Bandung or Bandoeng
[key], city (2020 pop. 2,444,160), capital of Java Barat prov., W Java,
Indonesia, near the Tangkuban Parahu volcano. Formerly the administrative
and military headquarters of the Netherlands East Indies, it is the third
largest city in Indonesia, an industrial hub, a famous educational and
cultural center, and a tourist resort known for its cool, healthful climate.
Founded by the Dutch in 1810, Bandung became important with the arrival of
the railroad in the late 19th cent. Bandung is a textile center and the site
of the country's quinine industry, which uses the cinchona grown on nearby
plantations. Other manufactures include ceramics, chemicals, rubber
products, aircraft, and machinery. The city is the seat of a textile
institute, the Pasteur Institute, a technological institute, several
universities, and a nuclear research center. Nearby is the Malabar radio
station, one of the most powerful in SE Asia. The Bandung Conference of African and Asian
nations, which ultimately led to the establishment of the Nonaligned Movement, was held there in
1955.
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