City Asia
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital city of Uzbekistan, in Central Asia. Its summers are hot and dry. A very tall TV tower stands over the city.
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan, in Central Asia. It grew up in an oasis watered by the Chirchiq River, at the foot of the Tian Shan mountains. Its metro opened in 1977, and its TV tower is 375 meters tall. Uzbekistan's official estimate gives 3,112,748 people in the city at the start of 2025.
Tashkent, in an oasis irrigated by the Chirchiq on the western foothills of the Tian Shan, became the seat of the Russian Empire's Turkestan governorate in 1868, capital of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic in 1930 and capital of independent Uzbekistan in 1991. The official estimate for 1 January 2025 is 3,112,748 people.
Photo: Guidecity, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital city of Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan's leaders work here.
The city grew up where a river brings water to dry land.
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan, a country in Central Asia. The city lies at the foot of the Tian Shan mountains, in an oasis: a green, watered area in dry land. The Chirchiq River and its branches bring the water.
A popular explanation says the name means 'stone city', from tash, 'stone', and kent, 'city'. Uzbekistan's official estimate gives 3,112,748 people in the city on 1 January 2025.
Universalis places Tashkent on the western foothills of the Tian Shan, in an oasis irrigated by the Chirchiq and its tributaries, at a crossroads between the Fergana basin and Uzbekistan's western and southern regions, close to the border with Kazakhstan. By popular etymology its name comes from tash, 'stone', and kent, 'town'; an older name was Chach.
The official estimates shown by City Population give 2,371,269 people in 2015 and 3,112,748 on 1 January 2025. Universalis notes that there had been no census since 1989.
- Country
- Uzbekistan (capital)
- People in the city (official estimate, 1 January 2025)
- 3,112,748
- River
- the Chirchiq and its tributaries
- Name
- popularly explained as 'stone city' (tash, stone; kent, city)
A TV tower built for earthquakes
Tashkent's TV tower is very, very tall. It helps send out TV programs.
Fast elevators carry visitors up inside it.
The Tashkent TV tower is 375 meters tall. Because the region has earthquakes, Uzbekistan's tourism office says, its engineers gave it an unusual lattice frame. It has three parts: a central trunk with the antennas and elevators, a lattice frame, and a tripod with three legs.
The metal structure weighs more than 6,000 tonnes and sits on a foundation 11 meters deep. Three fast elevators lift visitors more than 100 meters up.
According to Uzbekistan's national tourism site, the tower stands on ground 486 m above sea level and rose to 375 m; it was then the fourth-tallest tower in the world. To cope with the region's seismic activity, engineers designed a complex lattice structure in three parts: a central trunk holding the antenna and elevator parts, a lattice frame, and a 100 m tripod, whose 'cup' holds the trunk and whose legs rest on three separate foundations.
Over 6,000 tonnes of metal rest on an 11 m deep foundation, and three high-speed elevators take visitors to more than 100 m. The site calls it a broadcasting center that runs around the clock.
- Height of the TV tower
- 375 m
- Ground it stands on
- 486 m above sea level
- Metal structure
- more than 6,000 tonnes, on a foundation 11 m deep
An old city that grew fast
People have lived in Tashkent for a very long time. The ruins of an old fort make a hill in the city.
The city grew and grew, until millions of people lived there.
On one of Tashkent's central streets, not far from Amir Temur Square, there is a hill called Ming Urik, which means 'Thousand Apricots'. It hides the ruins of an old fortress. Archaeologists say a city stood here by the beginning of the 1st century AD.
In 1865 Russian armies took the city, and in 1868 it became the seat of the Russian government of Turkestan. In 1930 it became the capital of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, and since 1991 it has been the capital of an independent Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan's tourism site describes Ming Urik ('Thousand Apricots') as the ruins of a fortress that guarded Chach; archaeological research shows a city there by the beginning of the 1st century AD, and the first finds were made at the end of the 19th century.
Universalis notes that Bukhara, Khiva, Kokand and Samarkand were Turkestan's main cities at the time of the Russian colonial conquest; after Russian forces took Tashkent in 1865, it became the seat of the Turkestan governorate in 1868 and replaced Samarkand as capital of the Uzbek SSR in 1930. Its population rose from 59,000 in 1876 to 155,000 in 1897, 314,000 in 1926, 927,000 in 1959 and more than 2,079,000 at the 1989 census.
- Ming Urik settlement
- a city here by the beginning of the 1st century AD
- Capital of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic
- from 1930, in place of Samarkand
- People in 1876 and 1989
- 59,000 and more than 2,079,000
A metro built near the surface
Tashkent has a metro: trains that run under the city.
The tunnels are close to the ground above them, because of earthquakes.
Building of Tashkent's metro began in 1968, and the first line opened on 6 November 1977. UrbanRail explains that the tunnels do not run very deep because of the danger of earthquakes.
