Kuala Lumpur is situated on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia about midway between north and south and it is approximately 35 km from the coast.

In 1857, a group of tin-miners led by a Malay chief, Raja Abdullah, landed at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers in search of tin; an event that marked the beginning of a city whose early development was closely tied up with a flourishing tin-trade. It began as a small trading post and meeting place for miners from the newly discovered tin-mines upriver. Soon after, a small town of attap huts grew around the trading post and as the tin trade prospered, the town developed.

Then came British intervention and the formation of the Federated Malay States in 1896. Kuala Lumpur Bacame its capital. As the seat of British administration in the Malay States, Kuala Lumpur inherited from this period, its history, a system of roads and the fine examples of gracious colonial architecture which are still evident today.

When the Federation of Malaysia gained its independence in 1957, Kuala Lumpur was declared the Federal capital. In 1972, it achieved city status. At the same time, it also remained as the capital of the state of Selangor, a status it attained in 1887. However, on the 1st of February 1974, it was officially declared a Federal Terriotory which also marked the end of Selangor's jurisdiction over Kuala Lumpur.

Clean and beautiful, with treelined streets, parks and public flower gardens, Kuala Lumpur transforms into a veritable wonderland of lights at night, earning its name ' Garden City of Lights'.