:: About Cochin
Kochi (formerly known as Cochin) is the largest city in the state of Kerala, India, and is its principal seaport. It is located in the district of Ernakulam. The city derives its name from the Malayalam word "Kochazhi" meaning small lagoon. This was shortened to Cochin by the westerners for easy pronunciation. The city reverted back to its original name Kochi in 1996. This change in name was challenged by the city municipal corporation and officially, the city is still called "Cochin".
Also known as "Queen of the Arabian Sea", Kochi is located in the district of Ernakulam, about 220 km north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. Old Kochi loosely refers to a group of islands which comprise Willingdon Island, Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, etc. Today Kochi includes Ernakulam city, old parts of Kochi, Kumbalangi, and outlying islands.

:: The City
Kochi was famous for its natural harbour and was the centre of the Indian spice trade for many centuries. It is home to a naval base and an airport, and is well connected to all the major Indian cities. Willingdon Island is a large artificial island, created by dredging the Vembanad Lake under Lord Willingdon's direction. A large shipyard makes ships, especially cruisers and carriers for the Indian Navy, and straddles Willingdon Island.
Fort Kochi, situated on the Fort Kochi/Mattancherry peninsula, is the historical part of the city and home to many tourist attractions, such as the cantilevered Chinese fishing nets, the Mattancherry Palace and the Santa Cruz Basilica. Most economic activity is now centred in Ernakulam, however.
Kochi is well connected to other parts of the world through roads, rail, water and air. There is an international airport called Cochin International Airport which is about 25 km from the city. The Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) is located in Kochi, as are many other educational institutions. The Maharaja's College, which has seen the best of literary figures within its faculty and its students, is one of them. Kochi has a lot of sight seeing places. Some of them are the Bolgatty palace, Chinese fishing nets, boating through the back waters, the Tripunithura Palace (also called Hill Palace; on the top of a hill). There are two railway stations which are very close to the city and have trains to all the places in the country.
Kochi also houses the Southern Naval Command ( INS Venduruthy) of the Indian Navy. Due to this, the surrounding places, Thevara, Thoppumpady, Fortcochi, Kadavanthra etc are home to people (mainly Navy Personnel) from all parts of India.
The population is a mix of people from all parts of Kerala and most of India. Malayalam is the language of communication, although English is used in business circles. English, Hindi and Tamil are widely understood, but rarely spoken.
Kochi is also home to the longest bridge in Kerala, spanning 4.2 km (2.6 mi) from Thevara to Kundannoor crossing Nettoor and Kumbalam.

:: History and heritage
The history of Kochi dated back to early 15th century. During the Yong Le era of Ming Dynasty, Admiral Zheng He and his treasure fleet visited Kochi. Their visits were documented by on board Arab language translators Ma Huan,Fei Xin and Gong Zheng,each one of them published a book documented their visits to variou countries, including Kochi.(There is an English translation of Ma Huan’s book Ying yai sheng lan (The Overall survey of the ocean shores.
¤The name of the king of Kochi was Koyili,he was a buddhist.
¤The main product of Kochi was pepper.The rich merchants or chetti of Kochi, collected pepper from local farmers and exchange them with arab merchants for pearls, coral and spice, then in turn wait for the arrival of Zheng He's fleet to trade for porcelain and silk.
¤ In 1405 King Koyili sent envoy Vanjatar to pay tribute to Emperor Zhu Di of Ming Empire.
¤In 1412 King Koyili sent envoy to Ming Court a second time, requested a formal Imperial instituion of a mountain in Kochi.
¤In 1416 Emperor Zhu Di formally instituted king Koyili as "King of Kochi". The Emperor also instituted a mountain in Kochi as National Guardian Mountain (镇国山), with institution poem (in 16 stanzas, 64 Chinese characters )written by Emperor Zhu Di himself inscribed on a stone tablet as Imperial present.
Cochin was once controlled by Portugal (from 1503 to 1663), followed by the Netherlands; the city and its territory were ceded to the United Kingdom in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 in exchange for the island of Banca.
The synagogue in Kochi is the oldest in India. Kochi was a major settlement for a large Jewish community, which figured prominently in the business and economic strata of Kochi society. They were known as Malabar Yehuden and now increasingly as Cochin Jews. The community has now almost entirely migrated to Israel and the United States. The copper tablets presented to them in ancient times were shipped to Kennedy Airport Sanctuary where they are on display. Kochi now has a multicultural and secular community comprising Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Jains, Sikhs and other denominations. Syrian Orthodoxy was the sole Christian tradition in Cochin for a long time. However, since the Portuguese invasion of the princely state of Cochin (then known as Perumpadapu Swaroopam) in the 1500s, Roman Catholicism has been a dominant force in the city. Kochi also harboured the grave of Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer, who was buried at St. Francis Church until his remains were returned to Portugal in 1539.

:: Major Employers in the City
¤ Kochi International Airport, situated 30 km north of the city at Nedumbassery is the first port of call for most of the people coming to the state of Kerala by air. The airport also acts as an air-cargo terminal for most of the state.
¤ The Southern Naval Command (INS Venduruthy) of the Indian Navy is situated at Venduruthy about 5 kilometers south of the city centre.
¤ The Cochin Shipyard is another major employer in the city and also one of the biggest ship builduing facilities in South India.
¤ Cochin Port Trust, located on Willington Island, controls the Cochin Port.
¤ Kochi Refineries Limited (KRL), a petroleum refinery situated in Ambalamedu, on the outskirts of the city.
¤ Fertilisers and Chemicals Travencore (FACT) located at Udyogamandal and Ambalamedu.
¤ The High Court Of Kerala is situated in the city. Consequentially, legal services are a major contributor to the economy.
¤ Tourism and allied industries employ a large number of people in the city.
¤ Kochi is now become a new destination for IT enabled services and related business and is the IT capital of Kerala.
¤ Situated 17 km north of the town of Cochin, Eloor(Udyogamandal) is an island of 11.21 square kilometers. On it, is the largest industrial belt in Kerala. There are more than 247 chemical industries (FACT,Travancore Cochin Chemicals,Indian Rare Earths), including the only DDT-producing facility in India (Hindustan Insecticides Limited) and many others manufacturing a range of things; chemical-petrochemical products , pesticides, rare earth elements, and rubber processing chemicals, fertilizers, zinc/chrome compounds and leather products. Most of these units have been here for the last fifty years and use extremely obsolete and polluting technologies. As a result, Eloor has become one of the most toxic parts of the country according to greenpeace.org. ther than these big companies, there are several small units in the service sector that cater and contribute to the economy.