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Portal:Asia

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The Asia Portal
The Asia Portal
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Asia (/ˈʒə/ AY-zhə, UK also /ˈʃə/ AY-shə) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometers, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population, was the site of many of the first civilizations. Its 4.7 billion people constitute roughly 60% of the world's population.

Asia shares the landmass of Eurasia with Europe, and of Afro-Eurasia with both Europe and Africa. In general terms, it is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Indian Ocean, and on the north by the Arctic Ocean. The border of Asia with Europe is a historical and cultural construct, as there is no clear physical and geographical separation between them. A commonly accepted division places Asia to the east of the Suez Canal separating it from Africa; and to the east of the Turkish straits, the Ural Mountains and Ural River, and to the south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black seas, separating it from Europe.

Since the concept of Asia derives from the term for the eastern region from a European perspective, Asia is the remaining vast area of Eurasia minus Europe. Thefore, Asia is a region where various independent cultures coexist rather than sharing a single culture, and the boundary between Europe is somewhat arbitrary and has moved since its first conception in classical antiquity. The division of Eurasia into two continents reflects East–West cultural differences, some of which vary on a spectrum. (Full article...)

Featured article

Front side of the main complex

Angkor Wat (/ˌæŋkɔːr ˈwɒt/; Khmer: អង្គរវត្ត, "City/Capital of Temples") is a Hindu-Buddhist temple complex in Cambodia. Located on a site measuring 162.6 hectares (1,626,000 m2; 402 acres) within the ancient Khmer capital city of Angkor, it is considered the largest religious structure in the world by Guinness World Records. Originally constructed in 1150 CE as a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Vishnu, it was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the century.

Angkor Wat was built at the behest of the Khmer king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura (present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology and is surrounded by a moat more than 5 km (3.1 mi). Enclosed within an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west with scholars divided as to the significance of this. (Full article...)
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Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about 331,000 square kilometres (128,000 sq mi) and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's fifteenth-most populous country. One of the two Marxist-Leninist states in Southeast Asia, Vietnam shares land borders with China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west. It shares maritime borders with Thailand through the Gulf of Thailand, and the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia through the South China Sea. Its capital is Hanoi and its largest city is Ho Chi Minh City (commonly known as Saigon).

Vietnam was inhabited by the Paleolithic age, with states established in the first millennium BC on the Red River Delta in modern-day northern Vietnam. The Han dynasty annexed Northern and Central Vietnam under Chinese rule from 111 BC, until the first dynasty emerged in 939. Successive monarchical dynasties absorbed Chinese influences through Confucianism and Buddhism, and expanded southward to the Mekong Delta, conquering Champa. During most of the 17th and 18th centuries, Vietnam was effectively divided into two domains of Đàng Trong and Đàng Ngoài. The Nguyễn—the last imperial dynasty—surrendered to France in 1883. In 1887, its territory was integrated into French Indochina as three separate regions. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, the nationalist coalition Viet Minh, led by the communist revolutionary Ho Chi Minh, launched the August Revolution and declared Vietnam's independence from the Empire of Japan in 1945. (Full article...)
Tata in 2005

Ratan Naval Tata (born 28 December 1937) is an Indian industrialist, philanthropist and former chairman of Tata Sons. He was a chairman of the Tata Group from 1990 to 2012, and interim chairman from October 2016 through February 2017. He continues to head its charitable trusts. In 2008, he received the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour in India, after receiving the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour in 2000.

He is the son of Naval Tata, who was adopted by Ratanji Tata, son of Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the Tata Group. He graduated from the Cornell University College of Architecture with a bachelor's degree in architecture. He joined Tata in 1961, where he worked on the shop floor of Tata Steel. He later succeeded J. R. D. Tata as chairman of Tata Sons upon the latter's retirement in 1991. Under his tenure the Tata Group acquired Tetley, Jaguar Land Rover, and Corus, in an attempt to turn Tata from a largely India-centric group into a global business. Tata is also one of the largest philanthropists in the world, having donated around 60–65% of his income to charity. (Full article...)

General images

The following are images from various Asia-related articles on Wikipedia.
Kaindy lake south-east Kazakhstan
Kaindy lake south-east Kazakhstan
Kaindy lake in south-east of Kazakhstan. The mountain lakes like this form after the landslide blocks the mountain river. The trunks are dead Picea schrenkiana trees.

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Updated: 6:33, 14 February 2024

In the news


27 September 2024 – Israel's role in the Syrian civil war
Israel launches an airstrike against a military post in the countryside near Damascus, Syria, killing five soldiers and wounding one. (Al Arabiya)
27 September 2024 –
Fifteen people are killed after the collapse of an illegal gold mine in Solok Regency, West Sumatra, Indonesia. (Reuters)
27 September 2024 – 2024 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) presidential election
Shigeru Ishiba defeats Sanae Takaichi in a runoff election to become the next president and prime minister designate. (kyodonews)
26 September 2024 – Israel–Hezbollah conflict
September 2024 Lebanon strikes
Lebanese displacement during the Israel–Hezbollah conflict
Over 22,000 Lebanese residents have crossed into Syria in order to escape ongoing Israeli bombardment and a potential escalation of the conflict. (Barron's)

More current events...


Major Religions in Asia


Middle East

Central Asia and Surroundings

Indian Subcontinent

Southeast Asia

East Asia

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150pxPanoramic view of Buriganga River from the bridge, Old Dhaka.
150pxPanoramic view of Buriganga River from the bridge, Old Dhaka.
Credit: Rangan Datta Wiki

The Buriganga River flows past the southwest outskirts of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Its average depth is 7.6 metres (25 ft) and its maximum depth is 18 metres (58 ft).

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