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MY FIRST BRITANNICA Asia, Australia, and New Zealand 7 CHICAGO LONDON NEW DELHI PARIS SEOUL SYDNEY TAIPEI TOKYO © 2008 by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. International Standard Book Number: 978-1-59339-476-9 (set) No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. My First Britannica: Volume 7: Asia, Australia, and New Zealand 2008 Britannica.com may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.britannica.com. Encyclopædia Britannica, Britannica, and the Thistle logo are registered trademarks of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Asia, Australia, and New Zealand TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Asia: The Largest Continent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 East Asia China: Asia’s Largest Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Beijing, China: Home of the Forbidden City. . . . . . . . . . 10 The Great Wall: Ancient China’s Giant Guardian . . . . . 12 Japan: Volcanoes, Earthquakes, and Plum Rains . . . . . . 14 Japan: Modern Nation of Ancient Traditions . . . . . . . . 16 Korean Peninsula: An Asian Land Divided. . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Pyongyang, North Korea: North Korea’s Age-Old Capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Seoul, South Korea: A Modern Ancient Capital . . . . . . . 22 Southeast Asia Phnom Penh, Cambodia: The City of Lady Penh . . . . . . . . 24 Angkor Wat: Cambodia’s Treasured Temple . . . . . . . . . 26 Indonesia: Island Nation of Southeast Asia . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Yangon, Myanmar: City of the Gold Pagoda . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Philippines: Tropical Island Republic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Singapore: The Lion City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Thailand: Kingdom of Southeast Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Bangkok, Thailand: City of Angels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Vietnam: North and South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Hanoi, Vietnam: Capital of Reunited Vietnam. . . . . . . . 42 South Asia Afghanistan: Mountain Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Bangladesh: Land of the Bengals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Thimphu, Bhutan: City in the Heart of the Himalayas . . . 48 India: Land of Temples and Shrines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Taj Mahal: Wonder of the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Nepal: Country of Mount Everest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Kathmandu, Nepal: City of Palaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Pakistan: A Young Country with an Ancient History . . . . . 58 Pakistan: Land of the Indus Civilization . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Sri Lanka: Island Nation of Natural Riches. . . . . . . . . . . 62 The Middle East and Transcaucasia Fertile Crescent: Cradle of Civilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Yerevan, Armenia: City of Cafés . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Istanbul, Turkey: City on Two Continents. . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Iran: Modern Persia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Baghdad, Iraq: City of Arabian Nights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Israel: The Jewish State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Jerusalem: Holy City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Amman, Jordan: City on Seven Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Beirut, Lebanon: The City of Wells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Oman: Rocky Soils and Oil Riches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Mecca, Saudi Arabia: Holiest City of Islam . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Damascus, Syria: Pearl of the East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Australia and New