Asia is a continent of desert cities, mountain kingdoms, great river valleys and tropical islands, from the Arabian Peninsula in the west to Japan and Indonesia in the east.
The best-known wonders of Asia include the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Taj Mahal in Agra and the rock-cut city of Petra in Jordan. The great temples of Asia include Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the Temples of Bagan in Myanmar and Borobudur in Indonesia.
Natural wonders of Asia range from Mount Everest in the Himalayas to the limestone islands of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, a lost wonder, were described by ancient writers as standing in what is now Iraq.
Asia covers the eastern four-fifths of Eurasia, the giant landmass that Asia shares with Europe.
The Arctic Ocean borders Asia to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the east, and the Indian Ocean to the south. To the southwest, Asia meets the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. On its western side, Asia joins Europe on land.
The Bering Strait separates Asia from North America in the far northeast. In the southwest, the Suez Canal is generally agreed to mark the border between Asia and Africa. To the southeast, the seas and straits between the Indian and Pacific oceans separate Asia from Australia.
No, Asia is not a country. Asia is a continent, made up of many separate countries.
The origin of the name Asia is uncertain. The ancient Greeks used the name Asia for the lands east of Greece. One explanation links the name Asia to the Assyrian word asu, meaning "east".
Another explanation traces the name Asia to a local name for the plains of Ephesus, in what is now western Turkey. The Greeks and Romans later used the name for all of Anatolia, and then for the known world east of the Mediterranean Sea. Western explorers extended the name to the whole continent when they reached South and East Asia in the early modern period.
Yes, Asia is the largest continent on Earth, by both area and population.
Asia is 1,385,000 km² (535,000 sq mi) larger than Africa, the second-largest continent, on United Nations figures.
The UN counts all of Russia as part of Europe, not Asia. With Asian Russia included, Asia covers 44,614,000 km² (17,226,200 sq mi), about one-third of Earth's land surface, according to Britannica.
Asia is also the most populous continent, home to about three in every five people in the world.
There are 48 countries in Asia, according to the United Nations list of countries by region.
Forty-seven of the 48 Asian countries are UN member states. The 48th is the State of Palestine, which has non-member observer status at the United Nations.
Hong Kong and Macao, two special administrative regions of China, appear as separate areas on the UN list for Asia. Turkey, Cyprus, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan are in Asia on the UN list, under Western Asia.
Europe ends and Asia begins along the Ural Mountains, the Caspian Sea, and the Black Sea.
The land boundary between Europe and Asia is a matter of agreement. Geographers have drawn the line between Europe and Asia in different places through history.
On the line most geographers use, the boundary runs south from the Arctic Ocean along the Ural Mountains, then southwest along the Emba River to the northern shore of the Caspian Sea.
West of the Caspian Sea, the Europe and Asia boundary follows the Kuma-Manych Depression, a long lowland, to the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait of the Black Sea. The Caucasus Mountains, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, are in Asia on this line.
At the western tip of Asia, two narrow straits, the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, separate Anatolia in Asia from the Balkan Peninsula in Europe.
The map below shows the wonders in Asia. Click a pin to open a guide.
