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East Asia: Quick Facts

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Photos and Videos

Political map of Eastern Asia showing national boundaries and labeling major countries including China, Mongolia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. Neighboring countries such as Russia, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Laos are also partially shown. Major surrounding bodies of water include the Sea of Japan, East China Sea, South China Sea, and Pacific Ocean. Disputed and administered regions along the India-China border are marked with lettered labels.
Physical features of East Asia
Kuril Islands
Inner Mongolia
White Heron Castle, also known as Himeji Castle, seen through branches of blooming cherry blossoms in Himeji, Japan.
A living fossil
A giant panda cub, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, lies draped over a tree branch with its eyes closed, appearing to sleep.
Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata)
Thematic map showing the geographic distribution of Sino-Tibetan language families in East and Southeast Asia. Green areas indicate Sinitic (Chinese) languages across most of China and Taiwan, pink marks Tibetic languages in Tibet and surrounding regions, yellow shows Burmic (Burmese) in Myanmar, and red highlights Baric (Bodo-Garo) and Karenic (Karen) languages in parts of Northeast India, Bhutan, and Thailand. Country boundaries and major bodies of water are labeled for context.
Five Shinto monks in black robes and carrying straw hats walk in front of the bright orange and green buildings of Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, Japan.
The life and legacy of Confucius
What were the 13 major dynasties of China?
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