More lines followed: one crossing the city from northwest to southeast, opened between 1984 and 1991, and another line in 2001. Since 2020 parts of a new circle line have opened, planned to be 55 kilometers long.
UrbanRail records that construction began in 1968 and the Chilonzor line opened on 6 November 1977, with tunnels kept shallow because of the earthquake danger, Moscow-type four-car trains and 100 m platforms. The Uzbekiston line, crossing the city diagonally via Tashkent railway station, opened in stages from 1984 to 1991, and the Yunusobod line's first 7.6 km on 24 October 2001.
The first 11 km of a planned 55 km circle line opened on 30 August 2020, with further sections in April 2023 and March 2024; a mostly elevated 7 km extension joined the Chilonzor line in December 2020.
- Metro opened
- 6 November 1977 (building began in 1968)
- Why the tunnels are shallow
- the danger of earthquakes
- Circle line
- first 11 km opened on 30 August 2020
Hot, dry summers and a wet spring
Summer days in Tashkent are very hot, and it hardly rains.
Winter is cool, and spring is the wettest time of year.
Tashkent has hot, dry summers and cool winters. The World Meteorological Organization's averages give July days of about 36 °C and nights of about 19 °C. In January, days average about 6 °C and nights about −3 °C.
A year brings about 419 millimeters of rain and snow. March is the wettest month, and from June to September very little rain falls: August averages only 2 millimeters.
WMO averages give highs and lows of 35.7 °C and 19.4 °C in July, the hottest month, and 5.8 °C and −3.1 °C in January, the coldest; December and February also have average lows below freezing.
The monthly averages add up to about 419 mm a year. March is the wettest month (72.3 mm), and June to September together bring only 17.1 mm, with August the driest (2.0 mm and about 2 rainy days).
- January, average daily high and low (WMO)
- 5.8 °C and −3.1 °C
- July, average daily high and low (WMO)
- 35.7 °C and 19.4 °C
- Rain and snow in a year (sum of the monthly averages)
- about 419 mm
Gardens and a bazaar
Tashkent has a big garden with thousands of kinds of plants.
At the Chorsu Bazaar, people sell pottery, wood carvings and clothes.
Tashkent's Botanical Garden covers 66 hectares in the north of the city. It grows more than 6,000 kinds of plants from Central Asia, East Asia, the Far East, Europe and North America. Water from a canal flows to its plants by gravity.
At the Chorsu Bazaar and in old madrasas, souvenir workshops sell wood carvings, pottery and traditional clothes, Uzbekistan's tourism office says.
The Tashkent Botanical Garden, named after F. N. Rusanov, belongs to the Institute of the Gene Pool of Plants and Animals of the Academy of Sciences. Rusanov started Uzbekistan's first botanical garden in 1920; today's garden covers 66 ha in the north of the city and holds more than 6,000 species and varieties, including 170 conifers and more than 2,000 perennial grasses, watered by gravity from the Akkurgan canal.
The tourism site notes that most souvenir workshops are in old madrasas and at the Chorsu Bazaar, selling carved wood, pottery and national clothes.
- Botanical Garden
- 66 hectares; more than 6,000 kinds of plants
- First botanical garden in Uzbekistan
- 1920, started by F. N. Rusanov
- Chorsu Bazaar
- a market with craft workshops
Tashkent on the map
Find Uzbekistan on the globe. It is in Central Asia.
Tashkent is in the east of Uzbekistan, near the mountains.
Tashkent is in the east of Uzbekistan, in Central Asia, close to the border with Kazakhstan and at the foot of the Tian Shan mountains.
Measured from Amir Temur Square, the Ming Urik hill is about 1.5 kilometers to the south-southeast, the TV tower about 4 kilometers to the north, the Chorsu Bazaar about 4 kilometers to the west-northwest and the Botanical Garden about 5 kilometers to the northeast.
Tashkent lies at about 41.3° N and 69.3° E, on the western foothills of the Tian Shan near the Kazakhstan border.
Measured from Amir Temur Square, the Ming Urik settlement is about 1.5 km south-southeast, the TV tower about 3.8 km north, the Chorsu Bazaar about 4.1 km west-northwest and the Botanical Garden about 4.7 km northeast.
- Latitude
- about 41.3° north
- Longitude
- about 69.3° east
- TV tower
- about 3.8 km north of Amir Temur Square
Amazing facts
-
A hill in Tashkent is called 'Thousand Apricots'!
The Ming Urik hill, whose name means 'Thousand Apricots', hides the ruins of an ancient fortress, on one of Tashkent's central streets.
Ming Urik ('Thousand Apricots') is the ruin of a fortress that guarded ancient Chach; archaeologists began working there at the end of the 19th century.
