Natural areas of Central Asia map. Tourist and recreational zones and regions of Asia

Natural zones and physiographic zoning
Overseas Asia

Geographical zones and zones

In Foreign Asia there are natural areas:
- Equatorial
- Subequatorial
- Tropical
- Subtropical
- Temperate zones.
The latitudinal orientation of the zones is preserved only in
continental sector of the temperate zone (in Central
Asia).
In the oceanic sectors and in the subequatorial
belt there are violations of latitudinal zonality,
associated with the characteristics of atmospheric circulation and
the structure of the relief, creating a clearly defined
“barrier relief”: it is especially clearly manifested in Malaya
Asia, on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, in the NE
China, on the Hindustan and Indochina peninsulas.
LOOK AT THE MAP!!!:

Natural areas of Foreign Asia

Vegetation of Asia

Equatorial belt

The equatorial belt occupies almost the entire Malay Archipelago, south
Philippine Islands, Malacca Peninsula and southwest Sri Lanka. Constantly
high temperatures, abundant and uniform moisture (more than 3000 mm), constant
high humidity (80-85%). The radiation balance is lower than in the tropics - 60-65 kcal/cm2
per year, which is associated with heavy cloudiness.
The zone of equatorial forests (gile) dominates. Floristically these are the most
rich forests on the globe (over 45 thousand species). Species composition of tree species
reaches 5 thousand (in Europe there are only 200 species). The forests are multi-tiered, abundantly represented
lianas and epiphytes. There are about 300 types of palm trees: palmyra, sugar, areca, sago, caryota,
rattan palm liana. Tree ferns, bamboos, and pandanuses are numerous. On
coast mangroves from Avicenia, rhizophora, nipa palms.
Zonal soils are leached and podzolized laterites. For the mountains
vertical belts are characteristic. Typical hylea at altitudes of 1000-1200 m gives way to mountain
hylaea, less tall, but wetter and denser. Above are deciduous formations. On
At the tops, low-growing shrubs alternate with patches of meadow vegetation.
The fauna is rich and diverse. Preserved: orangutan, as well as monkeys
gibbon, macaques. Predators include tiger, leopard, sun bear, wild elephant. Remained
tapirs, tupai, woolly wings, reptiles - flying dragons, lizards, giant
Komodorian monitor lizard (3-4 m). From snakes - pythons (reticulated up to 8-10 m), vipers, arboreal
snakes. There is a gharial crocodile in the rivers.
Hylean forests are preserved on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. On cleared
Hevea, spices, tea, mango, and breadfruit are grown in the lands.

Subequatorial belt

The subequatorial belt covers the Hindustan Peninsula, Indochina, and the north of the Philippine Islands.
Radiation balance from 65 to 80 kcal/cm2 per year. Differences in moisture have led to the formation here
several natural zones: subequatorial forests, seasonally wet monsoon forests, shrub
woodlands and savannas.
Zone of subequatorial forests - along the western coasts of Hindustan, Indochina, northern
the extremities of the Philippine archipelago and the lower reaches of the Ganges-Brahmaputra, where more than 2000 mm of precipitation falls. Forests
They are distinguished by a variety of species composition, multi-tiered, and difficult to pass. Dipterocarpus are typical for them,
streculia, albizia, ficus, palms, bamboos. Most have soft wood. Trees provide valuable by-products
products: tannins, resin, rosin, rubber.
Zonal soils are red-yellow ferrallitic with low fertility. tea plantations,
coffee tree, rubber plants, spices, bananas, mangoes, citrus fruits.
The zone of seasonally wet monsoon forests is confined to the eastern outskirts of Hindustan and Indochina,
where precipitation is no more than 1000 mm. Deciduous evergreen forests are multi-tiered and shady with many vines and epiphytes.
Valuable species grow: teak, sal, sandalwood, dalbergia. Monsoon forests have been severely damaged by deforestation.
With a decrease in precipitation to 800-600 mm, monsoon forests are replaced by a shrub zone
woodlands and savannas, the largest areas of which are confined to the Deccan Plateau and inland areas
peninsula of Indochina. Woody vegetation gives way to formations of tall grasses: bearded grass,
alang-alang, wild sugar cane. In summer the savanna turns green, in winter it turns yellow. Single palm trees, banyan trees and
acacias diversify the landscape.
The soils are dominated by red-colored varieties: red, red-brown, red-brown soils. They
poor in humus, susceptible to erosion, but widely used in agriculture. Stable yields only when
irrigation. Rice, cotton, and millet crops are cultivated.
The fauna was rich, but is now greatly exterminated: rhinoceroses, bulls (gayal), antelopes, deer, hyenas,
red wolves, jackals, leopards. There are many monkeys and semi-monkeys (lories) in the forests. Peacocks, wild chickens, parrots,
blackbirds, pheasants, starlings.

Tropical zone

The tropical zone occupies the southern part of Arabia, the south of Iranian
highlands, Thar desert. Radiation balance 70-75 kcal/cm2 per year. IN
throughout the year trade wind circulation, high temperatures, large
daily fluctuations. Precipitation less than 100 mm at evaporation rate 3000
mm.
Under such conditions, zones of deserts and semi-deserts are formed.
Large spaces are occupied by shifting sands and barren
rocky deserts (hammads). Vegetation consists of ephemerals,
hard subshrubs and cereals (wormwood, astragalus, aloe, spurge,
ephedra). There is an edible lichen "manna from heaven"
(linacora edible). The date palm grows in the oases. Soil
the cover is poorly developed and is absent over large areas.
In mountainous areas, dragon trees grow on windward slopes.
trees, gum acacias, incense trees (myrrh, boswellia).
juniper.
The fauna is diverse: wolf, jackal, fennec fox, striped
hyena, ungulates - sand gazelle, mountain goat. Rodents - jerboas, gerbils. Birds - eagles, vultures, kites

Subtropical zone

The subtropical zone stretches from Asia Minor to the Japanese Islands. Radiation balance 55-70
kcal/cm2 per year. It is characterized by sectored landscapes.
In the largest continental sector, zones of deserts, semi-deserts and steppes are distinguished. On
in the west, in a Mediterranean climate, a zone of evergreen hard-leaved forests and shrubs is developed, in
the Pacific sector is a zone of monsoon mixed forests. Natural zoning is complicated by vertical
clarity.
Continental
sector
Mediterranean
sector
Pacific
sector
Evergreens
forests and
bushes
Monsoon
evergreen
mixed
forests
Deserts,
semi-deserts
Steppes

1. The zone of evergreen hard-leaved forests and shrubs in Asia is entering
a narrow strip along the Mediterranean coast of Asia Minor and Arabia. The climate here is more
continental than in Europe, annual temperature ranges are greater, precipitation falls
less. The vegetation has pronounced xerophytic features. There are almost no forests left,
They were replaced by shrub formations. Maquis predominates, depleted in species
in comparison with European ones. It is dominated by shrub oak
kermes. In the Levant it is mixed with carob and Palestinian pistachio, and in
Asia Minor - red juniper, myrtle, heather, wild olive. On dry coastal
On the slopes, maquis gives way to freegana and shiblyak, as well as deciduous shrubs - rosehip, wild rose, euonymus, and jasmine. Brown soils are replaced by chestnut soils.
Altitudinal zone: Shrub formations rise into the mountains up to 600-800 m,
higher up grow coniferous-deciduous forests (black pine, Cilician fir, cypress, oak,
maple). From 2000 m xerophytic vegetation predominates, often having
cushion-shaped (euphorbia, Cretan barberry, sticky rose).
2. In the continental sector of the subtropical belt, occupying the Western Asian
highlands, dominated by deserts and semi-deserts. The basin structure of the uplands is
the reason that natural areas are shaped like concentric circles. In the central
Parts of the highlands are deserts. They are framed by semi-deserts, then mountain steppes and
shrubby woodland.
The largest areas of deserts and semi-deserts are in the Iranian Plateau. More than 30% of it
The territory is covered by salt marshes, devoid of vegetation, and a significant area is occupied by
rocky and sandy deserts. Zonal soils are desert gray soils and brown soils.
The fauna is quite diverse. Of the ungulates - white-browed goat, mouflon, wild
donkey onager (kulan), among predators - caracal, striped hyena. Rodents - gophers, jerboas, marmots.

10.

The steppe zone is confined to the foothill areas, in which there are alternating
wormwood and feather grass formations. In spring, ephemerals and some
cereals that burn out by summer. On the slopes of the mountains, steppes give way to shrubby
open forests. The Western Asian highlands are the birthplace of the phryganoid
formations of upland xerophytes - thorny cushion-shaped subshrubs
forms less than 1 m high. The most typical types are acantholimon, astragalus,
juniper.
The Tibetan Plateau, due to its enormous relative altitudes (more than
4000 m), characterized by vegetation of high mountain steppes, semi-deserts and
deserts.
3. The zone of monsoon evergreen mixed forests is typical for
Pacific sector of the subtropical belt. It covers the southern regions
Eastern China and the Japanese Islands. Natural vegetation has given way
place for plantations of tea, citrus fruits, cotton, rice. The forests retreated into the gorges,
on steep cliffs, in the mountains. The forest stand is dominated by laurels, myrtles, camellias,
Podocarpus, Cunningamia. Forests in Japan are better preserved.
The dominant species are evergreen oaks, camphor laurel, Japanese pine,
cypresses, cryptomerias, thujas. In the rich undergrowth of bamboo, gardenia, magnolia,
azaleas.
Red soils and yellow soils predominate (from 5 to 10% humus). But
fertility is low, since the soils are poor in calcium, magnesium, and nitrogen.
The fauna is preserved only in the mountains. Among the rare animals are lemurs (the slow loris), a small predator - the Asian civet, and among the ungulates - the tapir.
The avifauna is rich: pheasants, one species of parrots, geese, ducks, cranes, herons,
pelicans.

11. Temperate zone

The temperate zone is limited in area, occupies part of Central Asia, Eastern
and Northeast China, Hokkaido Island. Radiation balance 30-55 kcal/cm2 per year.
Climatic conditions in the continental and oceanic sectors are different. Particularly large
contrasts in moisture: more than 1000 mm of precipitation falls on the coast, inland it falls
the quantity is reduced to 100 mm. Accordingly, the landscape features are varied. Zones
taiga, mixed and deciduous forests are characteristic of the oceanic sector;
the inland region is occupied by zones of deserts, semi-deserts, steppes and forest-steppes.
Inland
sector
Ocean sector
Deserts,
semi-deserts
Taiga
Steppes, forest-steppes
Mixed and
broadleaf
forests

12.

OCEANIC SECTOR
1. The taiga zone is found in Northeast China, where Dahurian larch and
Scots pine. The tracts of coniferous forests on the island of Hokkaido are more extensive. Here they prevail
Hokkaido spruce and Sakhalin fir, mixed with Ayan spruce, Japanese pine, yew
Far Eastern, in the undergrowth there are bamboos and grasses. The soils are podzolic, and in the lowlands they are peat-boggy.
2. Mixed forest zone mainly in Northeast China. Glaciation in
The Quaternary period was not here, so representatives of the Arcto-Tertiary flora found refuge here.
Mixed forests abound in endemics and relicts. This is the so-called Manchurian flora, very
rich in species. The forests include Korean cedar, white fir, larch
Olginskaya, Ayan spruce, Mongolian oak, Manchurian walnut, greenbark and bearded maple. IN
undergrowth Amur lilac, Ussuri buckthorn, Manchurian currant, chokeberry,
aralias, rhododendrons. From vines: Amur grapes, lemongrass, hops. The soils are dominated by
dark-colored, podzolized forest brown soils and gray soils to varying degrees.
Broadleaf forest zone
adjoins mixed ones from the south.
The forests have mostly been cut down,
the remaining arrays consist of
maple, linden, elm, ash, walnut
nut Forests are better preserved
Japan, where beech and
oak, maple are widely represented
(up to 20 species), ash
Manchurian, local species
walnuts, as well as chestnuts,
linden, cherry, birch, magnolia.
Zonal soil type - forest
brown soils.

