Bandung is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia and fourth-largest city in Indonesia. Greater Bandung is the country's second-largest metropolitan area with over 11 million inhabitants. Located 768 metres above sea level, the highest point in the North area with an altitude of 1,050 meters and the lowest in the South is 675 meters above sea level, approximately 140 kilometres southeast of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler year-round temperatures than most other Indonesian cities. The city lies on a river basin surrounded by volcanic mountains that provides a natural defense system, which was the primary reason for the Dutch East Indies government's plan to move the capital from Batavia to Bandung.
The Dutch first established tea plantations around the mountains in the 18th century, and a road was constructed to connect the plantation area to the colonial capital Batavia. In the early 20th century the Dutch inhabitants of Bandung demanded the establishment of a municipality, which was granted in 1906, and Bandung gradually developed into a resort city for plantation owners.