Kuala Lumpur and often abbreviated as K.L., is the capital and the largest city of Malaysia. The city proper, making up an area of 244?km2 (94?sq?mi), has an estimated population of 1.6 million in 2006. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million. It is the fastest growing metropolitan region in the country, in terms of population as well as economy.

Kuala Lumpur is the seat of the Parliament of Malaysia, making it the country's legislative capital. The city was once home to the executive and judicial branches of the federal government, but they have since moved to Putrajaya starting in 1999. Some sections of the judiciary remain in the capital. The official residence of the Malaysian King, the Istana Negara, is also situated in Kuala Lumpur. The city is also the cultural and economic centre of Malaysia due to its position as the capital as well as being a primate city. Kuala Lumpur is rated as a gamma world city, and is the only global city in Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur is defined within the borders of the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and is one of three Malaysian Federal Territories. It is an enclave within the state of Selangor, on the central west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Residents of the city are known as KLites.

Beginning in the 1990s, the city has played host to many international sporting, political and cultural events including the 1998 Commonwealth Games and the Formula One World Championship. In addition, Kuala Lumpur is home to the tallest twin buildings in the world, the Petronas Twin Towers.

Arts

Frieze depicting Malaysian history at the National Museum

Kuala Lumpur is a hub for cultural activities and events in Malaysia. Among the centres is the National Museum which is situated along the Mahameru Highway. Its collection comprises artifacts and paintings collected throughout the country.

Kuala Lumpur also has an Islamic Arts Museum which houses more than seven thousands Islamic artefacts including rare exhibits from China as well as a library of Islamic art books. This museum features some impressively decorated domes and large open exhibition spaces. It is located at Jalan Lembah Perdana next to the National Mosque.

The premier performing arts venue is the Petronas Philharmonic Hall. The resident orchestra is the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO), consisting of musicians from all over the world and features regular concerts, chamber concerts and traditional cultural performances.

The National Art Gallery of Malaysia is located on Jalan Temerloh, off Jalan Tun Razak on a 5.67-hectare (14.0-acre) site neighbouring the National Theater (Istana Budaya) and National Library. The architecture of the gallery incorporates elements of traditional Malay architecture, as well as contemporary modern architecture. The National Art Gallery serves as a centre of excellence and trustee of the national art heritage.

The Petronas Art Gallery, another centre for fine art, is situated in Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC). The Galeri Tangsi near Dataran Merdeka houses exhibitions of works by local and foreign artists.

The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) in Sentul West is one of the most established centres for the performing arts, notably theatre, music, and film screening, in the country. It has housed many local productions and has been a supporter of local and regional independent performance artists. One of the highlights in 2006 was the KL Sing Song 2006 music fest which featured Malaysian singer-songwriters of various cultural backgrounds, from both West and East Malaysia, through two days of performances and workshops.

Kuala Lumpur holds the Malaysia International Gourmet Festival annually.Another event hosted annually by the city is the Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week, which includes international brands as well as local designers.

Sports and recreation

The National Stadium at Bukit Jalil.

Kuala Lumpur has numerous parks and open spaces for recreational purposes. Total open space for recreational and sport facilities land use in the city has increased significantly by 169.6 percent from 586?hectares (1,450 acres) in 1984 to 1,580?hectares (3,900 acres) in 2000.

Kuala Lumpur is one of the host cities for the Formula One World Championship, the open-wheel auto racing A1 Grand Prix and the Motorcycle Grand Prix with races being held at Sepang International Circuit in the neighbouring state of Selangor, next to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The Formula One event contributes significantly to tourist arrivals and tourism income to Kuala Lumpur. This is evident during the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998. Despite cities around Asia suffering declining tourist arrivals, Kuala Lumpur tourist arrivals increased from 6,210,900 in 1997 to 10,221,600 in 2000, or 64.6% increase in tourist arrivals.

KL Grand Prix CSI 5*, a five-star international showjumping equestrian event is held annually in the city. This annual event draws the world?s top riders and their prized horses to Malaysia.

Other annual sport events hosted by the city include the KL Tower Run, the KL Tower International BASE Jump Merdeka Circuit and the Kuala Lumpur International Marathon. Kuala Lumpur is also one of the stages of the Tour de Langkawi cycling race.

The annual Malaysia Open Super Series badminton tournament is held in Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur has a considerable array of sports facilities of international class after hosting the 1998 Commonwealth Games. Many of these facilities including the main stadium (with running track and a football field), hockey stadium and swimming pools are located in the National Sports Complex at Bukit Jalil while a velodrome and more swimming pools are located in Bandar Tun Razak, next to the Taman Tasik Permaisuri Lake Gardens. There are also soccer fields, local sports complexes, swimming pools and tennis courts scattered around the suburbs. Badminton and ?takraw? courts are usually included in community halls.

Kuala Lumpur has several golf courses including the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (KLGCC) and the Malaysia Civil Service Golf Club in Kiara and the Berjaya Golf Course at Bukit Jalil.