13. Inland sector

1. The prairie zone is located on the plains of Northeast China. Unlike
North American Asian prairies receive less precipitation (500-600 mm). However
the presence of permafrost spots that thaw in summer additionally moisten the soil. Formations develop
tallgrass prairie, often interspersed with oak woodlands. Currently
natural vegetation has been completely destroyed. Fertile meadow chernozem-like soils (up to
9% humus) are plowed and occupied by crops of millet (kaoliang), legumes, corn, rice, vegetables,
watermelons
2. In the continental sector of the temperate zone, aridity features are clearly pronounced: especially
The interior parts of Central Asia are arid, dominated by desert and semi-desert zones.
Large areas are devoid of life and represent an ideal desert. Where there is vegetation, it
sparse and represented by psammophytes (sand lovers) and halophytes (salt lovers). These are different
species of saltwort, wormwood, tamarisk shrubs, juzgun, ephedra, saxaul. Developed in deserts
gray soils, in semi-deserts - brown soils (less than 1% humus).
Ungulates and rodents. Among the ungulates are the Bactrian camel, the wild ass, antelopes (gazer,
goitered gazelle, Przhevalsky), in the mountains - goats and rams. Rodents include gophers, jerboas, and voles.
3. The steppe zone occupies the basins of western Dzungaria, the northern parts of Mongolia (up to
41-42°N) and the foothills of the Greater Khingan. Precipitation up to 250 mm. Low-grass dry steppes predominate,
in which there is no continuous vegetation cover - low-growing feather grass, chamomile, tonkonog, caragana,
wormwood. Soils are chestnut; are divided into dark and light chestnut. With artificial
Irrigated dark chestnut trees produce high yields of wheat, beans, corn, and kaoliang. Light chestnut trees are not used for agriculture; transhumance is developed on them.

14. Physiographic zoning

Regions:
1. SW Asia
2. Western Asian
highlands
3. South Asia
4. SE Asia
5. Central Asia
6. East Asia
Physiographic regions of Foreign
Asia

15. Regions or physical-geographical countries: SW Asia Western Asian Highlands S. Asia SE Asia Central Asia East Asia

Asian
Mediterranean
Omorye
(Levant),
Mesopotam
and I,
Arabian
peninsula
Asia Minor
highlands,
Armenian
highland,
Iranian
highlands
Northeastern
China and
peninsula
Korea,
Central
China, South
China,
Northern Mongolia,
Japanese
plains and
islands
South plateau
Mongolia and
Northern China,
mountains and basins
Northwestern
China, Hindu Kush and
Karakoram systems
Kunlun-AltyntagNanshan, Tibetan
highlands
Indochina,
Malay
archipelago,
Filipino
islands
Himalayas,
Indo-Gangetic
lowland,
peninsula
Hindustan,
island
Ceylon
Physiographic regions

16. Central Asia: Central Kazakhstan, Turan Lowland and Balkhash region, mountains of the southeast and east of Central Asia

D/Z: Prepare a presentation according to plan

17. Physiographic countries generally correspond to the main morphostructural regions. They have territorial integrity, from

Physiographic countries generally correspond to the main
morphostructural regions.
They have territorial integrity, isolation, and
an independent history of the development of relief, hydraulic networks, organic world,
characterized by a specific landscape structure.
1. Central Asia – high plains, highest
mountains and highlands on heterogeneous structures with
dominance of dry steppe, semi-desert and desert
landscapes;
2. East Asia - with highly dissected terrain,
alternating medium-high and low mountains, extensive
alluvial lowlands, with dissected
sea ​​coasts and chains of islands along them,
monsoon climate (temperate to
tropical), forest landscapes;
3. SW Asia – arid plains and plateaus with tropical
rocky and sandy deserts, dry
trade wind climate, sparse vegetation;

18.

4. The Western Asian highlands are closed, dry
highlands, vast empty basins and salt marshes,
drainless
depressions,
With
continental
subtropical
climate,
dry
steppes,
woodlands and shrubs.
5. South Asia
6. SE Asia
Most
loved ones in
landscape
respect
regions, with
warm seasonally
wet
climate
equatorial
monsoons and
dominance
various
tropical
forest
landscapes.
Fenced by the Himalayas
north,
characterized
more
high temperatures, great
contrasts in hydration and therefore
a richer range of landscapes
– from evergreen humid tropical
forests to tropical deserts.
Mostly
mountain
relief, higher and more uniform
hydration, especially on the islands,
absolute
dominance
forest
landscapes – from gils to dry ones
deciduous monsoon forests and
woodlands.

19. Central Asia – sharp continental climate and monotony of landscapes, associated with an extreme degree of aridity; The region is remote from the Oka

Central Asia – sharp continental climate and monotony
landscapes associated with an extreme degree of aridity;
The region is remote from the oceans, isolated by powerful mountain systems, elevated
(from 1000-1200 m in Central Asia proper to 4000-5000 m in Tibet).
After the collapse of the USSR, the territory
Central Asian republics and Kazakhstan
is being considered
V
composition
Central Asian
subcontinent.
Thus, Central Asia includes
the following physical-geographical countries:
Central Kazakhstan, Turan plains
plates and Balkhash region, mountains and basins
Northwestern China and Central Asia,
plains and plateaus of Southern Mongolia and
Northern China, Northern Mongolia,
Pamir - Hindu Kush - Karakorum, Kunlun Altyntag - Nanshan, Tibetan Plateau. On
in the north the subcontinent borders Western
Siberia and the mountains of Southern Siberia, on
in the east from the East, in the south - from the South
Asia, in the west - with the Southern Urals and
Mugodzhars, the Caspian region, then in the southwest - with the Iranian Plateau.
Region - a system of basins limited
more or less high mountains and
hills.

20.

The main natural features of Central Asia:
- “Lattice-honeycomb” surface structure. Almost the entire region is a system of basins,
limited by more or less high mountains and hills. The central parts of the basins are
hard blocks of different geological ages, mountain uplifts formed by neotectonic
movements within different age moving belts. All physical-geographical countries of the subcontinent are similar in this respect, except for Central Kazakhstan.
- Large amplitudes of heights. They are associated with the activity of neotectonic movements (Turfan depression
lies at an altitude of 154 m below sea level, the city of Chogori in Karakoram has an absolute height of 8611 m). Eat
data that over the past 10 thousand years the Kunlun, Nanshan and other mountains have risen by 1300-1500 m.
- Aridity of the climate, due to the inland location and basin relief. With this
many features of different components of nature are connected.
- Erosion dismemberment of mountain slopes occurred only in pluvial eras; glaciation is not
developed because there was not enough water; ancient leveling surfaces have been preserved;
modern denudation is slow, mainly due to weathering processes, talus and work
temporary streams; debris material is not carried far from the slopes where it formed (“mountains are drowning in
own wreckage"); groundwater is usually deep and often mineralized; rivers
low in water, sometimes they don’t flow anywhere; lakes are mostly salty, often with intermittent
outlines, and in some cases “wander” from one shallow basin to another; dominate
deserts, semi-deserts and dry steppes on brown, gray-brown and in some places chestnut soils; wide
salt marshes and solonetzes are widespread; plants and animals have adaptations to life in dry conditions
conditions.
- Disorganized flow (according to V. M. Sinitsyn): areas of internal flow and drainless areas predominate. This
explained both by the aridity of the climate and the basin structure of the territory.
- The highest degree of continental climate: annual temperature amplitudes can reach 90°C,
Low winter temperatures are especially characteristic. The features of continentality are most clearly manifested in
numerous large and small basins, so characteristic of the region’s topography.
- Central Asia has long been a little-studied region. Mountain barriers, harsh climate
conditions and remoteness from European countries prevented the penetration of scientific expeditions into
Central Asian territory. The political isolation of many parts of the region also played a role. Only in the XIX
V. the first expeditions took place, and, overcoming natural obstacles and Mongol resistance,
Tibetan and Chinese authorities, scientists from many countries explored and mapped this territory.
The pluvial period is a stage of intense climate humidification due to an increase in the amount
liquid precipitation.

21. Relief

Central Asia is characterized by high altitudes, and clearly
There are 2 main relief tiers.
The lower tier is formed by the Gobi, Alashan, Ordos, Dzungarian and
Tarim Plain, the prevailing heights of which are 500-1500 m.
The upper tier is the Tibetan Plateau, within which the average
heights increase to 4-4.5 thousand m.
Plains and plateaus are separated from each other linearly
elongated mountain systems of the Eastern Tien Shan, Kunlun,
Nanshan, Mongolian Altai, Karakorum, Gandhisishan, etc.,
having a predominantly latitudinal and sublatitudinal strike.
The highest peaks of the Tien Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun reach
6-7 thousand m; the highest point of Central Asia is the city of Chogori, in Karakorum (8611 m).
Chogori, Karakoram

22. Kun-Lun

23. The Turfan depression lies at an altitude of 154 m below sea level

24.

25.

26.

27. Climate

Modern climatic conditions are characterized by large amplitudes
temperatures
Summer is hot (with average monthly temperatures of 22-24°C the air can
warm up to 45°C, and the soil - to 70°C). Winters with frosts and little snow. Veliki
daily temperature fluctuations, especially during transition seasons, when they can
reach 2-3 tens of degrees.
In winter, the Asian Anticyclone is located over Central Asia, and in summer,
area of ​​low atmospheric pressure with a predominance of moisture-depleted
air masses of oceanic origin.
The climate is sharply continental, dry, with significant seasonal and daily
temperature fluctuations. Average January temperatures on the plains are from -10 to -25 °C,
July from 20 to 25 °C (on the Tibetan Plateau about 10 °C). Annual precipitation amount on
plains usually does not exceed 200 mm, and areas such as the Taklamakan desert,
Gashun Gobi, Tsaidam, Changtang Plateau, receive less than 50 mm, which is tens of times
less evaporation. The greatest amount of precipitation falls in summer. In the mountains
in the ridges of precipitation is 300-500 mm, and in the south-east, where the influence of the summer monsoon is felt, up to 1000
mm per year. Central Asia is characterized by strong winds and an abundance of sunny days
(240-270 per year).
A reflection of the dry climate is the significant height of the snow line,
reaching 5-5.5 thousand m in Kunlun and Nanshan, and 67 thousand m on the Tibetan Plateau, in Changtan (its highest position on the globe). Therefore, despite the enormous
the height of the mountains, there is little snow in them, and intermountain valleys and plains are usually snowless in winter.
The scale of modern glaciation is insignificant (the glaciation area is Central
Asia is estimated at 50-60 thousand km2). The main centers of glaciation are located in the most
high mountain nodes of the Karakoram, Kunlun, as well as the Eastern Tien Shan and
Mongolian Altai. Cirque, hanging and small valley glaciers predominate.

28. Surface water

Due to the dry climate, Central Asia is characterized by low
water cut. Most of the territory belongs to the area of ​​internal
flow, forming a series of closed basins (Tarim, Dzhungar,
Tsaidamsky, Basin of the Great Lakes, etc.).
The main rivers are Tarim, Khotan, Aksu, Konchedarya, Urungu, Manas, Kobdo,
Dzabkhan - originate in high peripheral mountain ranges, and upon exiting
on the plains, a significant part of their runoff seeps into loose sediments
foothill plumes, evaporates and is spent on irrigating fields; That's why
downstream, the water content of rivers usually decreases, many of them dry up
or carry water only during the summer flood caused by the main
by melting snow and ice in the mountains of Central Asia Driest
regions of Central Asia (Alashan, Beishan, Gashun and Trans-Altai Gobi,
central part of the Taklamakan Desert) are practically devoid of surface
watercourses. Their surface is covered with dry riverbeds in which water appears
only after occasional showers. Only the outskirts have flow into the oceans
Central Asia, in the mountains of which the great rivers of Asia originate: the Yellow River,
Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Brahmaputra, Indus, Irtysh, Selenga, Amur.
There are many lakes in Central Asia, the largest of which is Lake
Kukunor, and the deepest is Khubsugul. The largest number of lakes is in Tibet
highlands and in the north of the Mongolian People's Republic. Many of them are terminal river floods
(for example, Lop Nor), due to which their outlines and sizes often change in
depending on fluctuations in river water content. Salt lakes predominate; from
The largest fresh ones are Khara-Us-Nur, Bagrashkol, Khubsugol. Many lakes on
plains are in a stage of decline.

29. Tarim River

Tarim wanders around
basin,
breaks down into
sleeves, changes
direction,
leaving without water
oases with
populated
points that
due to
throw this away.
The location of the river mouth has not been determined: in
different years it flows in different directions.
Most rivers flowing from mountains into basins
lost in the sand, dismantled for irrigation or
At times, salt lakes fill with water.

30.

Lake Khubsugul in Mongolia. Mountain range in the background
Munku-Sardyk

31.

Gobi Desert, Central Asia (territory of Mongolia and
China).
Construction of the Lotos Hotel,
China

32.

Khotan River crossing the sandy
Taklamakan Desert, China.

33. Soils. The predominant soil types in the north are chestnut, in the deserts of Northwestern China - gray-brown, desert, in the Tibetan region

Soils.
The predominant soil types in the north are chestnut, in deserts
Northwestern China - gray-brown, desert, on the Tibetan Plateau -
frozen soils of cold high mountain deserts. In relief depressions -
salt marshes and takyrs. In the upper mountain belt there are mountain-meadow and (in the north) mountain forest soils. The soils of the Central Asian plains are usually thin, almost
devoid of humus, often contain large amounts of carbonates and gypsum;
significant areas of sandy and rocky deserts are generally devoid of
soil cover. In the mountains there are gravelly and coarse-skeletal soils.

