Asia

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Introduction

snow in Emei Mont.

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Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, encompassing China and India, the world's two largest countries population-wise. Four billion of the world's 6.6 billion people live in Asia.

From the vast frozen stretches of Siberia to the steamy jungles of Thailand and the dramatic peaks of the north Indian sub-continent or the vast deserts of Arabia, Asia is a diverse region that defies categorisation. Modern cities like Tokyo, Shanghai and Singapore herald a growingly urban landscape, but this move towards modernisation is negotiated with the desire to maintain cultural tradition.

Geography

The Asian land mass is huge. This section focuses on the area most travellers know as Asia, not the Middle East and Europe, which many geographers consider part of greater Asia. The Asian land mass goes from the frozen dry Arctic in Siberia to the lush and wet jungles of Thailand and Malaysia. Most of Northern Asia is plains and steppe that gave birth to many amazing empires like the Mongolian Empire. Central Asia is a series of high mountain ranges like Tianshan and the Hindu Kush with deep depressions that stab way below sea level, making for some very remote cultures and people.

Further south are mountains covered with dense jungles, home to fascinating peoples that live along side wild elephants, tigers and rhinos. Asia's geography gives birth to some of the most densely populated places on earth and some places that see a person once a every few hundred years. The diversity on this land mass allows any traveller to find what they want.

Subregions

• Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
• East Asia: China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan
• North Asia: Russia
• South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives Republic, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
• Southeast Asia: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam
• West Asia (Main article: Middle East): Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

Countries and Territories

Holy Water

© All Rights Reserved Ardy

Note: For countries in West Asia, see main article: Middle East

Sights and Activities

Renggis Island

© All Rights Reserved Peter

Major cities

Asia is home to some of the largest cities in the world. Many of these cities have upwards of 15 or 20 million people living in or around them. A visit to a massive Mega-Asian city can be a bit overwhelming especially on a first trip. Although seeing that many people living, working and operating in such a close area is truly stunning. Many of the cities have great public transportation systems in them making it easy to get around. Here is a list of some of the major cities in Asia:

• Bangkok, Thailand
• Beijing, China
• Delhi, India
• Hong Kong, China
• Kolkata, India
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• Manila, Philippines
• Moscow, Russia
• Mumbai, India
• Seoul, South Korea
• Shanghai, China
• Singapore
• Taipei, Taiwan
• Tokyo, Japan

Landmarks

See also: Famous Landmarks

Cambodian fruit

© All Rights Reserved jbennett

How do you create a short list of the most amazing landmarks on the largest continent and one of longest inhabited places on earth? Asian landmarks range from modern buildings to ancient temples, some abandoned and some that have been used for thousands of years. Then on top of the human accomplishments are some of the most stunning natural beauty the world has ever seen. Therefore no matter where you visit in Asia there is some sort of landmark to be experienced. Here is a short list of just a fraction of what Asia has to offer:

• Angkor Wat is a 12th century temple located in the ancient city of Angkor in Cambodia.
• Great Wall of China is the longest man-made structure, stretching over 6500 km across China.
• Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world, found in Siberia, Russia.
• Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world, found on the border of Nepal and Tibet, China.
• Mount Kinabalu is the tallest mountain on the island of Borneo and also in Malaysia.
• Petronas Twin Towers is the tallest twin towers in the world, standing at 451.9 metres in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Taj Mahal is a mausoleum in Agra, India built by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

Learning Asian Languages

These language phrasebooks were created by Travellerspoint members to help travellers pick up some basic phrases, grammar and pronunciation skills before their trip:

• Chinese phrasebook
• Filipino (Tagalog) phrasebook
• Japanese phrasebook
• Malay phrasebook

Find out about contributing to or starting a new phrasebook on our project page: Project:Language phrasebooks.