Asia Rules the Waves Trivia Quiz

Answer: it was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II

The capital of the Emirate of the same name, Dubai is a city of superlatives - home to the world's first 7-star hotel (the Burj Al Arab), some of the world's largest and most luxurious shopping centres, and the towering Burj Khalifa, the tallest building on Earth (829.8 m/2,722 ft) at the time of writing. Located on the Persian Gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates, the city is home to over 3 million people of many different ethnicities, including a large community of Western expats. Surrounded by the sand dunes of the Arabian Desert, Dubai was established as a fishing village in the 18th century; in the late 19th century it became an important port for the pearl trade, and then a major centre for the gold trade. It was, however, the discovery of oil in its territorial waters that turned Dubai into the thriving, cosmopolitan business and transport hub it is today.

Port Rashid, located near the centre of the city, was Dubai's first commercial port, opened in 1972; it is now a cruise terminal, one of the busiest in the world, and the permanent home of famed Cunard ocean liner "Queen Elizabeth 2", now a floating hotel. Since 2018 Dubai's cargo operations have been located at Mina Jebel Ali, about 35 km (21.7 mi) southwest of the city. Inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II on 26 February 1979, Jebel Ali is now the largest and busiest port in the Middle East. The world's largest man-made harbour, Jebel Ali is also part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which runs from the Chinese coast to the port of Trieste on the Adriatic Sea.

LadyNym of the Phoenix Rising team skillfully steered this question into the quiz.

Answer: it is the capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh

Mumbai is the capital city of Maharashtra, not Uttar Pradesh. The city grew from the seven islands which were initially joined together by the Hornby Vellard causeway in the 18th century. The deep- water harbour was ideal for developing trade opportunities, and the city grew rapidly, especially after the opening of the Suez Canal. By the end of the 20th century, the population had reached 19.4 million people - making it the second largest city in India. Prior to Indian independence in 1947, Mumbai had been ruled over by the Portuguese, the English (later British) East India Company, and then British suzerainty.

Located on the west coast of the Indian peninsula, on the Arabian Sea, Mumbai has one of the world's best natural harbours. Its second port, Nhava Sheva, established in 1989, is India's second-largest container port.

PR member MikeMaster99 drew this question together from at least seven sources!

Answer: Portugal

A sprawling city home to almost 6 million people in its metro area, Colombo lies on the west coast of the island nation of Sri Lanka. Its name is believed to be a Portuguese alteration of the original Sinhalese "Kola-amba-thota" (meaning "harbour with green mango trees"), meant as a homage to Christopher Columbus. Famed 14th-century traveller Ibn Battuta refers to it in his writings as "Kalanpu".

With its strategic location on the East-West trade routes, Colombo had been known to traders from both Europe and Asia for many centuries before the Portuguese, led by Lourenço de Almeida, arrived on the island in 1505. The fortified trading post they established was conquered by the Dutch in 1639, and then by the British in 1796. Colombo became the capital of Sri Lanka in 1815. In 1982, the nation's capital was officially moved to Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, a satellite city of Colombo. Though the Parliament is located in the new capital, many government institutions still remain in Colombo.

Developed mainly during the colonial era, the port of Colombo lies on the southwestern shores of the Kelani River. Expanded and modernized during the 1980s, it is now one of the major ports of South Asia for both container and passenger traffic, and part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. It is also a naval base for the Sri Lanka Navy.

Portugal established the earliest of the European colonial empires in the 15th century, followed by Spain and France in the 16th century; the short-lived German colonial empire came much later, in the late 19th century.

This question was imperiously written by Phoenix Rising member LadyNym.

Answer: Sir Stamford Raffles (1819)

Then a Lieutenant-Governor on Sumatra, Thomas Stamford Raffles first set foot on the swampy island that was to become Singapore in January 1819. He had the responsibility to find a new port to facilitate trade between China and British-controlled India which was free from Dutch interference. He quickly realized that Singapore and its natural harbour provided an ideal location to realize this outcome. After making a deal with the Sultan of Johor (Tengku Long, brother of Tengku Abdul Rahman) allowing establishment of a British port, Raffles established the new settlement. His plan managed ethnic rivalries by creating separate locations within the growing trading post. Although Raffles left Singapore under the control of Major William Farquhar and a small garrison of troops after only eight months, his foresight and planning set the stage for the growth of Singapore into a major city and port.

Singapore is now the world's busiest transshipment port, and the second-busiest in terms of total shipping tonnage. A new port, called Tuas Mega Port, is being built to replace the current port at Keppel Harbour. Like other major Asian ports, Singapore is part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

This question was planned, then created by PR member MikeMaster99, who has thoroughly enjoyed his visits to this fine city.

Answer: True

Christopher Columbus' journey to the Americas was considered one of Spain's crowning achievements in exploration. However, led by Magellan and his 1519 quest for a new spice route, the discovery of a pathway to the Philippines was equally important.

An Augustinian friar, Andrés de Urdaneta, then pioneered a return route from the Philippines to Mexico in 1565, linking Europe to trade with Asia and South America. This route would last for 250 years, until it was broken by the Mexican War of Independence in 1815. Regional products such as spices from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Java and the Maluku Islands, silk from China and Japan, and cotton and rugs from India would be loaded at the Port of Manila and sent to Acapulco. The return journey saw the shipment of items such as precious metals (mainly silver), produce such as corn, tobacco and peppers, along with animals such as horses and cows.

In 2015 both Mexico and the Philippines, with the blessing of Spain, sought to have this route listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The modern port of Manila is over 160 hectares (395 acres) of reclaimed land at the mouth of the Pasig River in Tondo, adjacent to the Manila city centre. The port is divided up into three man made "peninsulas". The three arms are known as North Harbour, South Harbour and Container Harbour. Whilst all three receive container shipping, the North and South harbours receive passenger traffic as well. Cruise ships provide a vital part of the city's economy.

