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Most Guessed Cities in Asia - Not Capitals

Name the most well-known urban areas in Asia that are not the capital of their country.
Based on JetPunk stats from this quiz, January 2021
One city is partially in Europe
Colombo is not included because its urban area includes the capital of Kotte
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: January 11, 2021
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First submittedOctober 26, 2017
Times taken24,123
Average score61.9%
Rating4.33
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Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
%
City
94
Shanghai
91
Mumbai
87
Hong Kong
87
Guangzhou / Shenzhen
83
Dubai
83
Ho Chi Minh City
83
Osaka
%
City
82
Istanbul
80
Kolkata
75
Tel Aviv / Jaffa
74
Karachi
68
Xi'an
67
Chennai
65
Bangalore
%
City
64
Lahore
60
Mecca
60
Hyderabad (India)
60
Hyderabad (Pakistan)
57
Busan
56
Tianjin
56
Sapporo
+11
Level 86
Oct 26, 2017
I've been surprised by the Hyderabads, I thought they were not well-known cities. Of course, since the bear the same name, their scores reinforce one another.
+4
Level 59
Feb 20, 2018
Hyderabad is the fourth largest city in India, more than Chennai or Kolkata
+3
Level 58
Jan 21, 2021
I'm surprised that Sapporo made it but nor Kyoto, nor Yokohama and nor Nagoya did it.
+3
Level 73
Jul 3, 2021
Kyoto and Yokohama are under the Osaka and Tokyo urban areas respectively.
+4
Level 77
Oct 26, 2017
I am starting to get confused if it's Bangalore or Bengaluru?
+9
Level 73
Oct 26, 2017
"Bangalore" was the former name. It was changed to "Bengaluru" on November 1, 2014.
+9
Level 76
Oct 26, 2017
Yeah, given that Bombay, Madras, Calcutta and Bangalore have changed their names to Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bengaluru, I don't understand why the first three changes are acknowledged while the last one is not.
+2
Level 77
Oct 26, 2017
There have been quizzes where the name shown is Bengaluru but lately Bangalore is creeping back. JetPunk is usually very consistent in these, so that's the confusion.
+10
Level ∞
Oct 27, 2017
@Jerry928. Those name changes are "grandfathered in". I doubt I'll be changing more city names or country names in the future. Also, I plan to use Ivory Coast instead of Cote d'Ivoire to be consistent with Wikipedia.

Other countries have different names in different languages. For example, Germany, England, the United States, and China all have many variations. This is okay. Places can change their name to whatever they want, but it doesn't mean they get to change the English language. That is decided by us, the people who use the language.

+2
Level 60
Apr 20, 2023
You should still acknowledge that the city wants to be called Bengaluru and not Bangalore. They wish to erase remnants of the colonizers, England, and change all the city names back to their true names. At least acknowledge this much and change these to reflect that.
+2
Level 64
Jan 29, 2018
not ivory coast please
+3
Level 77
Jan 17, 2021
Um... a city name is the same in any language because it’s a name... nobody’s changing the English language, and the people who live in those cities probably care more about people calling their city by a wrong name than speakers of a different language... imagine if you walked into New York and said “hey New Amsterdam is pretty awesome” it wouldn’t go over well... furthermore, people who change their name aren’t changing the English language either so I really don’t see the point of that argument
+7
Level ∞
Jan 17, 2021
People call it Nueva York all the time and no one seems to get offended.
+3
Level 70
Jan 17, 2021
Besides that, we are probably not going on a road trip to Praha, Warszawa and Moskva. Let alone Firenze, Napoli and Venezia.
+4
Level 68
Jan 18, 2021
Some people care, some people don't. In Germany, we don't care, and there's like seven or eight different roots for the name we get called around the world. In Côte d'Ivoire, they do care, so using the name they've politely asked everyone not to use (while still retaining Ivory Coast as a type-in) seems to serve no other purpose than to piss them off.
+1
Level 65
Jan 23, 2024
Not to mention the discomfort some countries have with using colonial names

Also, it serves the purpose of confusing people (like me) who don't get why Côte d'Ivoire starts with "I" and Timor-Leste starts with "E"

