Abidjan Introduction

City Introduction

Photo credit: Citizen59 (flickr.com)

As the original capital of Côte d'Ivoire (formerly Ivory Coast) —— the richest country in West Africa, Abidjan is the largest city in Côte d'Ivoire and a famous harbor in West Africa. Known as "Paris of Africa," Abidjan is also the economic capital of Côte d'Ivoire. Abidjan is a famous tourist city in Africa with beautiful scenery and it is also the country's largest tourist center.

Abidjan is known as "Africa's Showcase." Its urban buildings are characterized by novel building structure, bold design, and very nice and stylized architectural layout. Bustling streets and beautiful gardens are woven into a beautiful picture; modern architectures embracing the island and the lake are a perfect combination of picturesque scenery of the lagoon with wonderful artistic creation of architects; in a noisy neighborhood, the quiet small bay, green lake and gentle sea breeze are all full of poetic passion. By ingeniously utilizing uneven topography and the lake-bay headland, the urban gardens are harmoniously embedded between high-rise buildings, thus looking extraordinarily beautiful.

History

Abidjan was founded in 1903 as a result of the European settlers establishing a sea dock and railway starting point station there. In 1934, the French colonial capital moved from Bingerville to Abidjan and Abidjan was set as the French capital of Côte d'Ivoire. After Côte d'Ivoire’s independence in 1960, Abidjan was set as its capital, and later became the national political, economic, cultural center, and transportation hub. The city center-Plateau district situated in Abidjan Peninsula is the location of the Office of the President, government buildings, banks, railway stations, cultural, and educational institutions, and is the main commercial district. In 1983, the capital of Côte d'Ivoire moved from Abidjan to Yamoussoukro but Abidjan still remained as the economic capital with government organizations and foreign embassies remained in Abidjan.

Natural Environment

Located at the bank of Ébrié Lagoon in parallel with the Gulf of Guinea, Abidjan city is made up of Abidjan peninsula, Cocody Bay area, Bangko region, small Bazan Island in the lagoon and the area across the south of small Bazan. It is an aquatic city surrounded by sea and lake.

Climate

Abidjan enjoys a tropical rain forest climate, which is characterized by hot climate, abundant rainfall (year-round hot and humid, but cooler in rainy season), lush vegetation, beautiful scenery, fertile land and rich natural resources. It is the natural warehouse of tropical agriculture and forestry resources, and an important production area for coffee and cocoa. With an area of 500 square kilometers, the lagoon and the coastal waters of Gulf of Guinea are rich in fishery resources.