Birjand is the center of South Khorasan and the center of Birjand county in east of Iran.  From long ago, Birjand, has always been the center of firsts and even now, it’s a forerunner in many fields. Birjand is the first city in Iran to have a water supply organization and the Ablule firm of Birjand is known as the first water supply organization of Iran. Also, Showkatiyeh school in this city, is the third modern school of Iran after Dar ul Funun of Tehran and Roshdiyeh of Tabriz. Due to its political and strategic position, the third airport in the country was built here on 1933 after Qaleh Morghi and Bushehr airports and the consulates of Russia and England were still active in Birjand until before World War II. On the summer of 2004, after the division of Khorasan province to three provinces, this city became the center of the newly established South Khorasan province. Birjand has several tourist attractions and Akbariyeh Garden, one of thehistorical buildings of the city, was registered as UNESCO World Heritage in a meeting on the year 2011.