34. Some areas of sandy and gravelly deserts are completely devoid of vegetation, in other places these are typical desert communities with floors

Some areas of sandy and gravelly deserts are completely devoid of vegetation, in
in other places these are typical desert communities with wormwood, solyanka, ephedra,
camel thorn, tamarisk, sometimes with saxaul on the sands.
Only in the outlying mountains at altitudes of 1800-3000 m do forests of Tien Shan pine appear
spruce, elm, aspen. Variegated poplar, desert elm, and willows grow along dry riverbeds. IN
There are meadows in mountain valleys and on the slopes of high mountains.
Taklamakan - a sandbox in a bowl between the mountains

35.

36. Ephedra

37. East Asia

The most extensive region of foreign Asia, located
between the Amur Valley and the coast of South China, including
adjacent Pacific Islands.
The situation in the eastern oceanic sector of Asia with
its characteristic monsoon circulation and abundant
moisture in the summer season determined the dominance of forest
landscapes (from southern taiga to constantly humid tropical
forests).
In the leeward position, in the north, where the monsoon circulation
weakens somewhat, forest-steppes and meadow steppes appear.
In contrast to the monsoon climate of South and South-East Asia, there is significant
cyclonic activity on the polar front plays a role,
therefore, intra-annual moisture in Eastern Asia is more uniform.
Fauna and flora of the region that did not experience glaciation
characterized by high species diversity and endemism.
A characteristic feature of nature is the vaguely expressed zoning of landscapes,
associated with the predominance
mountainous terrain with its inherent vertical zonation

38.

39.

40. Western Asian Highlands

Form a continuous belt from the coast
Mediterranean Sea to Tibet and include
Asia Minor, Armenian and Iranian plateaus.
They are characterized by a combination of peripheral
folded structures of Cenozoic age with
more
ancient
median
arrays,
the great role of neotectonic movements in
formation of modern relief.
Typical Mediterranean landscapes are similar
with European ones, and as we move east
the influence of purely Asian features is growing -
continentality
climate,
drainlessness,
landscapes
acquire
dry steppe
And
desert features.

41.

Sandy desert of Rub al-Khali, Arabia
peninsula.

42.

Sandy-salt desert
Dasht-Lut, Iran.

43.

Infrared satellite
image of the Great Salt
desert (Dasht-Kevir), Iran.

Coniferous forests.

Distributed in Northern Mongolia: in the Khangai, in the northern part of the Mongolian Altai, in the Amur region, and Japan. There is no continuous zone here. Spruce and fir are common. In the eastern part of the zone, cryptomeria and thuja are added to these species. In the Amur region - Daurian larch. In Hokkaido - Hokkaido spruce, Ayan spruce, Sakhalin fir, Japanese pine, Far Eastern yew. The undergrowth here often contains evergreen grasses and shrubs, including bamboo.

Article: taiga of Russia.

Mixed forests.

Distributed in the Amur region and Manchuria. The Manchurian flora includes many relict species of arcotretional flora. Here, in the intermountain basins, which the glacier did not reach, specific shelters for plants were formed. The Manchurian flora is more thermophilic than the modern one. Now it is mixed with more cold-resistant species; the undergrowth is mostly relict. In the first tier of these forests there are representatives of modern Japanese and Chinese flora: Korean cedar, white fir, whole-leaved fir, Alginian larch, Ayan spruce, Mongolian oak, Manchurian walnut, Amur and Manchurian linden, greenbark and bearded maples, and noleaf ash. In the undergrowth - Amur lilac, Ussuri buckthorn, Manchurian currant, chokeberry, rhododendron, Amur aralia, grapes, hops, lemongrass.

Article: Mixed forests of the Russian Plain.

Broad-leaved forests.

They are found in northeastern China (almost destroyed), Japan (here they are better preserved). These forests contain oaks and beeches, many maples (about 20 species), Manchurian ash, walnuts, chestnuts, lindens, cherries, birches, and magnolias. Before the onset of active anthropogenic impact, the local Chinese flora consisted of 260 genera of trees, since this is a very ancient land area.

Steppes and forest-steppes.

To this day, this plant formation has hardly been preserved. In Mongolia and China, the steppes are plowed. Typical plants are feather grass, serpentine grass, chamomile, tonkonogo, caragana subshrub (a relative of acacia), and wormwood. Currently, wheat, corn, kaoliang, beans, and sesame are cultivated here. In China, rice, vegetables, watermelons, and melons are grown under irrigated farming conditions.

Semi-deserts and deserts.

Mongolia, China. The species composition is poor. There are saxaul, tamarisk, ostrogal, ephedra, caragana, and jusgun.

Article: Temperate deserts.

Article: Semi-deserts.

Subtropics. Evergreen monsoon forests.

They are found in eastern China south of the Yangtze, on the southern islands of Japan. There are: oaks, evergreen camellia (tea ancestor), camphor tree, myrtle, cryptomeria (coniferous), podocarpus shrub. The undergrowth contains evergreens: bamboo, azalea, pridenia, magnolia.

Hyrcanian forests.

The Hyrcanian region is located between the northern slopes of Elborz and the Caspian Sea. Lush subtropical forests are common here, consisting mainly of broad-leaved deciduous species. The undergrowth contains a mixture of evergreens. In appearance, these forests resemble those of Colchis. Currently, a significant part of the territory is covered with gardens of pomegranates, walnuts, and pistachios.

Evergreen hard-leaved forests and shrubs.

Distributed on the coast of Asia Minor, in the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Israel). Found only on windward slopes of mountains. There is maquis, which is poorer than the European one. The dominant species are kermes and shrub oak, Palestinian pistachio, and carob. In addition, there are juniper, myrtle, heather, and wild olive. In drier areas - freegana and shiblyak. The dominant species are rosehip, buckthorn, euonymus and jasmine.

Altitudinal zone.

Mediterranean vegetation up to 600-800 m. Coniferous-deciduous forests in the lower part with chestnut, maple, cypress, deciduous oak, in the upper part with Killykian fir and black pine up to 2000 m. Above - a belt of xerophytic vegetation, often cushion-shaped: sticky rose, spurge , Cretan barberry.

Subtropical steppes.

Found in central Turkey (Anatolian Plateau). Among the plants, wormwood and feather grass predominate; in the spring, ephemerals bloom - bulbous and tuberous. Herbs include alpine bluegrass.

Phryganoid formations of mountain xerophytes.

Their homeland is the Western Asian highlands. Mostly they contain thorny cushion-shaped subshrubs and no more than 1 m in height: acantholimon, ostrogal, juniper.

Semi-deserts and deserts.

They occupy the inner basins of the Iranian Plateau - Dashte Lut, Dashte Kavir. Their main feature is the dominance of saltworts (halophytes). Almost every depression in the soil contains its own set of salts and, as a result, specific types of plants grow.

Tibetan flora.

In terms of genesis, it is closer to the Himalayan and Chinese floras. Mostly, cushion-shaped semi-shrubs grow here - for example, cargan, and among herbs - hard Tibetan sedge.

Equatorial-tropical zone. Moist equatorial forests.

The humidity coefficient here is more than 2. The dry season is no more than 2 months. Distributed in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Western Ghats, southern Vietnam, the mouth of the Mekong, Thailand. Moist equatorial (tropical) forests are the oldest plant formation on land.

Their main features:

• 1. Multi-tiered (at least 5 tiers). The trees of the first tier reach a height of 50-60 m. In the Malay Archipelago, for example, there are about 2000 species of such trees, incl. in Java - 500.
• 2. Huge diversity of species. A polydominant forest structure is typical. On 1 hectare of tropical forest there are up to 40 trees of the 1st tier.
• 3. The trees have straight trunks, usually more than 2 m in diameter; the crowns are small. They increase in size when the plant reaches its height. Tall trees have disc-shaped roots-supports (buttresses). The leaf blades of the trees are mostly large, the color is dark green. This vegetation is evergreen.
• 4. A large number of vines and epiphytes. Vines are both herbs and trees. For example, the rattan palm reaches a length of 300 m.

The second tier is palm, there are about 300 species here: sago, sugar, areca, palmyra, caryota, etc.

III tier tree ferns, their height is usually up to 5 m or more, wild bananas, pandanuses, bamboos.

The insectivorous plant Rafflesia is found in the lower tiers.

Deciduous tropical forests (monsoon or mixed).

Along with evergreen plants, deciduous plants are also found (mainly in the upper tier). Plants: enga, teak tree, sal tree (diptocarp family), satin tree, red and white sandalwood, etc. This is the territory of part of Hindustan and Indochina with a semihumid climate.

Shrub woodlands and savannas.

Deccan Plateau, small areas in southern Indochina. This is a tropical savanna. The grass cover is dominated by tall grasses, mainly grasses, 1.5 m or more in height. Cereals: bearded grass, alang-alang, wild sugar cane. Trees: banyan or Indian fig tree or forest tree, palm trees (palmyra), umbrella acacias.

This is the territory of Arabia and Thar. The visiting card is the date palm, found in oases (among the Arabs it is the tree of life). Outside the oases, ephedra, ostrogal, and camel thorn grow. On saline soils, solyanka, an edible lichen, is manna from heaven. In the river valleys there are thickets of tamarisk and Euphrates poplar.

• (according to E.M. Zubaschenko)
• 2. Mineral resources of foreign Asia

The main basins of coal, iron and manganese ores, and non-metallic minerals are concentrated within the Chinese and Hindustan platforms. The Alpine-Himalayan and Pacific fold belts are dominated by ores, including the copper belt along the Pacific coast. But the main wealth of the region, which also determines its role in the international geographical division of labor, is oil and gas. Oil and gas reserves have been explored in most countries of South-West Asia (Mesopotamian trough of the earth's crust). The main deposits are located in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, and the UAE. In addition, large oil and gas fields have been explored in the countries of the Malay Archipelago. Indonesia and Malaysia especially stand out in terms of reserves. The countries of Central Asia are also rich in oil and gas (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan).

The largest reserves of salts are in the Dead Sea. The Iranian Plateau has large reserves of sulfur and non-ferrous metals. In general, Asia is one of the main regions of the world in terms of mineral reserves.

Animal world

The fauna of Foreign Asia is extremely diverse. The entire territory contains the most ancient and richest faunal region - the Indomalayan region. To the north of it are the Central Himalayan and Himalayan-Chinese subregions of the Palaearctic region. In the south of the Arabian Peninsula, the Ethiopian fauna penetrates into Foreign Asia, and on the islands of the Sunda archipelago, the Indo-Malayan fauna is gradually replaced by the Australian one.

Thus, in general, the Indo-Malayan fauna is typical for the territory under consideration, the most characteristic representatives of which are: among mammals - the black-backed tapir, the Indian elephant, three species of rhinoceroses, the gayal bull, the tiger, tupai, woolly wings, loris, tarsier, gibbon and orangutan; among birds - peacocks, various pheasants, broadbills; reptiles - king cobra, reticulated python, gharial, flying dragon (a small lizard that glides between trees using the side folds of its skin).

In the Indomalayan (South and Southeast Asia), Ethiopian (southern Arabia) and Australian (Sulawesi, Lesser Sunda Islands) zoogeographic regions, many species have been preserved that have existed since Tertiary times. In Southwestern and Central Asia, which belongs to the Palearctic region, the fauna is depleted due to Quaternary glaciations and recent vertical uplifts.

The flora and fauna of the seas, bays and bays of Asia is very rich. There are numerous schooling fish here: sardines, mackerel, bonito, various herrings; Molluscs, echinoderms, and crustaceans are abundant; a variety of edible algae. The coastal strip of the Gulf of Thailand from the mouth of the Mekong to Singapore, as well as the Mekran coast of the Arabian Sea, where the migration routes of many species of fish pass, are especially rich in fish.

The Sea of ​​Japan occupies a special place in terms of the wealth of biological resources. Here, in the area where cold and warm currents meet, intensive mixing and aeration of water occurs and plankton, the basis of fish wealth, develops in huge quantities. Up to 15 tons of fish per 1 sq. km are caught here annually. km. The Sea of ​​Japan is also famous for its lush “underwater meadows” - thickets of macrophyte algae, of which there are over 250 species. Algae, especially brown algae, are of great importance as feed for livestock. The “yield” of underwater meadows is more than 16 Uga, while in the best flooded meadows in Japan it does not exceed 4 t/ha. In addition, seaweed meal is an excellent fertilizer.

In the coastal waters of warm seas, pearl and mother-of-pearl mining is widespread. But recently, pollution of coastal areas of the seas with sewage has become a very serious obstacle to the development of fisheries, especially in Japan and Turkey.

Vegetation

Contrast is also characteristic of the components of wildlife in Foreign Asia, which is natural for a territory with a very complex topography and a unique zonal structure. Unlike the plains of the west and north of Eurasia with well-defined wide zones that stretch without significant disturbances from west to east across almost the entire continent, on the territory of Foreign Asia the latitudinal zones are strongly disturbed by the manifestation of altitudinal zonation and due to the peculiarities of atmospheric circulation. This, in particular, affected the region of Tibet and the Himalayan mountains, where latitudinal zones are greatly narrowed and interrupted in places. In the east, under the influence of the winter monsoon, the zones are shifted to the south. If in the west of Eurasia the northern border of the subtropical zone runs along 40° N. sh., then in the east it is located almost 10° to the south.