The city also has numerous large private fitness centers run by California Fitness, Fitness First, Celebrity Gym, True Fitness and the major five star hotels.

Media

The Kuala Lumpur Tower is an important broadcast centre in the country.

There are several newspapers, including daily newspapers, business newspapers and also a digital newspaper, based in Kuala Lumpur. Daily newspapers include Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian, Harian Metro, The Star, New Straits Times, The Sun, Malay Mail, Kosmo! as well as other language newspapers. Kuala Lumpur is also the headquarters for Malaysia's state broadcaster RTM and commercial station TV3. Programmes are broadcast in Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil.

The city is also home to the country's main pay-TV service, Astro, a satellite television service, which broadcasts local and global television channels such as CNN, BBC World, Star World and HBO.Al-Jazeera, the Doha-based Arab news network has launched a new English-speaking channel called Al-Jazeera English to boost its international viewership with one of its broadcast centers based in Kuala Lumpur. Phoenix TV, a Hong Kong based television broadcaster has also announced plans to expand its regional business by partnership with local satellite TV provider, Astro. The Hong Kong office of Channel V International, an international music channel, relocated its programme production unit in Kuala Lumpur by appointing the local company Double Vision Sdn Bhd.[88] In March 2008, Time Out, the international listings and events magazine, launched in Kuala Lumpur as its 24th global city.

Kuala Lumpur has been featured in all aspects of popular culture such as movies, television, music and books. Movies set in Kuala Lumpur includes Entrapment, starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Children of Men, (starring Clive Owen) where the Petronas Twin Towers were depicted in flames for a few seconds. Books which were set in Kuala Lumpur include KL 24/7 by Ida M Rahim, Shireen Zainudin and Rizal Zainudin and Democracy by Joan Didion.Kuala Lumpur is also mentioned in many songs by local Malaysian artists such as Keroncong Kuala Lumpur by P. Ramlee, Kuala Lumpur, Ibu Kota by Saloma, Chow Kit Road by Sudirman Arshad, Senyumlah Kuala Lumpur by Alleycats, Streets of Kuala Lumpur by Murkyway, K.L. by Vandal, Kuala Lumpur by Poetic Ammo, Anak Dara by Azmyl Yunor and KL by Too Phat. Kuala Lumpur was also one of the destinations in The Amazing Race Asia and The Amazing Race. Games have also been set in Kuala Lumpur. They include three levels of the game Hitman 2: Silent Assassin and two levels of the PlayStation 2 game Burnout Dominator.

Unlike most other Asian cities, driving is the main mode of commuting in Kuala Lumpur.Hence, every part of the city is well connected by highways. As capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur has a comprehensive road network that leads to the rest of Peninsular Malaysia. High speed roadways, or expressways are tolled roadways, and motorist using these expressways have an option of paying by cash, or by stored value cards such as Touch 'n Go and SmartTAG.

In terms of air connectivity, Kuala Lumpur is served by two airports. The main airport, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), which is also the aviation hub of Malaysia, is located about 50?kilometres (31?mi) south of city. The other airport is Subang Airport which used to be the main international airport serving the city until KLIA replaced it when it opened in 1998. The airport connects the city with direct flights to destinations in six continents around the world,and is the main hub for the national carrier, Malaysia Airlines. KLIA can be reached using the KLIA Ekspres high-speed train service from KL Sentral which takes only twenty-eight?minutes, while travelling by car via highway will take about an hour. As of 2007, Subang Airport is only used for chartered and turboprops flights by airlines such as Firefly and Berjaya Air.

Public transport on Kuala Lumpur and the rest of the Klang Valley covers a variety of transport modes such as bus, rail and taxi. Despite efforts to promote usage of public transportation, utilisation rates are low as only 16 percent of the population used public transportation in 2006. The rapid transit system in Kuala Lumpur consists of three separate rail systems which meet in the city and extends towards other parts of Klang Valley. The rail systems are RapidKL RAIL, KL Monorail, and KTM Komuter. These lines have either underground or elevated stations around the city. The main rapid transit hub is KL Sentral which facilitates as an interchange station for the rail systems. KL Sentral is also a hub for intercity railway operated by KTM Intercity. It provides rail services to as far as Singapore in the south, and Hat Yai, Thailand, in the north.

The largest public transportation operator in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley is RapidKL. Since the take over from Intrakota Komposit Sdn Bhd, RapidKL has redrawn the entire bus network of Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley metropolitan area to increase ridership and improve Kuala Lumpur's public transportation system. The management of RapidKL has adopted the hub and spoke system to provide greater connectivity, and cut down the need of more buses. RapidKL is also the operator of three rapid transit rail lines in Kuala Lumpur, namely Ampang Line, Sri Petaling Line and Kelana Jaya Line.

Kuala Lumpur is served by Port Klang, located about 64?km (40?mi) southwest of the city. The port is the largest and busiest in the country handling about 6.3 million?twenty-foot equivalent units?(TEU) of cargo in 2006.