Located at the exact centre of the ancient city of Beijing, the Forbidden City was the imperial palace and home to 24 emperors during the mid-Ming and the Qing Dynasties.

Known now as the Palace Museum, its extensive grounds cover 720,000 square meters, 800 buildings and more than 8,000 rooms. As such, it is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world, and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 as the “Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties”. The Imperial Palace Grounds are located directly to the north of Tiananmen Square and are accessible from the square via Tiananmen Gate. It is surrounded by a large area called the Imperial City.

There are unique and delicately structured towers on each of the four corners of the curtain wall. These afford views over both the palace and the city outside. The Forbidden City is divided into two parts:

- The Outer Court, which includes the southern and central sections, centres on three halls used for ceremonial purposes, such as coronations, investitures, and imperial weddings.
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Nepal, officially Kingdom of Nepal, is a landlocked Himalayan country in South Asia, bordered by China to the north and by India to the south, east and west. The origin of the name Nepal is uncertain, but the most popular understanding is that it derived from Ne (holy) and pal (cave).
For a small territory, the Nepali landscape is uncommonly diverse, ranging from the humid Terai in the south to the lofty Himalayas in the north.
Nepal boasts eight of the world’s ten highest mountains. The world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest (Sagarmatha in Nepali) at 8,850 m is located on the border with Tibet. Kanchenjunga, the world’s third highest peak, is also located on its eastern border with Sikkim.

Most of the trekking Nepal is called “Tea-House Trekking” as the day’s hike is between guesthouse-filled towns. While this doesn’t make the treks that much easier, it means there is no need for tents, food, water, or beer– all those things, plus luxuries such as apple-pie, can be purchased along the way. Remote trekking is also possible, but unless you are an experienced wilderness trekker, it is recommended to hire a guide and porters.

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- Asia is the largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth’s total surface area, or 29.4% of its land area, and it contains more than 60% of the world’s human population.
- Rusia, which also stretches over a vast expanse of Europe, is the largest country in the world by land mass, covering almost twice the territory of the next-largest country, Canada. It has an area of 17,075,200 square kilometres.
- China is the world’s largest country by population, home to 1 out of every 5 people on the planet.
- Tokyo, capital of Japan, is the most populated metropolitan area in the world, with more than 35 million inhabitants.
- Besides its mainland, Asia includes a large number of islands, including some of the world’s largest islands, such as Borneo and Sumatra, and some of the world’s most populated islands, such as Java and Honshu.
- Mount Everest (Himalaya) is the highest point on Earth - 8,848 m (29,028 feet) - , as measured by the height of its summit above sea level. The mountain is located on the border between Nepal and China. It was first climbed in 1953.
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Every journey begins with a step. Every blog begins with a first post. This is our first post. We decided to start this blog in order to offer you useful travel information about the fascinating Asia.
So, join us on this journey. Enjoy the reading!