Nalanda was a centre of learning established in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. Today the ancient seat of learning lie in ruins, though it is still the best place to see and understand Buddhism, the ruins extend over a large area. Many versions can explain the significance of term Nalanda, but one is that […]
Kaziranga National Park is located 217km to the east of Guwahati, in the heart of Assam on the bank of the majestic Brahmaputra. It set against a backdrop of hills like the Mikir and Karbi Anglong. In 1940, the Kaziranga National Park was declared a wildlife sanctuary due to countless poaching of this ancient survivor […]
Khajuraho is a village located in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh specifically in the Chhatarpur district, around 620km southeast of the capital of India, Delhi. Khajuraho holds the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain Temples that were carved between 950AD and 1050AD under reign of Chandela Empire, being the best examples of the […]
Kanha National Park, one of the greatest of Tiger Reserves, is located in the Maikal range, the eastern sector of the Satpura hills of the Central Indian Highlands, covering an area over 940sq km with its sal and bamboo forests, rolling grasslands and meandering streams in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The park lies 160km […]
The outstanding Jaisalmer Fort with more than 800 years old stands in the heart of the Thar Desert. Crowning Trikuta Hills the fort in better times was an important centre and fell on the ancient silk routes. The valiant rulers and intricately carved stonework in its palaces and havelis marked the old city of Jaisalmer. […]
Hampi is located in the central part of Karnataka state, a south western province of India. Hampi ruins are packet with giant temples, palaces, market streets, aquatic structures, fortifications and many other ancient monuments, spreading over an area of 25 square kilometres. The name is derived from the old name of Tungabhadra River: “Pampa”. Hampi […]
The Golden Temple is located in the sacred city of Amritsar and considered the spiritual centre of Sikh religion. Also called Sri Harmandir Sahib, it was founded by the fourth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Ram Das and completed by his successor Guru Arjan Dev in the 14th century. The temple architecture of Harmandir Sahib is […]
Fatehpur Sikri, “the City of Victory”, is a city and a municipal board in Agra district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Built during the second half of the 16th century by the Emperor Akbar, the complex of monuments and temples, all with the same architectural style includes the Jama Masjid, one of the […]
Ajanta Caves is situated at a distance of 99km from Aurangabad in Maharashtra. They are cave shrines cut out of rock, by hand, and houses one of the most amazing archaeological sites of ancient Indian architectural heritage in a panoramic gorge, in the form of a gigantic horseshoe. Built by cutting the huge granite hillside […]
Yuyuan Garden is located in Anren Jie in the center of Shanghai's Old City, not far from the Bund and adjacent to the Old Town God Temple. It is a classical southern style Chinese garden. The garden covers an important space and includes a few halls, and other buildings of interest; cultural vestiges including century-old […]
This place is known like 'The First Scenery under Heaven'; The Yellow Crane Tower is one of the most famous towers to the south of the Rio Yangtze. It is situated on Snake Hill in Wuhan in the province of Hubei. The tower is based on an original design realized during the Qing Dynasty. The […]
The West Lake is located in the historic center of Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province of eastern China, undoubtedly the most renowned feature of Hangzhou, noted for the scenic beauty that blends naturally with many famous historical and cultural sites. The West Lake Scenic Area Covers an area of 60 square kilometers, out of which the […]
Tiger Hill Pagoda or the Yunyan Pagoda is a Chinese pagoda situated outside Changmen, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. The millennium old Tiger Hill Pagoda, also known as the Leaning Tower, stands on top of the Tiger Hill and is regarded as the symbol of Suzhou. Also it is called with its other names including Huqiu […]
Lingering Garden is the best garden in Suzhou, it covers an area of 23,310 square meters. It is recognised for its artistic way of dealing with the spaces between various kinds of architectural form. The whole garden possesses 42 rooms and halls , a 670-meter-long roofed walkway, 200 lattice-windows of different kinds, 44 parallel stone […]
The Terracotta Warriors and Horses are the most important archaeological excavations of the 20th century located lies 35 kilometres east of Xi'an, at the base of Lishan Mountain. Life size figures of terracotta warriors and horses arranged in battle formations are the star features at the museum. The museum covers an area of 16,300 square […]
