Welcome to Asia!
Asia is the world's largest continent by land area and population, home to 4.4 billion people, more than half of the world's population. The continent is too massive and diverse to conceptualize as a single digestible travel "destination". Travel options range widely, from the desert ruins and modern mega-malls of the Middle East to the magnificent ancient monuments and giant mountains in South Asia, from the beach bungalows and jungle treks of Southeast Asia to the mega-cities and technology capitals of East Asia.
Asia gets a tremendous number of travellers, both for tourism and business. Many of the world's most-visited cities are in Asia, including Bangkok, Mumbai, Dubai, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Istanbul, Macau, Mecca, Singapore, Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei, and Tokyo.
Asia offers intriguing destinations for every type of traveller, be they a novice or an experienced road-warrior. Easier options include modern, prosperous countries like Japan and the East Asian Tigers of Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, where people enjoy very high standards of living. There are also poor Asian countries with significant levels of malnutrition, such as Cambodia, Afghanistan, Laos and East Timor. Some countries are well-established on the budget tourist trail, including Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, but there are other countries that strictly restrict tourism to certain regions or types of tourism, such as Bhutan and the Maldives. North Korea and Turkmenistan, easily the world's most isolated and repressive states, take it even further, with constantly-watched group tours dedicated to their "great leaders". Of course, there are also many countries lying somewhere in the middle, which is where one might place the emerging powerhouses of China and India, those huge, populous lands make wonderful travel destinations in themselves due to their long history, traditions and diversity.
Asia is Earth's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the Eastern and Northern Hemispheres. It shares the continental landmass of Eurasia with the continent of Europe and the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with both Europe and 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 the 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 4.5 billion people (as of June 2019) constitute roughly 60% of the world's population.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. The most commonly accepted boundaries place 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 1800 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.
Given its size and diversity, the concept of Asia—a name dating back to classical antiquity—may actually have more to do with human geography than physical geography. Asia varies greatly across and within its regions with regard to ethnic groups, cultures, environments, economics, historical ties and government systems. It also has a mix of many different climates ranging from the equatorial south via the hot desert in the Middle East, temperate areas in the east and the continental centre to vast subarctic and polar areas in Siberia.