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Asia (/ˈeɪʒə/ (listen), also UK: /ˈeɪʃə/) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area of 44,579,000 square kilometres (17,212,000 sq mi), about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8.7% 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, having more people than all other continents combined.

In general terms, Asia 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. It is somewhat arbitrary and has moved since its first conception in classical antiquity. The division of Eurasia into two continents reflects East–West cultural, linguistic, and ethnic differences, some of which vary on a spectrum rather than with a sharp dividing line. 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.

China and India alternated in being the largest economies in the world from 1 to 1,800 CE. China was a major economic power and attracted many to the east, and for many the legendary wealth and prosperity of the ancient culture of India personified Asia, attracting European commerce, exploration and colonialism. The accidental discovery of a trans-Atlantic route from Europe to America by Columbus while in search for a route to India demonstrates this deep fascination. The Silk Road became the main east–west trading route in the Asian hinterlands while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route. Asia has exhibited economic dynamism (particularly East Asia) as well as robust population growth during the 20th century, but overall population growth has since fallen. Asia was the birthplace of most of the world's mainstream religions including Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Jainism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, as well as many other religions. (Full article...)

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The 2002 Bou'in-Zahra earthquake (also known as the 2002 Avaj earthquake or the 2002 Changureh earthquake) occurred on 22 June 2002. The epicenter was near the city of Bou'in-Zahra in Qazvin Province, a region of northwestern Iran which is crossed by several major faults that is known for destructive earthquakes. The shock measured 6.5 on the M_wc scale, had a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), and was followed by more than 20 aftershocks. At least 230 people were killed and 1,500 more were injured.

According to the International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (IIEES), the earthquake was felt as far away as the capital city of Tehran, approximately 290 kilometres (180 mi) east of the epicenter, although no damage was reported there. Most houses in the region were single-story masonry buildings, and virtually all of these collapsed. The public became angry due to the slow official response to victims who needed supplies. Residents of the town of Avaj resorted to throwing stones at the car of a government minister. (Full article...)

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Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. The territories controlled by the ROC consist of 168 islands, with a combined area of 36,193 square kilometres (13,974 sq mi). The main island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, has an area of 35,808 square kilometres (13,826 sq mi), with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanised population is concentrated. The capital, Taipei, forms along with New Taipei City and Keelung the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Other major cities include Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. With around 23.9 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among the most densely populated countries in the world.

Taiwan has been settled for at least 25,000 years. Ancestors of Taiwanese indigenous peoples settled the island around 6,000 years ago. In the 17th century, large-scale Han Chinese (specifically the Hakkas and Hoklos) immigration to western Taiwan began under a Dutch colony and continued under the Kingdom of Tungning, the first predominantly Han Chinese state in Taiwanese history. The island was annexed in 1683 by the Qing dynasty of China and ceded to the Empire of Japan in 1895. The Republic of China, which had overthrown the Qing in 1911, took control of Taiwan following the surrender of Japan in 1945 . Japan would renounce sovereignty over Taiwan in 1952. The immediate resumption of the Chinese Civil War resulted in the loss of the Chinese mainland to Communist forces who established the People's Republic of China, and the flight of the ROC central government to Taiwan in 1949. The effective jurisdiction of the ROC has since been limited to Taiwan, Penghu, and smaller islands. (Full article...)

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Colonel Lê Quang Tung (13 June 1919 – 1 November 1963) was the commander of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces under the command of Ngô Đình Nhu. Nhu was the brother of South Vietnam's president, Ngô Đình Diệm. A former servant of the Ngô family, Tung's military background was in security and counterespionage.

