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Lilongwe, (named after the Lilongwe River) is the capital and largest city of Malawi. The city is located in the central region of Malawi, near the borders with Mozambique and Zambia. The city has an estimated population 781,538 as of 2012. Lilongwe has existed for centuries as a small fishing village on the banks of the Lilongwe River. During the British colonial period in the beginning of the 20th century, Lilongwe was chosen as British colonial administrative centre, due to its desirable geography. The area had an easy navigable route to Lake Malawi, and connected to Lusaka (in Zambia), Blantyre and Mzuzu. The administrative area where located in what is now known as the City Centre. Up until the 1930s Lilongwe had at most a population of 5000. After the independence in 1964, Zomba became the capital until 1974 when Hastings Banda made the decision to shift the capital city from Zomba to Lilongwe (against vociferous objections from the British preference for the economically and well developed Blantyre). Lilongwe has seen a rapid population growth and has since 2008 become the most populous city. While Blantyre remains the commercial capital, Lilongwe is gradually replacing Blantyre as the economic capital of Malawi.Lilongwe covers 6,159 km2. Lilongwe is located on plateau situated at an altitude of 1,050 m (3,440 ft) above sea level. Lilongwe features a humid subtropical climate that borders on a subtropical highland climate (Köppen: Cwa), with pleasantly warm summers and mild winters. Due to the altitude, temperatures are lower than would be expected for a city located in the tropics. Lilongwe features a short wet season that runs from December to March and a lengthy dry season that covers much of the remainder of the year, particularly June and July which are cooler than the rest of the year. However, the city sees heavy downpours during its rainy season, seeing around 200 millimetres (7.9 in) of rain in a month during the wettest months. Lilongwe is divided into a New and Old City. The former has hotels, embassies and offices while the latter has markets, bus stations, cafes and restaurants. The modern shops of the City are contrasted by the street and walled markets of Old Town. The Lilongwe Nature Sanctuary is between the Old and New towns and included a "People and Wildlife" animal rescue and education facility. City Centre is the most modern and developed area of Lilongwe. Many banks (Stanbic - or Standard Chartered, National Bank of Malawi, NedBank, the Reserve Bank of Malawi), diplomatic missions, exclusive hotels (Sunbird Capital Hotel), airline offices (including South African Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, British Airways, Kenya Airways) and international corporate offices are located in City Centre. Close to City Centre, on an elevated ground, lies Malawi's Capital Hill which is a large campus of Government Ministries. There are over a dozen office blocks on Capital Hill, including Office of President and Cabinet, Ministries of Finance, Defence, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Education, Works and Transport, Health, Home Affairs and Ministry of Economic Planning. Capital Hill is surrounded by a fence and a ring road, with a maze of streets connecting the office blocks. Due in part to the growth of the expatriate community and the increasing importance of tourism, the number of international restaurants has risen very rapidly over recent years. The city now offers a rich and internationalized diversity of cuisine. There are several youth centres in this town. The city assembly runs the Lilongwe community ground located close to police unit south east of the main bus terminal. The youth centre is surrounded by a wall 10 metres high. Local teams and youth use the facilities to play basketball, football, karate, boxing, volleyball, and many other games. Another major youth centre is Don Bosco Youth Centre located at Area 23, on the outskirts of the town. It is run by the Salesians of Don Bosco. Young people come to this place to play and pray. In addition to the good grounds and courts that it has, there is a technical school that holds over 600 young people who train in different trades. The city features a Wild Life Centre which provides shelter to the orphaned and the rescued animals and comprises both permanent and rehabilitated wild life. Kambuku the Leopard and Bella the lion are its permanent residents. The place also contains hiking trails. Lilongwe's Kamuzu International Airport (LLW) fields regular flights to Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Lusaka and domestic services to Blantyre. The airport is located to the north of Lilongwe, approximately 20 kilometers from the City Centre. There are regular bus services from Lilongwe to Blantyre, Zomba, Kasungu and Mzuzu. International Bus lines connect Lilongwe with Lusaka, Dar es Salaam, Harare and Johannesburg. There is a rail service to Lilongwe. To the west the line runs towards Zambia, and to the east to Salima. Lilongwe is also an educational centre of Malawi. The city is home to many Educational Institutions, including: University of Malawi Bunda College The Malawi Institute of Management (MIM) Kamuzu College of Nursing Lilongwe Technical College