+14
Level 72
Nov 3, 2017
I'm surprised to not see Kyoto on the list. For me the three most famous city in Japan are Tokyo (not in this quiz for obvious reasons), Kyoto and Osaka.
+3
Level 76
Nov 5, 2017
I thought the same thing. Really didn't expect to see Sapporo.
+2
Level 59
Jan 17, 2021
Kyoto is included in the Osaka urban area.
+2
Level 68
Jan 28, 2018
I should have got them all but I missed five. I did try Tientsin. Got Sapporo but never though that would be there!
+2
Level 59
Jan 28, 2018
Xi'an has a higher percentage than Tianjin? Sapporo?! Hmm...
+5
Level 86
Jan 28, 2018
I assume Sapporo is frequently guessed because of the beer brand.
+1
Level 66
Jan 17, 2021
Xi'an has a more memorable name and that is probably a factor.
+5
Level 71
Jan 17, 2021
Personally, I was surprised that Xiamen didn't make the list. I personally always remember Xi'an and Xiamen together. I guess other people don't.
+3
Level 67
Jan 31, 2022
Same here! I also remember Hyderabad and Ahmedabad together.
+2
Level 60
Jan 28, 2018
Quite surprised by seeing that Kolkata is guessed more than Istanbul and Mecca
+2
Level 68
Jan 19, 2021
See the below comment....
+5
Level 70
Jan 28, 2018
Isn't Istanbul in Europe???
+27
Level 89
Jan 28, 2018
And it begins...
+1
Level 79
Jan 17, 2021
It is.
+1
Level 68
Jan 19, 2021
It is split between both continents.
+1
Level 71
Jan 29, 2018
Like a change, try non-capital cities here it is
+2
Level 58
Jan 30, 2018
If only I learned to spell Tianjin
+1
Level 72
Aug 7, 2020
Istanbul is in Europe
+1
Level 59
Nov 29, 2020
I agree. Maybe include it as an already filled in answer.
+7
Level ∞
Jan 11, 2021
No. The caveat makes it clear.
+1
Level 59
Jan 18, 2021
Whoops!

Probably should read the caveats before commenting. Sorry!

+2
Level 59
Nov 29, 2020
How did I miss Hong Kong!!!
+13
Level 75
Jan 11, 2021
Surely Wuhan is on there after the year we've had?!
+1
Level 52
Jan 17, 2021
You know, I didn't even think of it. I suppose it failed to embed itself in my long-term mental map of Chinese cities because it just wasn't in the headlines for long enough. Would be one of the safest places in the world now...
+1
Level 85
Jan 11, 2021
Maybe quiz-takers shouldn't have to hover over the link to know that only "large" cities are eligible. (Bethlehem is pretty well known but not large.)
+1
Level 74
Jan 12, 2021
Mecca over Jeddah surprises me! Also wondering how often Yekaterinburg (also Europe/Asia) or Novosibirsk would come up?
+3
Level 71
Jan 17, 2021
Mecca doesn't surprise me. Jeddah may be larger, but Mecca is more iconic and well known for its role as Islam's holiest city.
+3
Level 85
Aug 31, 2021
I agree. Religious and historical significance will always trump size if the criteria is "most guessed".
+1
Level 60
Aug 15, 2021
I bet the quiz this is based on does not include Russia.
+1
Level 71
Jan 17, 2021
On which place is the most guessed Russian city?
+1
Level 55
Jan 19, 2021
Istanbul is in mostly in Europe
+1
Level 60
Aug 15, 2021
I was expecting Almaty.
+1
Level 34
Jul 12, 2022
All of those beat Aden, Aleppo, & Yangon?
+1
Level 65
Jan 23, 2024
Yes, of course
+1
Level 48
Sep 29, 2022
No Tel Aviv?
+1
Level 75
Aug 14, 2023
The quiz name should be changed to (Most Guessed B͟i͟g͟g͟e͟s͟t͟ Cities in Asia - Not Capitals) considering the source. It would better explain the reasoning for the answers and notable omissions.
+1
Level 63
Sep 22, 2023
Why is Sapporo here...
+1
Level 74
Dec 12, 2023
Made a version for Africa. Check it out