On the other hand, unlike radiation conditions, which change from south to north, atmospheric humidification in Overseas Asia changes in the direction from southeast to northwest. This circumstance is associated with the large differences observed here from place to place in the nature of the vegetation cover and the entire landscape complex of the territory.

The zonal structure of the landscapes of Foreign Asia is unusually complicated by the mountainous terrain. Mountains not only disrupt the general picture of latitudinal zonality, but also cause greater fragmentation of the zonal structure, since each large mountain structure, depending on its position, height and structure, forms its own special system of altitudinal belts, often completely different even on the slopes of the same mountains.

Foreign Asia is located within two floristic kingdoms: Holarctic and Paleotropical. Of the nine regions of the vast Holarctic Kingdom in Foreign Asia, the East Asian, Irano-Turanian and eastern parts of the Sahara-Arabian region are located. The Paleotropical Kingdom is represented in the south of Foreign Asia by four regions: Malesian, Indochinese, Indian and Sudan-Angolese, which comes here only with its north- eastern outskirts.

The vast territory of Foreign Asia is occupied by a variety of variants of both tropical and extratropical vegetation, and both latitudinal zoning and altitudinal zonation are clearly manifested in the distribution of vegetation. Thus, when moving from north to south in Foreign Asia, a whole range of zones can be traced: deciduous forests, subtropical evergreen forests and shrubs, meadow, typical and desert steppes, temperate, subtropical and tropical deserts, tropical dry forests, woodlands and savannas, variable-humid deciduous and evergreen tropical forests. In mountainous areas, climbing the slopes, you can find mountain coniferous-deciduous and broad-leaved forests, mountain steppes, cold high-mountain deserts, alpine and subalpine meadows and shrubs.

There is a very large difference between the types of landscapes in the eastern wet and western dry parts of Asia. In the east, both within the tropics and further north, forest landscapes dominate outside them. The East Asian flora is distinguished by its exceptional richness and diversity, containing at least 20 thousand species. Flora is quite original. It has many endemics, represented not only by many species and genera, but also by a number of endemic families.

It is difficult to list all the plant communities in this area, but we can name the types of forests most characteristic of specific natural zones. In the north of Manchuria, where the southern tip of the taiga wedges, coniferous forests with a predominance of Dahurian larch grow on sod-podzolic soils, as well as mixed forests, which, along with Korean cedar, fir, and spruce, contain many deciduous species.

A more extensive zone is formed by broad-leaved forests of the Manchurian and North Chinese formations, occupying the space between the Amur and Yangtze valleys. In these forests, among many tree species, oaks are especially richly represented, and to the south - pine trees. Subtropical elements are also found, especially common in the undergrowth.

The landscapes of the valley of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze have a clearly defined transitional character, preserving in the forests both broad-leaved deciduous (mainly oak species) and evergreen deciduous species of the lower tier and undergrowth, growing under the protection of tall trees.

The true subtropics lie south of the Yangtze and occupy southeast China. Like temperate forests, the East Asian subtropics are very different from the subtropics of the western parts of the continent. In conditions of dry winters, the vegetation of the East Asian subtropics does not grow all year round. Although green tones are characteristic of the winter landscapes of most of these forests, they are not as bright and rich as in the typical humid subtropics located to the south. Areas of evergreen subtropical forests and winter-green wheat fields alternate with the brown tones of dried grasses on the hillsides and bare groves of summer green trees. In evergreen forests, consisting of species of castanopsis, laurel leaves, and camphor trees, subtropical deciduous species are often found.

Within the Yunnan Plateau, where the terrain becomes much higher and more rugged, the altitudinal zonation of subtropical landscapes is clearly pronounced. In the lower mountain belts with sufficient moisture, evergreen broad-leaved and coniferous-deciduous forests of complex floristic composition dominate. The higher and drier slopes are covered with coniferous forests, which at the tops of individual mountain ranges, constantly shrouded in clouds, give way to landscapes of evergreen “mossy” forests, and even higher, at the tops of the highest mountains, by subalpine meadows. The vertical change in soil cover is also pronounced here. The lower belts of the mountains are occupied by red soils; higher up, under pine and deciduous forests, mountain yellow soils are common, which at an altitude of approximately 2600 m are replaced by brown forest soils. Even higher, under the fir forests, mountain soddy-podzolic soils are developed, and in the belt of alpine meadows - mountain meadow soils.

The tropical zone, which in eastern Asia begins at approximately 22° N. sh., is distinguished by even greater diversity and richness of vegetation.

The monsoon tropics are characterized by landscapes of deciduous forests with the participation of tallow, teak, ironwood, common mainly on the Hindustan Peninsula, in Burma, or even drier deciduous forests with the participation of sandalwood, acacia, typical of the Deccan plateau, the Ganges lowland, and plains in the lower current of the Mekong. In places with relatively little moisture for tropical conditions and the longest dry period, xerophilic evergreen forests and thorny bushes dominate, as well as savannas, partly secondary, that arose in place of cleared forests.

In Tropical Asia, the landscapes of tropical evergreen forests that occupy the islands of the Malay Archipelago, the Malacca Peninsula and some abundantly moist territories of Indochina and Hindustan are especially distinguished.

These forests amaze with their power and diversity of species composition. The tallest trees in them are rasamals, forming a magnificent spherical crown. In some places there are evergreen trees of the endemic dipterocarp family, preserved in Southeast Asia since the Tertiary period. A remarkable feature of these forests is their polydominance, when it is difficult to identify one or several dominant species, as can be done in oak or beech forests. In the tropical rainforest of Southeast Asia, trees of different species are mixed quite evenly, so that it is difficult to find two identical trees on one hectare of forest.

In general, Foreign Asia is not rich in forest resources. In terms of forest area per capita (0.3 hectares per person), it lags sharply behind the world average (1.2 hectares per person). The provision of forests is especially low in India (0.2), Pakistan, Lebanon, and Singapore (0.002 hectares per person).

Industrial forests are concentrated mainly in the humid tropics and mountains of India, Burma, Indochina, Northeast China and Northern Mongolia, the DPRK, the Japanese and Philippine Islands. At the same time, the reserves of soft sawn and pulpwood of coniferous species constitute less than 1/5 of the total reserves and are concentrated in the northern regions.

Humid tropical forests have large reserves of softwood of broad-leaved species. However, logging there is carried out on a small scale. The reason for this is the poor knowledge of the properties of wood from tropical rainforests, as well as the difficulty of exploiting and transporting wood, which increases the cost of wood exorbitantly. Therefore, humid tropical forests, where wood reserves reach the maximum values ​​for the globe - 100 - 150 cubic meters. m/ha should be considered as an important reserve of wood raw materials.

There are much larger reserves of hardwood, which are concentrated mainly in temperate deciduous forests and monsoon forests of the tropics and subtropics.

In Foreign Asia, the largest forest resources are located in the southeast, which occupies a leading place in the world export of hardwood. Here large areas of forest land are combined with their accessibility. However, this fact threatens the very existence of monsoon forests, the area of ​​which is declining at catastrophic speed. Great damage to forests is also caused by the fact that in the tropics of Asia a lot of wood is used as fuel. In a number of countries, up to 90% of the total procurement volume is used for this purpose.

In addition to wood, the forests of Foreign Asia provide such valuable products as tanning raw materials, resin, rosin, rubber, gutta-percha, medicinal plants, yellow wax, shellac, alcohol, and many trees produce edible fruits. Bamboo and palm trees are of great importance, the applications of which are truly limitless. Bamboo is an extremely important raw material for the pulp and paper industry.

Indiscriminate logging, grazing of livestock in the forest, and clearing of forest lands for arable land have greatly depleted the forest resources of Foreign Asia, and their restoration requires the development and implementation of long-term forestry and forestry programs.

Unlike East, Central and South-West Asia are a kingdom of dry steppes, semi-deserts and deserts with a fairly uniform vegetation cover. In this vast area, forest landscapes can only be found on better moistened mountain slopes and along river banks. On the plains, herbaceous and shrub communities dominate.

Communities of xerophytes are typical for Central Asian deserts - various types of saltwort, wormwood, and ephedra. A special group here is formed by vegetation on sandy substrates, represented by tamarisk, juzgun, harmyk, and saxaul.

The landscapes of the Western Asian dry highlands are diverse. The steppe landscapes of the marginal mountains on the plains turn into semi-deserts with subtropical plant communities characteristic of Western Asia. The most arid foothills of the ridges of the Iranian Plateau are covered with thickets of prickly astragalus, and some parts of them are completely devoid of vegetation. The lower parts of the intermountain depressions are occupied by takyrs, salt marshes and never-drying salt marshes, along the edges of which various saltworts grow.

Saltwort and wormwood communities also predominate in the hot deserts of Mesopotamia and Northern Arabia; in some places on the gray soils of Mesopotamian El Jazeera they are replaced by communities with a large participation of ephemerals, and on the sands of Central Arabia - by saxaul forests. In the south of Arabia, large areas are occupied by rocky and sandy deserts with extremely sparse vegetation cover.

Figure 1 - Natural areas of Foreign Asia

Foreign Asia is unusually attractive. What attracts here is the unusually diverse, largely exotic nature, history with its numerous historical monuments, and the ethno-confessional characteristics of numerous Asian peoples. We must not forget that it was in Asia that many centers of ancient civilizations were located.

On the territory of foreign Asia, a tourist can get acquainted with many natural areas: from the equatorial forests of Indonesia to the temperate deserts of northwestern China and Mongolia. In different countries and regions, the traveler is presented with monuments dating back not only centuries - millennia, monuments of Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, Christian and other cultures.

Asian countries are inhabited by representatives of the Mongoloid and Caucasian races, speaking a wide variety of languages ​​and dialects. These peoples inhabit lowlands (some of them lie below sea level), plateaus and highlands. There are also many mountain peoples: after all, it is in foreign Asia that the highest mountain systems in the world are located, and among them the Himalayas, where the highest peaks of the Earth are concentrated.

In Asia, there are areas of long-standing and widespread tourism (the Middle East, India), and areas where the tourism boom began literally in recent decades (the countries of Southeast Asia). The level of development of tourism infrastructure also varies.

Natural, historical, cultural, ethno-confessional attractions, combined with the development of tourism infrastructure, form the tourist and recreational zones and regions of Asia.

At the same time, one cannot fail to note the significant impact on the development of tourism and the tourism business of the political situation and acute conflicts in many Asian countries and regions. These conflicts are driving tourists away from many of Asia's travel destinations. At the same time, the rapid economic development of many Asian countries and the associated cheapness of consumer goods attracts representatives of shop tours, “shuttles”, to many countries, especially from the CIS countries, in particular Russia.

All this makes the tourist map of foreign Asia very colorful. It can, with a large degree of convention, reveal five tourist and recreational zones: Southwest Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia.

I. Southwest Asia includes states Near and Middle East with ancient history and predominantly Muslim culture. The exception is Israel, a country of immigration and widespread Judaism with its shrines. Historically, on the territory of Israel there is currently the city of Jerusalem, in which the shrines of three religions are located: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, which, on the one hand, attracts a very large number of tourists, partly pilgrims, and on the other, creates the ground for constant acute conflicts, which also affects the scale of tourism.

In the countries of this zone, the attention of tourists is attracted by the warm sea (especially widely - the Mediterranean, washing the shores of Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Israel), and the subtropical climate favorable for recreation. Lovers of educational tourism are attracted by ancient cities or their ruins, numerous cities with their historical and cultural population. Among them are Istanbul (Turkey), Amman (Jordan), the ancient cities of Lebanon - Baalbek, Saida, as well as the organizing tourist center of the country - its capital Beirut, Nicosia (Cyprus), the Iranian cities of Tehran, Isfahan.

There are many interesting historical, cultural and archaeological sites outside these centers. Certain countries of the Arab East, as well as Turkey, attract many “shuttles” - participants in shopping tours. Afghanistan has interesting tourism opportunities, but the events of recent decades make it impossible to use them.

As part of Southwest Asia tourist macro-regions: Turkey and Cyprus, Palestine, Arab States (Middle East), Middle East.

1) Türkiye and Cyprus are connected both by their history and modern relations. The fact is that the northern part of Cyprus is occupied by Turkish troops; The Turkish Republic of Cyprus was proclaimed there, but not recognized, however, by any state other than Turkey. This northern part of Cyprus is home to Turkish-speaking Muslim Cypriots, while the rest of the island is predominantly Greek-speaking Orthodox. Naturally, the division of Cyprus creates unnecessary tension, but this does not prevent a large number of resort tourists from enjoying the benefits of the Mediterranean Sea and the beneficial Mediterranean climate. In addition to relaxing on coastal beaches, tourists have the opportunity to visit low mountainous areas and take baths near mineral springs. In the capital of the state, Nicosia, “tourists visit the Selim Mosque, St. Sophia Cathedral, a six-meter Venetian column, the ruins of a fortress steppe, a museum rich in Bronze Age objects and masterpieces of historical art; in Famagusta and its environs - ancient ruins; in Paphos - the ruins of the temples of Aphrodite and Apollo, Cyprus was also visited by shuttle tourists from the CIS countries.

