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Asia (/ˈeɪʒə/ ^ⓘ AY-zhə, UK also /ˈeɪʃə/ 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 kilometres, 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 civilisations. 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. Therefore, 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...)

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Featured article

Rioters besieging a bus in Tianshan, Ürümqi, attacking escaping Han passengers with sticks.

A series of violent riots over several days broke out on 5 July 2009 in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in northwestern China. The first day's rioting, which involved at least 1,000 Uyghurs, began as a protest, but escalated into violent attacks that mainly targeted Han people. According to Chinese state media, a total of 197 people died, most of whom were Han people or non-Muslim minorities, with 1,721 others injured and many vehicles and buildings destroyed. Many Uyghurs disappeared during wide-scale police sweeps in the days following the riots; Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented 43 cases and said figures for real disappearances were likely to be much higher.

Rioting began following the Shaoguan incident, where false accusations of rape of a Han woman by Uyghur men led to a brawl between ethnic Han and Uyghur factory workers in Shaoguan, resulting in the deaths of two Uyghurs who were both from Xinjiang. The Chinese government claimed that the riots were planned from abroad by the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and its leader Rebiya Kadeer. Kadeer denies fomenting the violence in her fight for Uyghur self-determination. (Full article...)

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Selected Country

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest. It is under a transitional government and comprises 14 governorates. Damascus is the capital and largest city. With a population of 25 million across an area of 185,180 square kilometres (71,500 sq mi), it is the 57th-most populous and 87th-largest country.

The name "Syria" historically referred to a wider region, broadly synonymous with the Levant and known in Arabic as ash-Sham. The modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the 3rd millennium BC. Damascus and Aleppo are cities of great cultural significance. Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital for the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The modern Syrian state was established in the mid-20th century after centuries of Ottoman rule, as a French Mandate. The state represented the largest Arab state to emerge from the formerly Ottoman-ruled Syrian provinces. It gained de jure independence as a parliamentary republic in 1945 when the First Syrian Republic became a founding member of the United Nations, an act which legally ended the French Mandate. French troops withdrew in April 1946, granting the nation de facto independence. (Full article...)

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Featured biography

Padukone at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival

Deepika Padukone (pronounced [d̪iːpɪkaː pəɖʊkoːɳeː]; born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Hindi films. She is India's highest-paid actress, as of 2023, and her accolades include three Filmfare Awards. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018 and awarded her the Time100 Impact Award in 2022.

Padukone, the daughter of the badminton player Prakash Padukone, was born in Copenhagen and raised in Bangalore. As a teenager, she played badminton in national level championships but left her career in the sport to become a fashion model. She soon received offers for film roles and made her acting debut in 2006 as the title character of the Kannada film Aishwarya. Padukone then played a dual role opposite Shah Rukh Khan in her first Bollywood release, the romance Om Shanti Om (2007), which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Padukone received praise for her starring role in the romance Love Aaj Kal (2009), but this was followed by a brief setback. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Map of Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 2A typical example of Dravidian architecture (from Culture of Asia)
Image 3Detail 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 4Gyeonghoeru of Gyeongbokgung, the Joseon dynasty's royal palace. (from History of Asia)
Image 5Chicken tikka, a well-known dish across the globe, reflects the South Asian cooking style. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 6The Great Wall of China at Jinshanling (from Culture of Asia)
Image 7Angkor Wat, Khmer Empire (from Culture of Asia)
Image 8Political cartoon depicting the Afghan Emir Sher Ali with the rival "friends" the Russian Bear and British Lion (1878) (from History of Asia)
Image 9Badshahi Mosque built under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore, Pakistan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 10The 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 11The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830 by Hokusai, an example of art flourishing in the Edo Period (from History of Asia)
Image 12The Mughal ambassador Khan’Alam in 1618 negotiating with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran. (from History of Asia)
Image 13A Confucian ritual ceremony in Jeju, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 14Population concentration and boundaries of the Western Zhou dynasty in China (from History of Asia)
Image 15Map of Vietnam showing the conquest of the south (the Nam tiến, 1069–1757). (from History of Asia)
Image 16Projected shares of global GDP by region to 2050 (from Asian Century)
Image 17The Hindu-Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat. (from History of Asia)
Image 18Map of Marco Polo's travels (from History of Asia)
Image 19The 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 20A stone image of the Buddha (from Culture of Asia)
Image 21Language families in South Asia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 22Daily life of people from the Song period at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng (from History of Asia)
Image 23Battle of Talas between Tang dynasty and Abbasid Caliphate c. 751 (from History of Asia)
Image 24Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. (from Culture of Asia)
Image 25Sun temple at Konarka, Odisha, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 26Kabsa also called Majboos, famous in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates (from Culture of Asia)
Image 27The Qing conquest of the Ming and expansion of the empire (from History of Asia)
Image 28Gojong (1852–1919), the 26th king of Joseon dynasty and the first emperor of Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 29The 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 30The Grand Mosque in Kuwait City, one of the largest mosques in the region (from Culture of Asia)
Image 31The Silk Road in Asia (from History of Asia)
Image 32Borobudur, a Buddhist temple in Indonesia (from Culture of Asia)
Image 33Traditional Rajasthani garments from Jaipur, Rajasthan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 34India'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 35Balhae in the north, Later Silla in the south (from History of Asia)
Image 36Political map of Asia in 1860 (from History of Asia)
Image 37Đại Việt, Champa, Angkor Empire and their neighbours, late 13th century (from History of Asia)
Image 38Eunpyeong Hanok Village in Seoul, South Korea (from Culture of Asia)
Image 39The Qing Empire in 1832. (from History of Asia)
Image 40Here a Jesuit, Adam Schall von Bell (1592–1666), is dressed as an official of the Chinese Department of Astronomy. (from History of Asia)
Image 41Map of Asia for early 20th century (from History of Asia)
Image 42Invasions, destruction and possible population movements during the Late Bronze Age collapse, beginning c. 1200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 43Byzantine and Sassanian Empires in 600 AD (from History of Asia)
Image 44The Taj Mahal, Agra, India (from Culture of Asia)
Image 45The First Persian Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 46Indonesian Balinese cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 47Machiya in Heian period (from History of Asia)
Image 48Philippine cuisine (from Culture of Asia)
Image 49Deoksugung, the palace where Emperor Gojong established Korean Empire. (from History of Asia)
Image 50Korean 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 51Sculpture of Prince Shōtoku (from History of Asia)
Image 52Detail 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 53The Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan, which was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010 (from Asian Century)
Image 54The Song dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 1200 (from History of Asia)
Image 55The Han dynasty and main polities in Asia c. 200 BC (from History of Asia)
Image 56The Delhi Sultanate. (from History of Asia)
Image 57East Asian cultural sphere (from Culture of Asia)
Image 58British troops taking Zhenjiang from Qing troops (from History of Asia)
Image 59Ancient ziggurat, Iraq (from Culture of Asia)
Image 60Daian-ji temple at Nara, Japan (from Culture of Asia)
Image 61The early Muslim conquests, 622–750 (from History of Asia)
Image 62A view of the Fort St George in 18th-century Madras. (from History of Asia)
Image 63Some henges at Göbekli Tepe in Turkey were erected as far back as 9600 BC, predating those of Stonehenge, by over seven millennia. (from History of Asia)
Image 64the Goryeo ware, which shows splendid culture of Goryeo in mediaeval Korea. (from History of Asia)
Image 65Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757 by Francis Hayman (from History of Asia)
Image 66Tang dynasty Chinese poet Li Bai, in a 13th-century depiction by Liang Kai (from Culture of Asia)
Image 67Hinduism expansion in Asia, from its heartland in Indian Subcontinent, to the rest of Asia, especially Southeast Asia, started circa 1st century marked with the establishment of early Hindu settlements and polities in Southeast Asia. (from History of Asia)
Image 68Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jeruslam (from Culture of Asia)
Image 69The Russian Znamensky Cathedral in Tyumen built in 1768 (from Culture of Asia)