The creation of this question was a tariffying experience for Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 and 1nn1.

Answer: Red River

Vietnam's third-largest city, home to almost one million people, Haiphong lies at the mouth of the River Cam, on the northeastern edge of the Red River delta in northern Vietnam, about 28 km (16 mi) from the Gulf of Tonkin. Its recorded history goes back to the 1st century AD, when the city - then called An Bien - was reputedly founded by female general Le Chan to repel a Chinese invasion. In the late 19th century Haiphong ("coastal defense") was developed into a major port and naval base by the French, following their conquest of Vietnam. Now a leading industrial and commercial centre, serving as the outport for the national capital of Hanoi (located inland about 120 km/75 mi west), Haiphong was North Vietnam's only seaport - as well as an important railway terminus - during the Vietnam War. At the end of 1972, the city was subjected to heavy bombings by US forces, which inflicted substantial damage.

Rebuilt after the war, Haiphong is now one of Vietnam's major ports, together with Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Da Nang, which are both located on the South China Sea. The deep-water port, with its three main docks, is one of Southeast Asia's busiest container ports. In recent times, the city has become popular as a tourist destination, with its distinctive colonial architecture and striking flamboyant trees (Delonix regia), as well as the gateway to the stunning Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Red River (English translation of the Chinese "Hong He") flows from Yunnan, in southwest China, through northern Vietnam to the Gulf of Tonkin. It owes its name to the reddish-brown colour of its silt-laden waters. The 1948 Western film "Red River", starring John Wayne and Montgomery Clift, is named after one of the many Red Rivers found in the US - the one known as Red River of the South. All the rivers mentioned as wrong answers are found in East Asia.

This question flowed smoothly into the quiz courtesy of LadyNym of the Phoenix Rising team.

Answer: Fragrant Harbour

There are conflicting stories/legends as to how Hong Kong got its name. One of the most prominent is the Aquilaria sinensis, or agarwood, a timber prized for its aromatic properties. Another points to the scent of the incense factories that line the shores of Northern Kowloon and have their wares stored in Aberdeen Harbour. Some will say that it is because of the sweet taste of the harbour's fresh water which flows in from the Pearl River, while another theory links the name to red soil over which a waterfall flowed that made its way into the city.

The Port of Hong Kong, located on the Maritime Silk Road in the South China Sea, is a deep-water seaport dominated by container trade and, to a much lesser extent, raw materials and passengers. It is a mark of how busy the port is when it is one of the busiest passenger ports in the world. The port is a major factor in Hong Kong's economic development. The twin attributes of natural shelter and deep water of Victoria Harbour provide ideal ship berthing conditions. It has consistently been one of the top ten of the busiest ports in the world, in all three categories of shipping movements, cargo handled, and passengers carried.

This question was joint effort by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19, whose name means Dancing Bear, and 1nn1, whose name does not.

Answer: True

Ironically, the Korean capital, Seoul, developed as the country's biggest city by becoming a trading port built on the Han River, which was navigable west into the Yellow Sea with its close access to Chinese and Japanese ports. However, the river is no longer navigable, and Seoul's port is actually the neighbouring coastal city of Incheon.

Busan is located on the south-eastern tip of the Korean peninsula, being geographically more favourable to regional shipping trade. Busan as a city grew massively during and immediately after the Korean War. Because of its southern location, it was never invaded, and hundreds of thousands of refugees sought shelter there. Additionally, Seoul's proximity to the 38th parallel meant it was a risky port for military supplies from the US and other allies to be unloaded. So all military shipping activity during the war occurred at Busan. After the war the port and city thrived in unison. In 2018, Busan was the sixth biggest port in the world by shipping movements, and 80% of all Korean container shipping moves through this port.

This question was unloaded into the quiz by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1.

Answer: Yokohama

Located 31km (19 mi) south-west of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay, Yokohama is now part of the Tokyo conurbation, but in 1853 it was a sleepy fishing village. When Matthew Perry arrived in 1853 with American warships, and demanded Japan end its seclusion period and open its ports to international commerce, the Japanese agreed by signing the Treaty of Peace and Amity. Kanagawa, just south of Tokyo, was one of these ports, but it was too close to the Tokaido (a major highway between Edo and Osaka via Kyoto) for Japanese comfort, so port facilities were purposely built across the inlet at Yokohama.

The Port of Yokohama was opened on 2 June, 1859. It quickly became the centre of foreign trade in Japan where trade in silk was a vastly traded commodity. During the American occupation of post-WWII, and subsequently the Korean War, Yokohama became a massive transshipment port for the Americans, and the city grew largely due to port trade. In 2021 it had a population of 3.8 million, and has diversified to become a major economic, cultural, and commercial centre in the Tokyo conurbation.

This question sailed into the quiz from Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1.

Answer: its harbour freezes in winter

Located in the extreme southeast of the Russian Far East, on the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, Vladivostok ("Ruler of the East"), a city of over 800,000, is the largest Russian city on the Pacific Coast. As such it serves a number of transport functions: The Golden Horn Bay on which the city is built around is a natural harbour, and houses the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy.

Whilst it is cold for a city at only 43 degrees north, snow is light and the bay never freezes. This is a key component to its strategic position. The port is as busy as Hamburg or London, and serves as a link between the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Pacific Sea routes, making it both an essential cargo and passenger port. A key part of that is the importation of Japan cars (over 250,000 in 2018 - the city is only 44 hours from Honshu ports via ship). This industry employs 1 in 3 people in Vladivostok. Not bad for a city that did not exist as settlement until 1860.

This question sailed into the quiz from Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1.