Gujranwala - City of Wrestlers (Punjab)
Gujranwala is the third-largest industrial city of Pakistan at a distance of 96 km from Lahore on G. T. Road. It is also known as the city of wrestlers as well as the city of food lovers. It is the fifth most populous city in Pakistan. It is also known as the Golden Triangle of industrial cities, as it plays a major role in the exports of Pakistan.
There is a number of small and medium industries which play a major role in generating foreign revenue for Pakistan. Fan industry is one of the major industry, it exports best quality fans to the Middle East. Other important industries are sanitary fittings, ceramic industry, hosiery & textile manufacturing, iron and steel industry, etc. Gujranwala also contributes a reasonable part in national GDP of Pakistan. More than 25,000 different types of small cottage industry units are also in operation in Gujranwala.
Gujranwala is founded in the 18th century by Gujjar tribes. There is a number of historical remains in the city which describe the effects of various regimes such as Mughals, Sikhs, Abdalies, etc. It is also the place of birth of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, a well-known ruler of the Sikh Regime.
As the city is famous for different traditional foods, so large number of tourists have visited the city to eat those foods in which tikka, chirra(sparrow), lassi (yogurt shake), etc are much famous. You can enjoy the real traditional taste of Punjab dishes in the city of Gujranwala.
Gujranwala is located in the Rechna Doab between the Chenab River and Ravi River on the plains of the Punjab at elevation of 744 feet above sea level. It is connected with Ghakhar Mandi, Lahore, Sialkot, Gujrat, Hafizabad, and Pindi Bhattian. Gujranwala city is connected with rail and road with other cities of Pakistan. It is connected with the main rail track from Karachi to Peshawar. There is no airport in the city, but Sialkot International Airport Sialkot and Allam Iqbal International Airport Lahore are air services to Gujranwala.
As it is the birth place of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and as capital of the Sukerchakia Misl state from 1763 to 1799 in the Sikh regime. So there are number of buildings related of the Sikh regime in Gujranwala city. These are building of Maharaja Ranjit Singh birthplace, Sheranwal Baradari, and Tomb of Maha Singh father of Ranjit Singh.
Ghanta Ghar, Estcount Clock Tower, was build in 1906 by the British. City also has three historical gates, Brandreth, Khiyali, and Lahore gates. These were constructed during the Sikh regime, but rebuilt by the British in their rule.
The ruin of a historical Sikh Gurdwar is located near Aimnabad in the Gujranwala district. It was a large size building that might used for various religious activities of the Sikh religion. There is also a historical mosque, called Lodhi Mosque, in the town of Aimnabab that was constructed by Ibrahim Lodhi nearly in 1515 or 1517. It is single domed building constructed with small bricks without any steel enforcement. Both of these historical buildings are being neglected by the authorities, so it will be lost in the time in near future forever.
Gujranwala weather is hot and semi-arid. It is hot in summer and temperature normally lies between 36-42 Celsius. In winter season, temperature is not much low, but rather cool.