-
Tashkent's metro tunnels are not very deep, because of earthquakes.
Tashkent's metro tunnels were kept close to the surface because the region has earthquakes.
UrbanRail notes that Tashkent's tunnels don't run very deep because of the danger of earthquakes; the network uses Moscow-type four-car trains on 1,524 mm track.
-
The TV tower stands on three big legs, like a tripod.
The bottom of Tashkent's TV tower is a tripod 100 meters tall, and its three legs stand on three separate foundations.
The tower's central trunk sits inside the 'cup' of a 100 m tripod whose legs rest on three separate foundations linked by flexible reinforced-concrete bands.
-
Tashkent's botanical garden has plants from five parts of the world.
Thanks to its microclimate, Tashkent's Botanical Garden grows plants from Central Asia, East Asia, the Far East, Europe and North America.
The garden's collection of more than 6,000 species and varieties includes about 800 tropical and subtropical species; the tourism site credits the garden's microclimate for its plants from five parts of the world.
Words to know
- capital
- the city where a country's government works
- oasis
- a green place in dry land where there is water
- lattice
- a frame of crossing strips or bars with spaces between them
- tripod
- a stand with three legs
- bazaar
- a market with many stalls and small shops
- estimate
- a careful calculation of a number when it has not been counted exactly
Discovery challenge
-
Which country is Tashkent the capital of?
Tashkent is the capital of which country?
Tashkent has been the capital of which independent country since 1991?
- Kazakhstan
- Mongolia
- Uzbekistan
Show the answer
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan!
Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan; Tashkent replaced Samarkand as the Uzbek SSR's capital in 1930.
-
How tall is Tashkent's TV tower?
How tall is the Tashkent TV tower?
What height did the lattice TV tower reach, standing on ground 486 m above sea level?
- 37 meters
- 375 meters
- 3,750 meters
Show the answer
375 meters
375 meters, very, very tall!
375 meters.
375 m.
-
Why are Tashkent's metro tunnels close to the surface?
Why were Tashkent's metro tunnels not built very deep?
What danger does UrbanRail give as the reason the Chilonzor line's tunnels are shallow?
- Earthquakes
- Floods from the sea
- Volcanoes
Show the answer
Earthquakes
Because of earthquakes!
Because of the danger of earthquakes.
Earthquakes.
-
What does the name of the hill Ming Urik mean?
The Ming Urik hill hides an ancient fortress. What does its name mean?
What is the literal meaning of Ming Urik, the ruined fortress of ancient Chach?
- Thousand Apricots
- Big River
- Stone Bridge
Show the answer
Thousand Apricots
Thousand Apricots!
Thousand Apricots.
'Thousand Apricots'.
-
When does Tashkent get the least rain?
In which season does Tashkent get very little rain?
Which months together bring only about 17 mm of Tashkent's roughly 419 mm a year?
- Summer (June to September)
- Winter (December to February)
- Spring (March to May)
Show the answer
Summer (June to September)
In summer, when it is hot and dry!
Summer: August averages only 2 millimeters.
June to September (17.1 mm); March is the wettest month.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Tashkent in eastern Uzbekistan, at the foot of the Tian Shan in Central Asia.
- Explain what an oasis is and how rivers and canals water a city in a dry region.
- Describe how engineers design towers and tunnels for a region with earthquakes.
- Read monthly rainfall averages to describe a climate with a dry summer and a wetter spring.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Tashkent grew in an oasis. Why do you think people built cities where there was water?
- The metro tunnels are shallow because of earthquakes. What other things might builders change in a place with earthquakes?
- The Botanical Garden grows plants from five parts of the world. Which plant from far away would you like to see?
Try at home or in class
- Lattice strength: build two towers of straws, one with crossing straws in a lattice and one without, and gently shake the table.
- Oasis model: make a tray of dry sand, dig a 'river' channel, pour water in and see where you could plant seeds.
- Rain chart: draw Tashkent's monthly rain as bars and color the four driest months.
Key vocabulary: capital, oasis, lattice, tripod, bazaar, estimate
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Uzbekistan: Administrative Division (official estimates) , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Statistics Agency of Uzbekistan
- Tachkent , Encyclopædia Universalis (French)
- Tashkent: the modern metropolis , Uzbekistan.travel, national tourism site of Uzbekistan
- Tashkent TV tower , Uzbekistan.travel, national tourism site of Uzbekistan
- Ancient settlement of Ming Urik , Uzbekistan.travel, national tourism site of Uzbekistan
- Tashkent Botanical Garden , Uzbekistan.travel, national tourism site of Uzbekistan
- Toshkent Metro , UrbanRail.Net (Robert Schwandl)
- File:Tashkent skyline 2019.jpg (Guidecity) , Wikimedia Commons
- Tashkent: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.