Kollam is rarely known by its former name Quilon. It is situated 66 kilometers north of the state capital Trivandrum. The city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake. Kollam has a strong commercial reputation since the days of the Phoenicians and Romans. Fed by the Chinese trade, it was mentioned by Ibn Battuta in the 14th century as one of the five Indian ports he had seen during the course of his twenty-four-year travels. Desinganadu's rajas exchanged embassies with Chinese rulers while there was a flourishing Chinese settlement at Kollam. In the 9th Century, on his way to Canton, China, Persian merchant Sulaiman al-Tajir found Kollam to be the only port in India visited by huge Chinese junks. Marco Polo, the Venetian traveller, who was in Chinese service under Kublai Khan in 1275, visited Kollam and other towns on the west coast, in his capacity as a Chinese mandarin. Kollam is also home to one of the seven churches that were established by St Thomas.

Kollam is an ISO 9001:2015 certified city corporation for the best Municipal administration and services. As per the survey conducted by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) based on urban area growth during January 2020, Kollam became the 10th fastest growing city in the world with a 31.1% urban growth between 2015 and 2020. It is a coastal city on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake that took the title God's Own Country. The Ashtamudi Lake lie about 71 kilometres (44 mi) north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram. The city hosts the administrative offices of Kollam district and is a prominent trading city for the state. The proportion of females to males in Kollam city is second highest among the 500 most populous cities in India. Kollam is one of the least polluted cities in India.Four major trading centers around Kollam are Kottarakara, Punalur, Paravur and Karunagapally.
Source - Wikipedia [Feb,2021]