They are also frequent visitors to neighboring Turkey.

At the same time, the latter also attracts recreational tourists: coastal areas (along the Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara, Black Seas) are known for their numerous swimming seasons (warm sea, subtropical climate), which contributed to the emergence of famous Mediterranean resorts (Antalya, Alanya, etc. ). There are resorts in the interior of Turkey based on the use of mineral springs. For example, the springs near the city of Bursa were used by the Byzantines.

But, of course, Turkey also attracts tourists with its historical and cultural values. Many of them are concentrated on the shores of the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul (in the past - Constantinople, in ancient Russian documents - Constantinople). The transformation of the Orthodox Byzantine capital into a Muslim city also led to a change in the appearance of the city: Orthodox churches turned into mosques. There are many of them, therefore there are many minarets. The most famous temple is the Hagia Sophia, an outstanding work of Byzantine architecture. After the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in the 15th century. A large number of new mosques were built, including some outstanding for their architectural merits. There are also museums in Istanbul, including an archaeological museum (with the sarcophagus of Alexander the Great), and monuments of civil architecture. In the 20th century Istanbul has been Europeanized to a large extent.

Other centers of educational tourism in Turkey: the capital Ankara (where there are ancient buildings and the mausoleum of the founder of modern Turkey Ataturk (Kemal Pasha)); Izmir (which is famous for its antiquities and annual fairs); Bursa, Adana, Erzurum (with their ancient monuments and numerous mosques).

Most of Turkey is made up of plateaus and low mountains, which in the east of the country turn into highland areas, where the altitudinal zone is well defined (up to the nival zone), and the Ararat massif, sacred to the Armenians (still located in Turkey after World War I), is located, where According to biblical legend, Noah's Ark completed its journey. So in the east of Turkey there are many elements of natural attraction. However, so far this undoubtedly potential resort area has been little developed.

2) Palestine. This macro-region includes the state of Israel, populated predominantly by Jews (natives and immigrants), and Arab territories, which have been fighting for many decades to create an Arab Palestinian state.

The territory of Palestine has seen many historical events in its lifetime that have left their mark on its ancient monuments. Suffice it to say that in the Jordan Valley “the very first city in the world was discovered - Jericho (“city of dates”), which is seven thousand years old. Archaeological excavations are being carried out on a large hill, which attracts the attention of many tourists.” South of the largest city in Palestine, Jerusalem (Jerushalai), is the city of Bethlehem, over which, according to legend, a star lit up at the moment when Jesus Christ was born in a modest manger. A grandiose temple was built here.

But, of course, the largest number of tourists is attracted by Jerusalem itself, associated with the relics of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religions. This is truly a city of three historical faiths and therefore attracts countless of their representatives, as well as simply curious tourists.

Among the historical and cultural monuments, it is enough to name the Jewish Western Wall, Christian shrines - the Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher, Golgotha, where Christ was crucified, the rock where he prayed (and many more places associated with evangelical subjects). According to Islam, the Muslim prophet Muhammad later ascended to heaven from the rock where Christ prayed (the magnificent Omar Mosque was built here). It is no coincidence that during the division of Palestine after World War II, the UN decided on the special status of Jerusalem, which is historically divided into the Old and New City.

Among other cities in the region, the actual capital of Israel is Tel Aviv (although the state leadership considers Jerusalem to be the capital, which is not recognized by most states in the world) with its Haaretz Museum of Mediterranean Art and art gallery. Among the streets of Tel Aviv there are Korolenko, Zola and others. Jaffa has practically merged with Tel Aviv, unlike the very young Tel Aviv, which dates back several centuries of its existence. In this city you can walk along Pushkin Street, Pestalozzi, Michelangelo, M. Gorky, Ozheshko, Dante... Even more ancient is another city of Israel on the Mediterranean Sea - Haifa. Therefore, in these cities there are also historical and cultural objects of previous centuries. There are seaside resorts on the Mediterranean coast, especially in the area of ​​Netanya and in the area of ​​Eilat in the Arabian Gulf of the Red Sea. There are also resorts on the coast of the Dead Sea, located below ocean level, the very high salinity of its waters allows swimmers to float freely. An appropriate infrastructure has been created for tourists in Israel.

3) Arab countries South-West Asia includes almost the entire zone, with the exception of the two regions described above, and the states of the Middle East. In practice we are talking about the Middle East or most of Western Asia (from Lebanon in the northwest to Yemen in the southeast). These are all Muslim Arab states.

With the exception of its outskirts - Mediterranean Lebanon and partly Syria in the north-west and “happy Arabia” (the southern part of Yemen) on the edge of the Arabian Peninsula - all countries in the region are arid desert and semi-desert territories. Therefore, civilization developed only in areas where it was possible to create irrigation systems using rivers (as in Mesopotamia) or groundwater - in oases. From the middle of the 20th century. In many countries in the region, oil began to be produced in large quantities, and this led to the formation of oases on an “industrial basis” by supplying water from deep horizons or desalinating sea water. During these processes, modern civilization is formed with all its pros and cons. In particular, the centers of this new civilization attract a large number of tourists to the countries of the region - “shuttles” from the CIS countries. In some states of the region, modern seaside resorts have appeared on the shores of the seas. There are also mountain resorts in the mountains of Lebanon. All this serves the development of recreational tourism. However, we must not forget that in almost all countries of the macroregion there are many historical and cultural attractions - monuments of distant millennia and centuries.

Thus, on the territory of Lebanon there is one of the earliest human settlements - Baalbek, “where the ruins of religious buildings dedicated to Jupiter have been preserved. One of the ancient settlements in Lebanon is the city of Saida.

The capital of the country itself, Beirut, along with the ancient quarters, is also distinguished by completely modern buildings, corresponding to the role of Beirut as a center of finance and culture.

In Syria, the ancient cities of Palmyra and Aleppo with their monuments of Hellenistic art are of great interest to tourists. The capital of the country, Damascus, attracts with objects of Muslim culture, including one of the most famous shrines of Islam - the Umayyad Mosque.

Muslim architecture is typical for most areas of the capital of Iraq - Baghdad. The Nazimiya Mosque, or Golden Mosque, is very famous, decorated with four minarets with gilded domes (which is rare in this kind of structure). The city has many modern buildings and monuments, stylized in the spirit of Muslim traditions. And, probably, it is no coincidence that in one of the romances it was once sung: “After all, everything is extraordinary in Baghdad, miracles have happened there more than once...” To the side of the capital, located on the banks of the famous Tigris River, there are the ruins of ancient cities, in including the famous Babylon. There are also summer high-altitude resorts in Iraq (in the north and north-east of the country).

Despite the undoubted tourist attractiveness of Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, the flow of tourists to these countries is limited due to political instability.

Other Arab countries of the Middle East are much less interesting for educational tourism: Jordan, Yemen, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. The latter, as a rule, attract a large number of tourists - “shuttles”. In these countries, whose economies are based on oil production (Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates), modern cities attract attention.

Saudi Arabia occupies a special place among the countries of the Middle East. It is on its territory that the main places of pilgrimage for Muslims are located - the holy cities of Mecca (with the black stone of the Kaaba) and Medina, cities associated with the activities of the Prophet Muhammad and the birth of Islam. Hundreds of thousands, and in some years millions of Muslims from all over the world come here as pilgrims. The pilgrimage (Hajj) brings huge income to the country, and pilgrims “incorporate” themselves into eternal life in paradise. On the Red Sea coast of the country is the city of Jeddah, through which thousands of pilgrims travel. There are also several historical monuments here, among which, according to legend, is the grave of the first woman, Eve.

4) Middle Eastern countries- This Iran and Afghanistan. From a tourism point of view, Iran is especially interesting - a country of very diverse nature and ancient history. Nature lovers will find in Iraq seas and rivers, plains (low-lying and elevated) and high mountains Elbrus with the main peak Damavand (in the north of the country), various forests, dry steppes, semi-deserts and deserts, healing mineral springs and healing mud. In Iran there are numerous monuments of Muslim culture (civil and religious buildings) in the capital Tehran, the cities of Isfahan, Tabriz, Mashhad, Qazvin and others. Currently, due to the difficult international situation of Iran (largely due to its isolation), the flow of tourists into the country is very limited, which is facilitated by both external forces and the activity of Islamic fundamentalists. Tourism to Afghanistan, a multiethnic mountainous country where military operations have been going on for many years, is practically impossible these days. Therefore, and also due to the very low level of development of tourism infrastructure, the harsh but impressive nature of Afghanistan and its historical and cultural sites located in the capital Kabul, the cities of Herat, Kandahar and others remain unclaimed. “One of the most famous tourism sites throughout Asia, Biamia, is also practically inaccessible.

In this depression, located at an altitude of more than 2 thousand meters, in the central part of the country there is a rock pitted with hundreds of caves. There are two 50-meter high Buddha statues carved in the rocks, and on the hill there is the Shahar-i-Gulgula fortress.” The possibilities of the winter resort of Jalalabad, hunting opportunities, and observation of local ritual holidays are not in demand.

II. The tourist and recreational zone is extremely interesting and diverse in its characteristics. South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and the island state (on the island of Ceylon) Sri Lanka.

In South Asia, a tourist can encounter a very wide range of natural features: from tropical rainforests, savannas, tropical deserts (including Thar) to the classically expressed altitudinal zone in the north of the zone - in the Himalayas, where when climbing the mountains you can encounter all altitudinal zones - from wet evergreen thickets (jungles) in the foothills to the nival zone with its glaciers and snowfields in the upper belt of the highest mountains on Earth. It is no coincidence that mountain tourism and mountaineering have been increasingly developing in the Himalayas in recent decades. Many climbers strive to conquer the highest peaks of the world, so the role of Nepal as a tourist country has sharply increased. Trips to this mountainous country (with its capital Kathmandu) are successfully combined with a visit to hot India and other South Asian countries, with natural exoticism of various forms.

Pakistan and Bangladesh, located in South Asia, are countries of Muslim culture, representing, as it were, an Islamic bridge between some Balkan countries, Western Asia and the Muslim regions of Southeast Asia.

Numerous monuments from different eras, among which Islamic monuments are especially noticeable, are combined here with completely new architectural phenomena, for example, the new capital of Pakistan, Islamabad, built “out of the blue” after World War II. So Pakistan is a good study in the theme of “old and new.”

But, of course, the tourist pearl of South Asia is India with its diverse tropical nature, reviving after the summer monsoon rains, an unusually variegated ethno-religious composition of the population (in addition to the two official languages ​​- English and Hindi brought from the British Isles, dozens of languages ​​are widely spoken here, spoken by millions and tens of millions of people; there are many faiths, among which Hinduism plays a special role). But, in addition to the diverse nature, India has many cities with a large number of historical and cultural monuments from different eras: Delhi (including its new areas - the New Delhi quarters), Bombay with its surroundings, Calcutta, Madras with its surroundings, Benares, sacred to Hindus, on the river Ganges, the city of Agra with the world famous miracle of architecture of the 17th century. - Taj Mahal mausoleum. There are many mountain resorts in the Himalayas.

The historical and cultural appearance of Sri Lanka was reflected both by the religious characteristics of its population (professing Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity) and the population of the past colonialists (Portuguese, Dutch, English): civil and temple buildings are quite diverse and varied in style. Most of them are located in the capital Colombo, as well as the important religious center of Kandy.

It should be noted that, like South-West Asia, the South Asian zone today cannot be considered completely calm for tourists.

Within the tourist and recreational zone South Asia can be identified 4 tourist macro-districts:Pakistan, Hindustan, Himalayan region, Ceylon.

1) Pakistan is a tourist area that includes the territory of the country of the same name. It quite clearly distinguishes mountainous regions with forests and bushes and plains, mostly arid and semi-arid, in the eastern half irrigated by the Indus River and its tributaries. It is these areas that represent the main inhabited territory. Despite all the ethnic diversity, the official languages ​​of the country are Urdu, in contrast to the Hindi language, which is widespread in India, which has an Arabic written basis, and English (a legacy of British colonization). The whole country is united by Islam, which is largely orthodox and largely offensive in nature. This circumstance, the arid hot climate, as well as the underdeveloped tourism infrastructure make the scale of modern tourism in Pakistan quite limited.

