Nelson Mandela moved into this house in the Soweto area of Johannesburg in in 1946. He lived there until 1961 and then for 11 days after his release from Robben Island in 1990.
Nelson Mandela moved into this house in the Soweto area of Johannesburg in in 1946. He lived there until 1961 and then for 11 days after his release from Robben Island in 1990.
FRANCOIS XAVIER MARIT/AFP/Getty Images/File
Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu also lived on Vilakazi Street in Soweto.
Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom —
Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu also lived on Vilakazi Street in Soweto.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
Originally the site of a coal fired power station, you can now bungee jump from the Orlando Towers in Soweto.
Originally the site of a coal fired power station, you can now bungee jump from the Orlando Towers in Soweto.
courtesy Joburg Tourism
The Soweto theater in South Africa was designed by Afritects. The external and internal walls are sloped and curved for functionality as the service spaces on the upper floors required more space than the public ablutions on the ground floor.
Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom —
The Soweto theater in South Africa was designed by Afritects. The external and internal walls are sloped and curved for functionality as the service spaces on the upper floors required more space than the public ablutions on the ground floor.
Courtesy: World Architecture Festival 2012
With more than 200 stores, the Soweto shopping center, Maponya Mall, was opened in 2007 by Nelson Mandela. It is Soweto's first shopping mall and the first to be blacked-owned.
Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom —
With more than 200 stores, the Soweto shopping center, Maponya Mall, was opened in 2007 by Nelson Mandela. It is Soweto's first shopping mall and the first to be blacked-owned.
Media Club South Africa
You can learn about Soweto's past as a centre of resistance at the Hector Pieterson memorial and museum off Vilakazi Street, named after a 12-year-old boy who was shot dead by police during a student protest in 1976.
Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom —
You can learn about Soweto's past as a centre of resistance at the Hector Pieterson memorial and museum off Vilakazi Street, named after a 12-year-old boy who was shot dead by police during a student protest in 1976.
courtesy Joburg Tourism
Artwork at Freedom Square, the site of the adoption of the Freedom Charter in 1955 in Kliptown, Soweto. The Freedom Charter proclaims that ''South Africa belongs to all who live in it" and was a major part of the anti-apartheid movement.
Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom —
Artwork at Freedom Square, the site of the adoption of the Freedom Charter in 1955 in Kliptown, Soweto. The Freedom Charter proclaims that ''South Africa belongs to all who live in it" and was a major part of the anti-apartheid movement.
Source: Media Club South Africa
It was these protests, when demonstrators opposed the use of Afrikaans as the main teaching language in schools, which came to be known as the Soweto uprising. Some estimates say over 560 people were killed during the unrest.
It was these protests, when demonstrators opposed the use of Afrikaans as the main teaching language in schools, which came to be known as the Soweto uprising. Some estimates say over 560 people were killed during the unrest.
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images/File
Violence is still an issue in Soweto, and police responded to mass looting in the township as recently as January. Groups attacked businesses owned by foreigners after a teenager was killed by a Somali shop-keeper in the area.
Violence is still an issue in Soweto, and police responded to mass looting in the township as recently as January. Groups attacked businesses owned by foreigners after a teenager was killed by a Somali shop-keeper in the area.
STEFAN HEUNIS/AFP/Getty Images
This image of anti-apartheid activist Ruth First was painted on the side of a home in Soweto by Ben Slow. First was murdered by a parcel bomb while working in exile in Mozambique in 1978, and remains one of the most iconic figures of the country's struggle against the former regime.
This image of anti-apartheid activist Ruth First was painted on the side of a home in Soweto by Ben Slow. First was murdered by a parcel bomb while working in exile in Mozambique in 1978, and remains one of the most iconic figures of the country's struggle against the former regime.
courtesy Shafiur Rahman
Visitors and locals get transport from the Baragwanath minibus taxi rank in Soweto.
Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom —
Visitors and locals get transport from the Baragwanath minibus taxi rank in Soweto.
Source: Media Club South Africa
Union Avenue in the Kliptown area of Soweto is another bustling shopping street.
Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom —
Union Avenue in the Kliptown area of Soweto is another bustling shopping street.
Gauteng Film Commission