Red Hill, also known as Tiger Head Hill or Tiger Head Peak, is considered a symbol of Urumqi, owing to its uniqueness; it is located at the heart of the city and the mountain peak stands 1391 meters above sea level. When the sunlight hits the hills of Hongshan, the rocks of the mountain reflected […]
This ancient architectural complex is considered a model of Tibetan architecture. Located on the Red Hill in Lhasa, Tibet, it is 3,700 meters above sea level and covers an area of over 360,000 square meters, measuring 360 meters from east to west and 270 meters from south to north. The present Potala Palace is 119 […]
Located at the east bank of Li River, the park is 1.5 kilometers from the downtown area of Guilin. The park is named after from its seven peaks resemble the pattern of the Big Dipper constellation. It is the largest park, consists of some of the most spectacular sights in the city. Some of the […]
Elephant Trunk Hill is located in the city center, on the western bank of Li River Scenery. The Elephant Hill sits in the point where Guilin Peach River joining to the Li River. Elephant Trunk Hill is regarded as the symbol of Guilin. Originally named "Li Hill", "Yi Hill" and "Chenshui Hill". The hill is […]
The Hanging Monastery or Temple is an architectural wonder. It was built on a cliff near Mount Heng in the province of Shanxi. The city is adjacent to Datong, 65 kilometers northwest. It is located at the foot of Heng Shan (Heng Mountain), 50 meters above the ground. The monks who built this temple had […]
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The Flaming Mountain is located in north Turphan Basin of Xinjiang Province. The Flame Mountain starts from Langan Quicksand River of Shanshan County and ends at the Peach Channel in the Turpan Basin. It lies 10 km east of Turpan city, covering about 100 km from east to west with a width of 9 km. […]
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Asia does not have one official list of seven wonders. But Asian wonders appear on several wonders lists.
The following Asian wonders appear on official wonder lists.
Asia is known for the highest mountain, the lowest land, and the deepest lake on Earth, and for being the birthplace of the world's major religions.
Mount Everest, in the Himalayas, is the highest mountain on Earth. The Dead Sea, in Western Asia, is the lowest place on the land surface of Earth, at about 430 m (1,410 ft) below sea level. Lake Baikal, in Siberia, is the deepest lake in the world. Asia also has the longest coastline of any continent, at about 62,800 km (39,000 mi).
Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism all began in Asia.
Yes, Russia is partly in Asia. Russia stretches across the whole of northern Asia and the eastern third of Europe.
The Ural Mountains form the traditional boundary between European Russia and Asian Russia. East of the Urals, Siberia runs across northern Asia to the Pacific Ocean. Siberian cities such as Irkutsk and Vladivostok are in Asia. Lake Baikal, in southern Siberia near Irkutsk, is in Asian Russia.
Russia is the largest country with land in Asia. Russia is also the largest country in the world, covering nearly twice the area of Canada, which is the second-largest country.
China is the largest country that lies entirely in Asia.
Yes, nearly all of Turkey is in Asia. The Asian part of Turkey is the Anatolian peninsula, also called Asia Minor, plus part of the Armenian Highland in the east. Turkish Thrace, the small remainder of Turkey, lies in southeastern Europe.
Istanbul sits on both continents, with the Bosporus strait dividing European Istanbul from the city's districts on the Asian shore. Hagia Sophia stands on the historic peninsula of Istanbul, on the European side.
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus in Bodrum stood in Anatolia, so both ancient wonders were in Asia.
Yes, most of the Middle East is in Asia. The Middle East is a loosely defined region that usually covers Southwest Asia, especially the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant, the lands along the eastern Mediterranean coast. The Middle East often includes Turkey and Iran too.
Israel, Jordan, and Iraq are all in Western Asia, according to the United Nations. The wonders of the Middle East include Petra in Jordan and the site of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in Iraq.
The Middle East sometimes also includes North Africa, where most of Egypt lies, outside Asia.
Egypt is mostly in Africa, but the Sinai Peninsula in the northeast of Egypt is usually regarded as part of Asia. The Suez Canal and the Gulf of Suez separate the Sinai Peninsula from the African mainland of Egypt.
The Sinai Peninsula is a triangle of desert and mountains between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba, with the Red Sea to the south. The coral reefs of the Northern Red Sea lie around the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula.
Yes, India is in Asia. India covers the greater part of South Asia.
India is in Southern Asia, according to the United Nations, together with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Iran, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The wonders of India include the Taj Mahal in Agra, the Golden Temple in Amritsar and the Ellora Caves near Aurangabad.