In the post-war years, after gaining independence, Pakistan moved its capital three times - and all three capital centers are of interest to tourists. This is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea, near the Indus Delta, the largest city in the country, Karachi, and the short-lived capital of Rawalpindi, and the modern capital of Islamabad. The latter two cities are located in the interior of Pakistan, reflecting the current trend of creating new capitals in developing countries. For Pakistan, this is associated not only with a policy of increased development of the interior, but also with the desire to exert greater influence on neighboring inland regions (outside the borders of Pakistan). This circumstance is associated with both internal and international conflicts, which also hinders the influx of tourists.

In addition to the above-mentioned capital cities with individual historical and cultural sites and developments specific to each city, the very beautiful city of Lahore (an ancient fort, the world famous Shalimar gardens, the huge Badmahi mosque, etc.) is of significant interest to tourists; Hyderabad with its royal tombs; ...Peshawar (temple, museum, beautiful handicrafts). Many foreigners visit the picturesque gorge of the Swat River, along which he led his troops in 327 BC. e. Alexander the Great".

Pakistan has both sea and ski resorts.

2) Microdistrict Hindustan includes the territory of India (outside the Himalayas) and Bangladesh. It has been known for many centuries that India is a land of wonders. Hence the campaigns of Alexander the Great, and the voyages of Vasco da Gama, which laid the foundation for permanent connections between Europeans and India, and much more. India, whose population is approaching a billion, is extremely diverse in natural and ethno-religious terms. Tropical forests and swampy evergreen thickets in the foothills of the Himalayas (jungles), deciduous forests that lose their leaves in the dry season (winter and spring, when the winter monsoons blow) and gain them in the summer during the summer monsoons and melting glaciers in the Himalayas; multilingualism, only the most common languages ​​Hindi, Bengali and many others are spoken by several tens and sometimes hundreds of millions of people; multi-confessionalism (Hinduism - about 85% of the population, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, etc.) - all this allows you to get acquainted with the diverse modern face of modern Asia, its natural areas, various ethnic groups and confessions.

The centuries-old historical path of India is captured in numerous cultural monuments of its peoples. There are exceptionally many of them, and here we can name only a few, located in the most famous centers of modern tourism.

In the capital of the country, Delhi and its environs, there is the Red Fort, the Iron Column, made in the 4th century. made of pure wrought iron, several ancient mosques, the burial place of Indian freedom fighters M. Gandhi and D. Nehru.

R. is sacred to Hindus. Ganges. To be cremated on its banks is the dream of every devout Hindu. The main center of Hinduism, Varanasi (Benares), with numerous Hindu temples, is also located on the Ganges. As noted above, many tourists are attracted to Agra with the Taj Mahal mausoleum.

In the north-west of the country near the border with Pakistan - founded in the 16th century. around the sacred lake of Immortality, Amritsar is the religious and cultural capital of the Sikhs.

In the west of the country, the main tourist center is the seaside city of Bombay (the Gate of India arch, the Hanging Garden, the temple of the god Shiva carved into the rock on Elephant Island and other objects). There are many different monuments in Goa, where Portuguese culture was introduced for a long time. The remaining historical and cultural sites are located in the northwestern regions of India. There are many historical and cultural values ​​in the main tourist center of central India, Hyderabad. In the southern part of the country, the city of Madras, located on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, with its numerous historical and cultural monuments, stands out as an important tourist center.

On the western coast of southern India is the city of Cochin, where the city was founded in the early 16th century. Vasco da Gama is an ancient fortress where the famous navigator himself is buried.

In the northeast of the country, at the mouth of the Ganges, is the largest city in India by population - Kolkata.

Most parts of India have an exceptionally rich natural world (macaque monkeys, antelopes, wild buffalo, gaur, tiger, panther, spectacled snake and many others). Its good preservation is also explained by the fact that, according to the teachings of Hindus, all life is sacred, that “the blood of a wolf shed on the earth makes it barren,” that the souls of dead people move into animals that you can accidentally kill... Therefore, not only The countryside, but also the cities, are teeming with various animals. There are also special interesting reserves where large mammals are kept.

Unfortunately, among the numerous animals in India there are many that carry the infection, and the water quality is often poor. These circumstances, combined with a far from modern tourist infrastructure, are holding back the flow of tourists to India, which is rare in terms of natural, historical and cultural attractions.

The macro-region of Hindustan includes, as a natural continuation of India, the state of Bangladesh located in the Ganges delta. The population density there is so high that the cities often resemble an anthill of human bodies. Bangladesh is a Muslim country, and it is no coincidence that its capital, Dhaka, is often called the “city of 700 mosques.”

Most of the architectural monuments here date back to the 17th-16th centuries.

3) Himalayan region includes the northern mountainous regions of India and the territories of the states of Nepal and Bhutan. The region is united by the greatest mountain system in the world, the Himalayas, in which there are many very high ranges with eight-thousand-meter peaks, among them the highest peak on Earth, Everest (Chomolungma), which rises to a height of 8,848 m. The ranges are separated by deep mountain valleys. Along the mountain slopes one can trace the change of numerous geographical zones with their flora and fauna. At the same time, the vegetation of the wet southern slopes is more attractive than the relatively dry northern ones. If you wish, here you can get acquainted with the entire world range of plant zones of the world and admire the nival. By the way, the nival belt is increasingly becoming an area of ​​pilgrimage for climbers. Mountaineering has become a truly global phenomenon here; it is especially widespread in Nepal, which receives considerable income from it. In general, tourism is one of the main sources of state income. Closed to foreigners until 1951, Nepal has experienced a tourism boom in recent decades. This is facilitated by the natural beauty of the country and the historical and cultural monuments of Hindu and Buddhist cultures (palaces, temples), in particular in the capital of the country, Kathmandu. Some places in Nepal are pilgrimage areas for Hindus from neighboring India. But especially popular for tourists from other parts of the world are complex routes that include both India and Nepal.

Thus, tourists can combine a visit to Nepal with a holiday in the high mountain resorts of India (among which is the famous Darjeeling), and having descended into the lowlands irrigated by the Ganges, they can also explore this area with its largest center Calcutta, where the great Indian writer (who wrote in Bengali) was born and lived ) R. Tagore

Kolkata has the Tagore Museum, interesting temples, a botanical garden, and other attractions.

Some Himalayan regions of India attract Buddhist pilgrims who also visit the state of Bhutan, located in the eastern Himalayas, which has special relations with India. Bhutan is undoubtedly a potential tourist area.

We must not forget that the great Russian artist and outstanding humanist of the 20th century, N.K. Roerich, lived and worked in the Indian Himalayas for many decades. Together with his son Yu. N. Roerich, he founded the Institute of Himalayan Studies in Nagar. N.K. Roerich and his other son, the artist S.N. Roerich, left a large number of paintings painted in this mountainous region.

4) Ceylon is the island on which the state of Sri Lanka is located. The central highlands of the island descend in steps to the coastal lowlands, creating a picturesque topography. The natural attractiveness is emphasized by numerous rivers with rapids and waterfalls. The rivers of the south, flowing in an equatorial climate, are full all year round, the rest - during the summer monsoon rains.

Tourists are attracted here not only by the picturesque tropical nature, but also by the 180-meter-high Sigiri rock, located 150 km northeast of the country's capital Colombo, “with ancient rock paintings and the ruins of a 5th-century palace, numerous Buddhist shrines-dagobas, etc. d. Located in the central highlands, Adam's Peak (2,243 m) is a sacred place for people of various religions. For worship, a notch in the mountain is used, which resembles the footprint of a huge human foot (Buddhists consider it the imprint of Buddha’s yoga, Christians - Adam, and Hindus believe that the god Shiva was at the top), numerous pilgrims flock here every year.”

By the way, a chain of small islands stretches from Ceylon to the mainland, called Adam’s Bridge (according to Christian legend, it was along this route that he passed to the mainland).

In recent years, tourism to the area has been hampered by strife between Sri Lanka's main Sinhalese and Tamil inhabitants, Buddhists and Hindus. This discord often takes very sharp and even bloody forms, which naturally restrains the flow of tourists.

III. In recent decades, the importance of the tourist and recreational zone has increased significantly South-East Asia. This is facilitated by such constant factors as the geographical location of this zone on the routes from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean and from Eurasia to Australia; the huge length of the coastline and the location of the main excursion and educational sites on the coast (which is important when organizing cruises); a variety of equatorial, tropical, subtropical landscapes with their unique flora and fauna (gibbons, macaques, Indian layers, tigers, panthers, black and Malayan bears, wild cats, deer, peacocks, pheasants, wild chickens, geese, ducks, partridges and others) ; the diversity of the ethno-confessional composition of the population and the antiquity of history, which is reflected in the life of the indigenous population and numerous historical and architectural monuments (especially for religious purposes - Buddhist, Muslim, Christian temples). But the rapid growth of tourism in recent years is explained by the corresponding development of the economies of many countries in the zone, the creation and expansion of tourism infrastructure. Not to mention Singapore, this process affected countries such as Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, where the main tourist-organizing centers are their capitals. In all these countries, natural and historical tourism (including educational and religious tourism, since both Islam and Christianity have spread here) is combined with recreational tourism, which is facilitated by constantly high air and sea temperatures.

Due to the peculiarities of the process of socio-economic development and military events of the post-war decades, some countries lagged behind both in the field of economy and in the formation of the tourism market and the corresponding infrastructure. But in recent years, Laos, Cambodia, and especially Vietnam have been trying to catch up.

As P. L. Karavaev writes, “Vietnam has the highest rate of growth in the tourism industry among the “new tourist countries.” This sector of the economy has experienced a real boom since the beginning of the current decade: in 1991, 180 thousand tourists visited the country, in 1994 their number exceeded one million, and in 1996 two million arrivals are expected.”

Within South-East Asia with a large degree of convention it is possible to identify two tourist macro-districts:Continental and Island.

1) Continental area includes Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia (part of which, however, lies on the islands), Singapore. Each of these countries can be classified as meso-regions.

Thailand's international tourism has developed greatly in recent decades. In this state, tourism has become one of the most important items of foreign exchange earnings, an important element of the income side of the balance of payments. Tourists are attracted here not only by the motley range of tropical natural landscapes (for example, the richest teak forests in the world are widely known, producing very valuable wood), including mountain, sea and coastal beaches, and the possibilities of water travel along the Menam River. As in other countries of Southeast Asia, there are a large number of historical and cultural monuments.

Many of them are located in the capital of the country, Bangkok (including several wonderful Buddhist temples), the city of Ayutthaya (Ayutthaya): temple complexes, ruins of the royal palace, a 16-meter statue of the sleeping Buddha with Buddhist temples of the 13th-14th centuries in the city of Chiang Mai (Chiep Mai) .

Due to political instability, the influx of tourists is much less in neighboring Myanmar (Burma), which, in general, has approximately the same natural, historical and attractive features as Thailand. Although, of course, Myanmar faces serious competition from neighboring India in the field of tourism. Meanwhile, Myanmar can be attracted by its diverse tropical nature, warm sea, healing thermal springs, and hunting opportunities. There are also many interesting monuments here, mainly of Buddhist culture. In the capital of the country, which is now called Yangon (in the recent past Rangoon), there is the largest in the world, created in the 5th century BC, the Shwe Dagon Pagoda (a Buddhist pilgrimage center), the Peace Pagoda, a huge artificial cave with a conference hall for 2 thousand seats. Attractive cities for tourists: Plakhan (founded in the 9th century, a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists) with its temples and pagodas; Founded in the 6th century, Pegu is also a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists. The Shuemaudau pagoda, 115 m high, rises above the city, and there is also a statue of the reclining Buddha. The list of tourist attractions is not limited to these cities.

Despite the upheavals suffered in recent decades, which have not yet ended, tourists are attracted by the relatively small Cambodia with its tropical nature, sea coast (Gulf of Thailand), the Mekong River (irrigating several countries), Lake Toplessan, connected to the Mekong by the river of the same name. Nature creates good conditions for hunting and fishing (carp, mackerel, tuna, etc.), and relaxation on the shores of the warm sea.

The country is not spared by monuments of ancient Buddhist culture. Suffice it to name the buildings located in the capital of the country, Phnom Penh: the Silver Pagoda and some other buildings in the national Khmer (Cambodian) style. Temple and palace buildings dating back hundreds of years are scattered over a large area. Unfortunately, the recent influx of tourists to Cambodia has been hampered by the spread of AIDS there.

Laos is close to Cambodia not only geographically, but also for its nature and historical and cultural monuments, but does not have access to the sea. And he has experienced many hardships in recent decades. But nature, of course, remained virtually unchanged: mountain tropical forests (evergreen and deciduous), the Mekong River. Monuments of Buddhist culture (temple with Buddha statues, pagodas) have also been preserved. A significant part of them is located in the capital Vientiane (founded in the 13th century), some in Luang Prabang, where there is also a beautiful royal palace.

Before World War II, in addition to Laos and Cambodia, French Indochina also included modern Vietnam, which, after many decades of internal and external turmoil, is experiencing economic recovery, facilitated by the growth of international tourism.