During the 1950s, Tung was a high-ranking official in Nhu's Cần Lao, a secret political apparatus which maintained the Ngô family's grip on power, extorting money from wealthy businessmen. In 1960, Tung was promoted directly to the rank of colonel and became the commander of the special forces. His period at the helm of South Vietnam's elite troops was noted mostly for his work in repressing dissidents, rather than fighting the Viet Cong insurgents. His best-known attack was the raid on Xá Lợi pagoda on 21 August 1963, in which hundreds died or disappeared. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Asia-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757 by Francis Hayman (from History of Asia)
Image 2The Mughal ambassador Khan’Alam in 1618 negotiating with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran. (from History of Asia)
Image 3Chicken tikka, a well-known dish across the globe, reflects the South Asian cooking style. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 4Angkor Wat, Khmer Empire (from Culture of Asia)
Image 5The Syriac Orthodox Saint Ahoadamah Church was a 7th-century church building in the city of Tikrit, one of the oldest in the world until its destruction by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant on 25 September 2014. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 6Korean peninsula in 476 AD. There are three kingdoms and Gaya Union in the picture. This picture shows the heyday of Goguryeo (from History of Asia)
Image 7The Hindu-Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat. (from History of Asia)
Image 8Balhae in the north, Later Silla in the south (from History of Asia)
Image 9Projected GDP of 7 largest economies in 2050. (from Asian Century)
Image 10Gyeonghoeru of Gyeongbokgung, the Joseon dynasty's royal palace. (from History of Asia)
Image 11The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling (from Culture of Asia)
Image 12Detail of Chinese silk from the 4th century BCE. The characteristic trade of silk through the Silk Road connected various regions from China, India, Central Asia, and the Middle East to Europe and Africa. (from History of Asia)
Image 13Map of Asia for early 20th century (from History of Asia)
Image 14Sculpture of Prince Shōtoku (from History of Asia)
Image 15the Goryeo ware, which shows splendid culture of Goryeo in mediaeval Korea. (from History of Asia)
Image 16Kabsa also called Majboos, famous in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates (from Culture of Asia)
Image 17Projected shares of global GDP by region to 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 18Tang dynasty Chinese poet Li Bai, in a 13th-century depiction by Liang Kai (from Culture of Asia)
Image 19Language families in South Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 20Ancient ziggurat, Iraq (from Culture of Asia)
Image 21Detail of the Dragon Throne used by the Qianlong Emperor of China, Forbidden City, Qing dynasty. Artifact circulating in U.S. museums on loan from Beijing (from Culture of Asia)
Image 22The global contribution to world's GDP by major economies from 1 AD to 2003 AD according to Angus Maddison's estimates. Before 18th century, China and India were the two largest economies by GDP output. (from Asian Century)
Image 23The Qing Empire in 1832. (from History of Asia)
Image 24The Russian Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen built in 1768 (from Culture of Asia)
Image 25The First Persian Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 26Philippine cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 27Political cartoon depicting the Afghan Emir Sher Ali with the rival "friends" the Russian Bear and British Lion (1878) (from History of Asia)
Image 28Battle of Talas between Tang dynasty and Abbasid Caliphate c. 751 (from History of Asia)
Image 29India's middle-class population of 300 million is growing at an annual rate of 5%. Shown here is an upmarket area in South Mumbai. (from Asian Century)
Image 30The Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan, which was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010. (from Asian Century)
Image 31Indonesian Balinese cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 32Some henges at Göbekli Tepe were erected as far back as 9600 BC, predating those of Stonehenge, England, by over seven millennia. (from History of Asia)
Image 33Deoksugung, the palace where Emperor Gojong established Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 34Gojong (1852–1919), the 26th king of Joseon dynasty and the first emperor of Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 35A typical example of Dravidian architecture (from Culture of Asia)
Image 36Traditional Rajasthani garments from Jaipur, Rajasthan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 37Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jeruslam (from Culture of Asia)
Image 38Sun temple at Konarka, Odisha, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 39A stone image of the Buddha (from Culture of Asia)
Image 40Map of Marco Polo's travels (from History of Asia)
Image 41The Grand Mosque in Kuwait City, one of the largest mosques in the region (from Culture of Asia)
Image 42Expansion of Hinduism in Southeast Asia (from History of Asia)
Image 43A view of the Fort St George in 18th-century Madras. (from History of Asia)
Image 44The Silk Road in Asia (from History of Asia)
Image 45A map of the Bronze Age collapse, c. 1200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 46The third Inter-Korean Summit, which was held in 2018, between South Korean president Moon Jae-in and North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un. It was a historical event that symbolized the peace of Asia. (from History of Asia)
Image 47The first King of Goryeo, as known as Taejo of Goryeo (918–943) (from History of Asia)
Image 48Population concentration and boundaries of the Western Zhou dynasty in China (from History of Asia)
Image 49East Asian cultural sphere (from Culture of Asia)
Image 50Daian-ji temple at Nara, Japan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 51Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 52Here a Jesuit, Adam Schall von Bell (1592–1666), is dressed as an official of the Chinese Department of Astronomy. (from History of Asia)
Image 53The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830 by Hokusai, an example of art flourishing in the Edo Period (from History of Asia)
Image 54The Taj Mahal, Agra, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 55The Delhi Sultanate. (from History of Asia)
Image 56A Confucian ritual ceremony in Jeju, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 57Badshahi Mosque built under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 58The early Muslim conquests, 622–750 (from History of Asia)
Image 59Borobudur, a Buddhist temple in Indonesia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 60Byzantine and Sassanian Empires in 600 AD (from History of Asia)

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Tonle Sap Lake

Credit: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas

A little girl making money for her family by posing with a snake in a water village of Tonle Sap Lake.

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Did you know...

... that a few months after Lü Peijian was appointed China's auditor general, he announced the discovery of more than US$1.6 billion worth of tax evasion, fraud, and waste?
... that comedian Atsugiri Jason became the first non-Japanese finalist on the R-1 Grand Prix in 2014?
... that a collection of kimono assembled by Nasser Khalili covers four periods of Japanese history?
... that the anandalahari is an Indian chordophone musical instrument used by religious singers of the Baul faith?
... that Liang Baibo and Yu Feng were among China's first female cartoonists?
... that the yawara is a Japanese weapon that is used for martial arts and was used by American police?
... that Gongnyong Ridge in Seoraksan National Park, South Korea, acquired its name (lit. 'Dinosaur Ridge') from its peaks looking as "vigorous and dynamic as a dinosaur rising from the ground"?
... that students participating in the 1968–69 Japanese university protests were known for ruthlessly interrogating and verbally abusing professors, sometimes for days on end?
... that the death of Uyghur writer Nurmuhemmet Tohti has been linked to mistreatment in the Xinjiang internment camps, a claim China denies?
... that Pennsylvania Treasurer-elect Stacy Garrity was nicknamed "The Angel of the Desert" in the Iraq War?