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Featured picture

dougong

Credit: 663highland

A colorful dougong supporting a structure at Sagami Temple, Kasai, Hyōgo, Japan. Dougong is a structural element of interlocking wooden brackets, one of the most important elements in traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean architecture. The use of dougong first appeared in buildings of the late centuries BC and evolved into a structural network that joined pillars and columns to the frame of the roof. The pieces are fit together by joinery alone without glue or fasteners, due to the precision and quality of the carpentry.

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Did you know...

... that although he was a former Indonesian prime minister, Soekiman Wirjosandjojo was not arrested during a political purge as he was considered a non-threat?
... that Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, India's second Muslim president, was also the second Indian president to die in office?
... that the Empire of Japan turned a Korean royal cemetery at what is now Hyochang Park into a golf course?
... that Ein Samiya, which provides the water for Taybeh, the first beer brewed in Palestine, was depopulated in 2023 after genocide and displacement by Israeli settlers?
... that the popularity of "10 Minutes" by Korean singer Lee Hyori led to 2003 being dubbed the "year of Hyori" by domestic media?
... that Sun Haiyan is the first Chinese ambassador to Singapore who was not a member of the Foreign Ministry of China?
... that University of Nebraska alumnus M. Khalid Roashan helped draft the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan?
... that the Pakistani film Shehr e Tabassum was the first animated cyberpunk film to be made by an Urdu development team?
... that the Mughâret Umm et-Tûeimîn Caves in Filistin (or Palestine) was home to a Bronze Age alabaster quarry, a refuge cave during the Jewish–Roman wars, and a possible center for necromantic activity in late antiquity?

Updated: 6:33, 14 February 2024

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In the news

11 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announces that Ukraine captured two North Korean soldiers in Kursk, in a first since North Korea entered the war. (Reuters)
11 January 2025 –: France puts the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on red alert to help with recovery efforts following Cyclone Chido. (Reuters)
11 January 2025 – Lebanon–Syria relations: The Prime Minister of Lebanon, Najib Mikati, and the Syrian de facto leader, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, held in Damascus the first meeting of such nature since before civil war broke out in Syria in 2011. (24 Digital), (MTV)
10 January 2025 – Red Sea crisis: The Israeli Air Force launches airstrikes on a power station and two ports in Houthi-controlled Yemen in retaliation for Houthi drone and missile attacks on Israel, with pro-Houthi media reporting that at least three people were injured. (Al Arabiya)
10 January 2025 –: Three of the twelve miners that were reported missing yesterday in an explosion at a coal mine in Singidi, Balochistan, Pakistan, are found dead by rescue workers. (CTV News); Three women are killed and five children are injured in a stampede at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria. (Reuters)

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Related portals

Major Religions in Asia

Middle East

Central Asia and Caucasus

Indian Subcontinent

Southeast Asia

East Asia

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Selected panorama

Credit: Benh LIEU SONG

The Central Area of Singapore surrounded by the perimeter of five planning areas: the Marina Bay, the Downtown Core, Marina East, Marina South and Straits View. The area surrounding the bay itself, also called Marina Bay, is a 360 hectare extension to the adjacent CBD. It is also the new downtown of Singapore built on reclaimed land.