The tropical monsoon climate of Vietnam ensures high temperatures on the coast of the warm seas washing the country. But most of the country is medium-high mountains, which moderates the temperature regime and makes it more acceptable for residents of temperate latitudes. The tropical nature of Vietnam is similar to the nature of other countries in the macroregion. In the south it is supplemented by a large delta of the Mekong River, in the north flows the Hong Ha River, on the banks of which the capital of the state of Hanoi, believed to be founded in the 5th century, is located, and at the mouth is the young port city of Haiphong. The capital has many interesting historical and cultural sites, including temples and pagodas, mainly from the 11th century.

Among them are the Diey Bo Pagoda on one pillar, a temple created in memory of the two Ching sisters (heroines of the struggle for the country's independence in the 1st century), the 60-meter Banner Tower, and the gate of the former imperial palace. Although Vietnam is predominantly a Buddhist country, Hanoi has a Temple of Literature dedicated to Confucius. In the city of Hue (Gue) in Central Vietnam, founded in the 3rd century BC. e., there are monuments of medieval architecture, including pagodas. They have also been preserved in the North Vietnamese city of Nam Dinh. In the largest city of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saiga), founded only in the 18th century, there are monuments of the corresponding era.

The state of Malaysia is original in its geographical location. Most of it is located on the mainland, on the Malacca Peninsula, the rest - in the northeast of the island. Kalimantan (formerly Borneo). The territory of western and eastern Malaysia is separated by the waters of the South China Sea. Most of the country's population are Muslim Malays and Chinese. The official language is Malay.

In general, Malaysia is a multinational and multi-religious country, in which the most interesting cultural layers date back to recent centuries, and the largest cities are distinguished by the most bizarre mixture of architectural styles. Thus, in the capital of the country, Kuala Lumpur (located on the mainland), which became a city only at the very end of the 19th century, buildings in the traditions of “good old England” (reminiscent of the country’s colonial past) coexist with minarets of mosques, Buddhist pagodas, and modern skyscrapers.

It should be noted that in recent decades the capital has been growing very quickly and its appearance is changing accordingly. Off the western coast of the Malay Peninsula, the island is home to the country's second most populous city, Penang, where tourists are attracted by its convenient beaches. There is also a snake pagoda here, where attendants show visitors many habituated poisonous snakes, intoxicated, as they say, by smoking incense. In the city of Malacca, located in the south of the peninsula, historical monuments from the eras of Portuguese and Dutch rule have been preserved, illustrating the luxury of Catholicism and the asceticism of Protestantism. Both on the peninsula and on the island of Kalimantan, tourists are attracted, of course, by the rich tropical and equatorial flora and fauna. In general, the richness of Malaysian nature in many parts of the country contrasts sharply with the poverty of rural areas. Nevertheless, Malaysia attracts tourists, especially due to its close proximity to Singapore.

Singapore is an island nation separated from the Malacca Peninsula by the Strait of Johor. Populated by three-quarters of the Chinese, as well as the Malays and some other peoples, Singapore is an important transport center on the way from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. At the same time, it also has a land connection with Asia, since a dam was built across the Strait of Johor. The number of tourists in Singapore, an important part of which is its capital of the same name, is very large and is constantly growing. Transit tourists to Malaysia and Indonesia, lovers of cheap consumer goods (including shuttle traders), specialists from a number of industries, traders and businessmen also go here. The formation of the external appearance of the country and especially the capital was influenced by Chinese, Malay, and Western cultures.

Hence the combination of Asian and European elements in architecture (both in religious and civil architecture). Here a tourist can taste all the elements of Western popular culture and admire Asian ethnographic exoticism. Vacationers have beautiful beaches and a well-developed tourist infrastructure at their disposal.

2) Ostrovny macro-district includes two countries - Indonesia and Philippines.

Indonesia is a near-equatorial country located on islands (there are more than 3 thousand of them, including the Greater Sunda Islands). Many of its parts are mountainous areas where there are hundreds of volcanoes, more than 100 of which are active. Luxurious equatorial forests, forest savannas and savannahs with their rich, often endemic flora and fauna, combined with high altitude zones and warm seas, give Indonesia great natural attractiveness. The ethno-confessional attractiveness here is also great: more than 150 peoples live in the country, mostly similar in language, culture and way of life, but differing in many customs and rituals that are interesting for tourists. The country is united not only by its state status, but also by the state Indonesian language and the dominant religion - Islam. Many other faiths are also represented, including Christianity - as a memory of the time when Indonesia was a colony of the Netherlands.

There are many cities in Indonesia, different in population, historical heritage, and the role of modern architecture and culture. We can say that the largest cities (the capital of the country, Jakarta, the cities of Surabaya and Bandung) combine tradition and modernity in their appearance.

Among the most famous historical and cultural sites of the country is the grandiose Buddha Temple - Borobudur on the island of Java. This grandiose structure of the 8th-9th centuries represents almost the entire medieval history of the country.

In the 19th-20th centuries, this temple was literally reclaimed from the equatorial forest. In Java, there is another famous architectural and temple complex - the Hindu Prambanan with the main temple dedicated to Shiva (near the city of Yogyakarta). Several dozen small medieval temples (Buddhist and Hindu) are located in the central Java area. Among other islands, the island of Bali (just east of Java) is famous for its cultural monuments. It is believed that the entire island is a cultural monument. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions often destroyed ancient monuments, but people tried to build copies of them (as they would now say, they created remakes). Therefore, in terms of the time of restoration or new construction, the monuments of Bali are relatively young (XVI-XVII centuries).

In recent centuries, Muslim culture with its architectural traditions has brought a lot of new things to the islands of Indonesia; the former colonialists, the Dutch, also left their mark. Finally, in the last half century, Western culture in all its manifestations has invaded here. So from a historical and cultural point of view (as well as from a natural and ethno-confessional point of view, as mentioned above), Indonesia is very attractive for tourists, especially since there are famous resorts there: Vandunge, Bogor in Java, Brastag in Sumatra and etc.

Unlike Indonesia, the Philippines is located on 7 thousand islands, including 11 large ones. The islands have a typical tropical subequatorial, monsoon climate, in which evergreen, deciduous forests grow, and in the higher mountains - bushes and meadows. The warm sea, medium-altitude mountains, and plains create a fairly attractive natural environment for tourists. The latter are also attracted by the ethno-confessional mosaic. In addition to nearly a hundred indigenous peoples who speak similar languages ​​but have their own ethnographic characteristics, the Chinese and some other nationalities who arrived from other countries also live here.

For a number of centuries, starting from the Age of Discovery, the Philippines was under Spanish rule, and it is no coincidence that the majority of the inhabitants of the archipelago are Catholics. It is no coincidence that Spain’s heritage in architecture (civil and especially religious). For centuries, the influence of Islam was great, and for most of the 20th century the country was practically a colony of the United States. All these stages of history left a big imprint on the appearance of the country and further aggravated its diversity, which contributes to its tourist attractiveness.

According to P. N. Zachiiyaev and N. S. Falkovich, “the pearl of the country is the city of Baguio, located in the mountains on the island of Luzon. For tourists coming to the Philippines, the ancient city of Cebu (the chapel with the cross of Magellan, the site of the death of the great traveler; a monument to the national hero Lapulap), the Catholic Cathedral and the museum in the ancient fortress of Itramuros in Manila are of interest.”

Manila is the capital of the state, a very large city that has existed since the 16th century. The many-sided Manila, which was badly damaged during World War II, is a fusion of ancient Spanish and modern Western architecture with elements of the exotic East. This is its tourist attraction.

IV. A very attractive area for tourists is East Asia. Perhaps the words of R. Kipling are especially applicable to this tourist and recreational zone: “West is West - East is East.” It was this zone that was closed to Europeans and European civilization for many years.

A special place within the zone is occupied by central and eastern China, where at least 1/5 of the world's population is concentrated. When moving from the north to the south of China, travelers can get acquainted with several natural zones - from the forest zone of temperate latitudes to tropical forests. There are great changes in the appearance of nature when moving from east to west - from the Great Chinese Plain with its summer monsoon rains to the dry western plateaus; in the south and 1st west there are mountainous regions.

In many areas of the country, tourists can get acquainted with world-famous historical monuments, including the Great Wall of China in the north, a number of monuments in the capital Beijing and some other cities. Traditional Chinese architecture and folk crafts are interesting. Tourist infrastructure is most developed in the north of the PRC, as well as in the southern enclaves of the recent English colony of Hong Kong (Hong Kong) and the Portuguese possession of Macau (Macau), with European (in particular, English and Portuguese) culture widely introduced into them. The same applies to a large extent to Fr. Taiwan.

The island state of Japan occupies a special place in East Asia - a country of medium-high mountains and small plains, a country of earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons. Among the Japanese mountains, the unusually beautiful Fujiyama (Fujisan) massif with its perfectly defined vertical zonality is world famous. Stretched over hundreds of kilometers from north to south, the Japanese islands also show the traveler a latitudinal change in zones - from coniferous forests to subtropical forests.

A country of ancient culture, Japan has preserved many historical monuments, most of which are located in the capital Tokyo and the ancient capital of Japan Kyoto.

There are historical sites in the cities of Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe, Nikko. The Japanese even have this aphorism: “Whoever has not seen Nikko will not say “great!” In Japanese, “great” sounds like “kekko.” So the words “Nikko” and “kekko” even rhyme.

Shinto shrines and other buildings of traditional Japanese architecture are scattered throughout the country, interspersed today with the most modern buildings (residential buildings, hotels, offices, highways). Japan attracts a large number of not only tourists who come to get acquainted with the nature and historical and cultural monuments of the country, but also representatives of business and scientific tourism.

East Asian states also include two countries on the Korean Peninsula. Both of them are attractive for their nature: picturesque mountains, forests, rivers (including mountain streams). There are also historical and architectural monuments from different eras, including Buddhist culture, in a number of areas. However, the largely closed country of the DPRK (in the north of the peninsula) has a very poorly developed tourism business. In contrast, the Republic of Korea (in the south) attracts a large number of tourists who come for recreational, educational and business purposes. These trips are provided with tourist infrastructure.

East Asia divided by 4 tourist macro-districts: Japan! Korea region, Northeast and East China, South China (with Taiwan).

1) Japan is an island, technically and economically highly developed state with a rather exotic nature and ethno-confessional traditions. All this attracts a large number of tourists - representatives of the business and technical-economic world, lovers of natural, historical and cultural exoticism.

Representatives of the business world, scientists and engineers get acquainted here with unknown technologies, various industries in a wide variety of industries. However, Japan attracts most tourists with its unique nature, ethno-confessional identity, and historical and cultural monuments.

Japan stretches from north to south by more than 20 degrees, and therefore the climate of this mostly mid-mountain country with relatively small lowlands varies greatly - and not so much with altitude, but with latitude. It is no coincidence that the vegetation changes from coniferous and mixed temperate forests in the north to tropical elements in the south. And between them, large areas are occupied by subtropical regions with the appropriate climate and vegetation. We must not forget that in the north of the country, due to its latitude and the presence of mountains, snow falls, which provides the basis for the development of winter tourism and even the organization of the Winter Olympics. We must also not forget that Japan is a country of monsoons, but both the summer and winter monsoons pass over vast expanses of water before penetrating the islands, which is why precipitation occurs here almost all year. Typhoons - hurricane-type cyclops - often sweep over the islands. Destructive huge waves - tsunamis - are also not uncommon - the result of underwater earthquakes. They, as well as island earthquakes and rare volcanic eruptions, are among the natural disasters typical of Japan. The Japanese, living in a relatively small area, are accustomed to greatly appreciating it - hence the careful cultivation of the land and the breeding of miniature varieties of trees and shrubs that surround the islanders and their guests.

The most attractive mesoregion for tourists is the huge metropolis of Tokaido, stretching on the main island of the country, Honshu, from the capital Tokyo to the city of Kobe.

The center of the metropolis is the capital of the state - Tokyo - the main business center of the country; it contains the largest Shinto temple (Shinto is a religion practiced by the Japanese), museums, parks; The central shopping and entertainment district of the capital, Ginzu, is especially attractive to tourists, and the large port of Yokohama is located near Tokyo. Somewhat away from this agglomeration is Nikko National Park (a picturesque mountainous area, the active Nassu volcano, waterfalls, lakes, forests, meadows, rare animals). On the territory of the reserve is the city of Nikko (founded in the 8th century) with temples and mausoleums from different eras. There is also a climatic resort here.

Other agglomerations within the metropolis are located southwest of the first. It includes the second largest city in the country - the “Japanese Venice” located on numerous islands - Osaka with an ancient castle and numerous objects of modern architecture. Next door is the city of Kyoto with numerous pagodas, castles, tea houses, gardens, and an art museum. There are many interesting temples in neighboring Nara. The nearby port city of Kobe is also visited by tourists.

