WILDLIFESome of the world’s most endangered mammals are found in Asia, including the snow leopard, red panda, and Asiatic black
bear. The forests of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Borneo shelter elephants, tigers, and orang-utans from the heat. Sharks, turtles, and
manta rays live among the reefs off the coast of southeast Asia.
Table tennis,
along with football, is
(^194) China’s most popular sport
INDUSTRY
By exporting resources of oil and natural
gas, Asian nations such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq,
and Kuwait have become wealthy. Japan,
too, has seen rapid economic growth from
its cutting-edge technology. India, China,
and other Asian countries have benefitted
from mass-producing cars, clothes, and
electronics for export.
SPORTThere is a long tradition of martial arts in
Asia, which includes judo, karate, and sumo wrestling in Japan and kung fu in China.
Mongolians and Tibetans were once expert horse-riders and racing remains a common pursuit. India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka excel
at cricket, while table tennis is also popular.
Tiger
Freshwater crocodile
Judo
Rice is Asia’s staple food
and has been cultivated
for more than 9,500 years
The stock exchange in Tokyo is the third largest in the world
South Korea is the fifth-largest car manufacturing nation in the world
The
Sasakia charonda
butterfly, nicknamed Japanese emperor, is Japan’s national butterfly
KAZAKHSTAN
IRAN
IRAQ
ARMENIA
AZERBAIJAN
AZERB.
TURKEY
SYRIA
ISRAEL
SAUDIARABIA
GEORGIA
TU
RK
ME
NIS
TA
N
UZ
BEK
ISTA
N
KYRGYZSTAN•
TAJIKISTAN
PAKISTAN
UAE
RUSSIA
MONGOLIA
SOUTHKOREA
NORTH KOREA
CHINA
INDIA
NEPAL
BHUTAN•
THAILAND
MYANMAR(BURMA)
CAMBODIA
SINGAPORE•
LAOS
YEMEN
OMAN
JORDAN
Red Sea
BAHRAIN
- QATAR
KUWAIT•
LEBANON
CYPRUS
PHILIPPINES
South China
Sea
Aral Sea
Bay of Bengal
TAIWAN
JAPAN
MALAYSIA
BRUNEI
AFGHANISTAN
BANGLADESH
SRI LANKA•
I
N
D
O
N
E
S
I
A
Tropic of Cancer
VIE
TN
AM
EAST TIMOR (^) •
Arabian
Sea
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