Watch 5,700 Years of World History With This Cool Map

If you live in or have ever visited China, you’ve been to the biggest, most populated cities in the world.

Being surrounded by numerous skyscrapers may make you feel ant-like, but it wasn’t always like this. Cities were once towns and towns were once nothing more than small settlements.

In 2014, Shanghai had a population of roughly 24 million and Beijing had 21 million, ranking them both in the top 10 most populated cities in the world.

Thanks to Max Galka at metrocosm.com, who specializes in data driven journalism, we can now witness the rise and fall of the world’s cities in under four and a half minutes.

The interactive time-lapse map records 5,700 years of urbanization, stretching from 3700 BC to AD 2000.

By measuring population data, the map starts off with small dots slowly appearing in the Middle East, where the earliest civilizations were recorded. The date each city is plotted on the map corresponds to the date of its earliest available population, not necessarily the date it was founded.

The first dot appears in China around 1600 BC. Between AD 1000 AD and AD 2000 is where things really get interesting, when the urbanization of areas in China, along with the rest of the world, rapidly increases.

You can hover over any of the dots on the maps to find out information about that urban area.

See the full visualization for yourself here.

[Images via Metrocosm.com]