Cape Town
2,455 km²
Xi'an
10,097 km²
South Africa
People's Republic of China
Area Comparison
Cape Town is 4.1x smaller than Xi'an
Population Comparison
Cape Town has 3.4x fewer people than Xi'an
Xi'an is significantly larger, covering 4.1 times the area of Cape Town. Xi'an spans 10,097 km² (3,898 mi²) while Cape Town covers 2,455 km² (948 mi²) — a difference of 7,642 km². You could fit Cape Town inside Xi'an approximately 4 times.
To put Cape Town's size in perspective, its area of 2,455 km² is roughly the same size as Moscow. Meanwhile, Xi'an at 10,097 km² is about 1.6x the size of Shanghai.
Cape Town's footprint is roughly about 344,000 American football fields, 42 times the area of Manhattan, or 23 times the area of Paris — pick whichever unit feels intuitive. Xi'an, by comparison, equals about 1,400,000 American football fields, 170 times the area of Manhattan, or 96 times the area of Paris.
Cape Town is the legislative capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's second-largest city by population, after Johannesburg, and the largest city in the Western Cape. The city is part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality.
Known as "The Mother City", Cape Town covers 2,455 km² with a population of 3.8 million. The city was established in 1652. Cape Town is known for Table Mountain, Cape of Good Hope, Robben Island, among other attractions.
Cape Town is South Africa's oldest city, founded in 1652 and home to the seat of the national Parliament.
Xi'an is the capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populous city in Northwestern China. Its total population was 12.95 million in the 2020 census, including an urban population of 9.28 million.
Often called "Ancient Capital", Xi'an has an area of 10,097 km² and is home to 12.9 million people. Visitors come for Terracotta Army, Xi'an City Wall, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, and much more.
Xi'an's 2020 census recorded 12.95 million residents, making it the most populous city in Northwestern China.
Cape Town has a population density of 1,540 people per km² — a relatively spread-out city. Xi'an, with 1,283 people per km², is a relatively spread-out city. Both cities have comparable density, though Cape Town is slightly more compact.
Size Ratio
Cape Town fits inside Xi'an ~4 times
Cape Town covers 2,455 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Moscow (2,511 km²), Lima (2,672 km²), Tokyo (2,194 km²), Ho Chi Minh City (2,061 km²), or Shenzhen (1,997 km²).
Xi'an covers 10,097 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Melbourne (9,993 km²), Wuhan (8,569 km²), Sydney (12,368 km²), Guangzhou (7,434 km²), or Chengdu (14,378 km²).
Cape Town vs São Paulo
South Africa / Brazil
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Cape Town vs Washington D.C.
South Africa / USA
Chengdu vs Xi'an
People's Republic of China / People's Republic of China
Beijing vs Xi'an
China / People's Republic of China
Amsterdam vs Xi'an
Netherlands / People's Republic of China
The straight-line distance from Cape Town to Xi'an is 12,085 km (7,510 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~14h 43m.
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