 OVERVIEW
Visitors to Mexico City can hardly be bored by the limitless supplies of fun
and surprises in this hub of Mexico's industry, culture and politics.
Mexico City is a burgeoning metropolis with over 20 million population crowded
together, making it the world's third largest city after Tokyo and New York.
The most exuberant, brought about by modernization, and the ramshackle, product
of the Aztec past, are presented in their highest contrast in this heart of the
country. As a result, there are literally hundred of things to do and see
in this energy-packed, internationally renowned corner of the world with a
unique air of pre-Hispanic, colonial and modern worlds mingled together.
HISTORY IN BRIEF
Around 1325 AD, the area of Mexico City was occupied by the warrior tribe
"Aztecas" under the spiritual instruction for their god to find and
establish a foothold on an island on a lake where an eagle was devouring a
serpent while perching on a cactus. This settlement became Tenochtitlan,
the majestic and well-organized stone-built capital of the Aztecs. The
tribal population (or Mexica as they called themselves) grew in the subsequent
decades as well as its influence over the nearby neighbors. However, by
the time Cortes and his armada arrived at the shore of this island, the Aztecas
had lost its power significantly that its enemy - the Tlaxcaltecas - succeed in
helping the Spanish took over this land and colonized it in 1521 until the
liberation 300 years later.
GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
Mexico City is located on a 5,000 sq km of
dry bed of lake Texcoco which is about 7,800 feet above the sea level, and is
surrounded by towering mountains. The climate is generally cool and dry,
and there is no great variation of temperatures during the year. However,
a broad temperature range can occur between night and day. The rainy
season covers the period from June to September while the winter months which is
actually a warm and dry season covers the period from December to January.
ECONOMY
Mexico City dominates the nation's economy as it's the center of the federal
government, the Mexican stock exchange (Bolsa Mexicana de Valores or BMV), the
largest banks, insurance companies, finance houses and multinational companies
as well as a manufacturing belt. The main industries here include
construction and production of iron and steel, textiles, plastics, furniture,
cement, and tourism which is growing. Mexico City also has the highest living cost in the country.
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