest capital in the world by the French.

Date of establishment of sister-city relations with Hangzhou: August 9, 1999.