A special place in tourist routes is occupied by the cities of Hiroshima (on the island of Honshu) and Nagasaki (on the island of Kyushu, which were subjected to atomic bombing, where there are also completely peaceful tourist sites, for example, “Madame Butterfly’s house”, where, according to legend, the heroine of the opera D Puccini "Cio-Cio-san").

The cities of Sapporo, Murorai, and Hakodate on the northern island of Hokkaido are of great tourist importance.

2) The Korean macroregion covers the peninsula of the same name, within which the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the north and the Republic of Korea in the south are located.

The predominantly mountainous Korean region is not without lowlands. The monsoon climate (temperate in the north, subtropical in the south) causes summer precipitation and corresponding flooding in rivers. Nature as a whole is quite picturesque and attractive.

On the territory of the DPRK, tourists are interested in the highest peak of the peninsula - the extinct Paektusan volcano with a lake in its crater, rapids, waterfalls on rivers, exotic rocks, thermal springs, which also have healing value. The main historical and cultural monuments on the territory of the DPRK are located in the capital Pyongyang. They belong to the Sh-KhP centuries. Among them are the Taedoimun Gate, the Eulmildae Tower, the Chaesiide Gazebo, and a number of tombs. There are also modern tourist sites, for example, the Museum of the Korean Revolution. Due to the closed nature of the country, tourist relations with the DPRK are extremely limited.

The Republic of Korea, which is widely open to tourists and is characterized by significant inbound and outbound tourism, is a different matter. Tourists are attracted to South Korea by the warm sea and beaches, monuments of Buddhist culture, and well-developed tourist infrastructure. The main historical and cultural monuments are concentrated in Seoul, which was the capital of Korea for many centuries and is now the capital of the Republic of Korea. These monuments date back to the 11th-16th centuries; these are the Seokguram ensemble, the Gyeopbokgung Palace complex, the Hoimyothai Pagoda of the Poichhoisa Temple, etc.

3) Northeastern and Eastern China cover fairly humid regions of the People's Republic of China located in temperate latitudes, a country whose population has long crossed the billion mark. Naturally, with such a population and, accordingly, its high density, the territory of the region is very much developed, largely due to the use of irrigation. At the same time, temperate forests have been preserved in some places in the region. There are many rivers in the area, including large ones, for example, the Yellow River (translated as the Yellow River). There are exotic natural sites that attract tourists. But, of course, the Great Wall of China stretching here, created to protect against nomads, and the numerous cities are especially interesting.

During the history of China, many states arose on its territory, their borders and capitals changed. They are also preserved on the map of modern China. Now the capital of the state is Beijing (in Chinese, more precisely, Beijing - the Northern capital). The first settlement on the site of Beijing arose in the second millennium BC. e. It subsequently more than once became the capital of various states on the territory of China. Nowadays, in Beijing and its environs there are numerous architectural monuments, mainly from the 15th-19th centuries: palaces, temples, memorial ensembles, parks, museums. Among them are the Wall of Nine Dragons in Beihai Park, the Temple of Heaven, Sun and Magnifying Glass, the Hall of Three Hundred Buddhas in the Temple of Azure Clouds, etc. In the city of Shanghai, known since the 3rd century, there are architectural monuments of the 16th-19th centuries, including the Chephuanmiao Temple and Yufexi with a jade statue of Buddha decorated with precious stones; the five-tier Lanhua Pagoda, etc. The city of Nanjing (“Southern Capital”), like Beijing, has more than once been the capital of various Chinese states. Founded in the 5th century BC, it has preserved many historical and cultural monuments, but much more “young” (X-XVII centuries). The Mausoleum of the Chinese democratic revolutionary Sun Yat-sen is also located here.

Many monuments of centuries-old Chinese culture are located in other countless large and small cities in the region. Some cities in the northeastern part of the country have their own specifics. The fact is that this part of China (formerly Manchuria) was under the great influence of Russia for a long time. Many Russians lived there (including the builders of the Chinese Eastern Railway - CER, which initially belonged to Russia, and post-revolutionary emigrants, and some other segments of the Russian population). Thus, the city of Harbin was built at the end of the 19th century according to Russian designs (in connection with the creation of the Chinese Eastern Railway). Therefore, many of its blocks resemble the blocks of pre-revolutionary Russian district and provincial cities. The city of Dalian (Dalniy) was also founded by Russians. Russian culture also played a major role in shaping the appearance of the city of Lushun (which went down in our national history as Port Arthur). The largest city in Northeast China by population is Shenyang (Mukden), which has existed since the 2nd century. before i. e. In its suburbs, palaces and temples of the 1X-15th centuries have been preserved, and in the city itself there is Beiling Park and the former imperial palace.

All major cities in Eastern and Northeastern China are important destinations for business tourism.

4) Southern China is a macro-region located mainly to the south of 30 s. sh., i.e. in the subtropics, so it has very great opportunities for the development of resort recreation, especially considering that most of the area is washed by the warm waters of the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. However, the natural attractiveness of the area is not limited to this. From the east to the west, the area gradually moves from lowlands to plateaus, hills, and in the west of the region even to high mountains. This creates a wide variety of landscapes, which enhances the natural attractiveness of the area.

It is also strengthened by numerous rivers, including large ones (Yangtze, Xijiang, Dzachu or Makkong), often flowing in picturesque gorges, as well as lakes (the largest of them is Dongtiphu). The region's forest subtropical and mountain slope vegetation is diverse.

As in the previous area, there are many different types of cities and towns in which tourists can find a lot of interesting things.

Among the largest cities in Southern China is Guangzhou (Canton), the first mention of which dates back to the 3rd century. BC e. It has many museums, a botanical garden; Among the architectural monuments is the Guaixiaosa Temple, created in the 10th century. The city of Kunming, founded in the 1st century, is home to the famous Dragon Gate.

A special place is occupied by the city of Hong Kong, which was leased from the British for 99 years - one of the most important tourist centers not only in Asia, but throughout the world. Most of it is located on the island of the same name. This city is a typical modern Americanized and Europeanized center of trade, business, and modern industry. There is also a whole system of modern entertainment, typical of Western countries, but with a certain Asian flavor: superbly equipped sea beaches, a picturesque harbor, numerous different types of restaurants (including floating ones), countless souvenir shops, cheap consumer goods. All this attracts recreational tourists, shuttle traders, and numerous representatives of business tourism.

In an hour and a half, tourists can travel by water from Hong Kong to the last foreign enclave on Chinese territory - the Portuguese possession of Macau (Macau), where the official language is Portuguese and the official religion is Catholicism (although the vast majority of residents are ethnic Chinese).

Located on a small peninsula of the same name, Macau is a subtropical seaside resort with a whole system of modern entertainment. There are also many Catholic churches built over the past few centuries.

Isolated from China there is the island of Taiwan (Formosa), which the PRC considers its province. The subtropical climate, a wide range of plain and mountain landscapes, historical and cultural monuments of Chinese and Japanese culture (Formosa was at one time a possession of Japan), highly developed industry and financial system, as well as trade (with developed infrastructure) attract a large number of tourists here.

V. A special world is central Asia- a tourist and recreational zone of dry plateaus, often deserted. The western regions of China and Mongolia are located within these plateaus. Once upon a time, this vast territory contained centers of an ancient civilization, which, for still unclear reasons (natural or social), perished, and here you can only find the ruins of now-dead cities. One of them is Khara-Khoto, discovered and explored in 1908-1926. Russian traveler P.K. Kozlov.

The infrastructure is extremely poorly developed, which makes the stay of tourists in these areas very difficult, and tourism is almost non-existent.

Central Asia also includes the Tibetan Plateau, which is part of the People's Republic of China and is inhabited by Tibetans. This is an exceptional region of the globe, where flat or slightly hilly, elevated to a height of 4-8 thousand meters, plains and mountain ranges with heights of up to 7 thousand meters alternate.

This area, which is unusually harsh in nature and has a very rarefied atmosphere, can only be visited by physically strong tourists. But even for them, entry into this inaccessible area is often denied both by the government leadership of the PRC and by Lamaism, the dominant religion of the Tibetans. In addition, there is a protracted conflict between the leadership of the PRC and the supreme clerics and the traditional ruler of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, who has been in exile for several decades.

Zone Central Asia divided by three macro-districts: Western China, Tibet, Mongolia.

1) Western China includes the Xinjiayi Uygur Autonomous Region and its adjacent territories. This entire macro-region is arid (this also includes the huge Taklamakan Desert), and modern civilization is concentrated mainly along the banks of rivers (often drying up) and in oases. Here, like the Central Asian republics of the CIS, you can get acquainted with the nature of deserts and semi-deserts, oasis agriculture, nomadic and semi-nomadic animal husbandry. The center of the region is the rather large city of Urumqi, the population of which, like the entire region, is represented mainly by Uyghurs, predominantly Muslims.

2) The main features of the nature of Tibet are mentioned above. The population of the country - Tibetans - are zealous followers of Buddhism (its Laman branch), for whom the heir of Buddha is the Dalai Lama, whose abode is the Potala palace-temple-tomb. This powerful structure arose, like the main city of Tibet, Lhasa, in the 7th century. In addition to Lhasa, there are other small cities, for example, the city and fortress of Gyaitse, the city and monastery of Shigatse, where the second person in the Lamaist hierarchy of Tibet, the Panchen Lama (Panchen Ertni), often lives.

3) Mongolia, covering the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic, despite its general aridity (here, in particular, the Gobi Desert is located), has both steppe and forest areas on its territory.

In addition, there are mountains here that are convenient for mountaineering and mountain tourism. There are many wild animals that can attract lovers of hunting for bears, deer, snow leopards and other animals. The country has many healing mineral springs. The life of the Mongols, their folk songs, dances, horse racing, and the use of camels as a means of transport are interesting.

In a number of areas, unique, albeit modest in size, Buddhist temples have been preserved, sometimes even housed in special yurts. The palaces, their ruins, and monasteries have also been preserved. We must not forget that before the revolutionary events of the early 20th century, most Mongol men were monks. In the capital Ulaanbaatar (formerly Urga), in addition to Buddhist temples, the palace museum, the tomb of the revolutionary leader Sukhbaatar and a monument to him attract attention.

Tourism in the Mongolian People's Republic is hampered by its inconvenient geographical location for foreign tourists and its underdeveloped tourist infrastructure, which is especially unfavorable in conditions of large distances between interesting tourist sites.

The relief plays an important role in the climate formation of Asia, which in this part of the world is represented by deserts, high mountain ranges and closed highlands.

general information

Asia and Europe together form the largest continent on planet Earth. Asia is part of the Eurasian continent.

The peculiarity of this part of the Earth is that it is characterized by the most diverse climate. Almost all types of conditions on Earth are observed here: the cold north, continental Siberia, the monsoonal east and south, the semi-desert central part and the desert southwest of the continent.

The peculiarities of the geographical location with a predominance of mountains over the lowlands, the compactness and vast size of this part of the world are the most important factors in the formation of its climate.

The location of Asia in the Northern Hemisphere at all latitudes determines the supply of uneven solar heat to the surface. For example, the values ​​of the total annual total radiation in the Malay Archipelago (equator) range from approximately 140 to 160 kcal per square meter. cm, in the interval between 40 and 50 northern latitudes it is 100-120 kcal per square meter. cm, and in the northern parts of the continent - approximately 60 kcal per square meter. cm.

Climate of Asia abroad

In foreign Asia there are tropical and subtropical, equatorial and subequatorial climatic zones. Only on the border of Mongolia and China (northeast) with Russia and on the northern part of the Japanese Islands is the zone moderate.

It should be noted that most of foreign Asia belongs to the subtropics. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and is thousands of kilometers long.

About the circulation of air masses

Air masses circulate over Asia in directions depending on the seasonal position of the centers of low and high pressure. Above the mainland, the most important center of atmospheric pressure in winter is the Asian (Central Asian or Siberian) anticyclone, which is the most powerful of all winter climatic centers on the entire planet. Dry and cold temperate continental air, spreading in all directions from it, gives off several spurs. Of particular note among them is the Central Asian spur towards Iran and the south-eastern spur, directed towards China (East).

The climate of East Asia depends on the monsoons. In winter, in the southeastern part of the continent, the largest pressure differences are formed between the warm ocean and cold land, which cause the emergence of continental winter monsoon flows to the sea from land that are stable in direction and strength. This monsoon circulation covers Northeast and East China, the Japanese Islands and the Korean Peninsula. In the area of ​​the Aleutian Islands (northern part of the Pacific Ocean), the Aleutian Low is formed in winter, but for some reasons it affects the climate only of the narrow coastline of North-Eastern Siberia (mainly the Kuril Islands and the coast of Kamchatka).

central Asia

An interesting fact is that in the Central Asian highlands, winter temperatures are almost as low as in Siberia. Despite its more southern location, the temperature here is not very high, which is due to the high position of the area. The temperature here fluctuates greatly throughout the day: hot during the day, cool at night.

What is the reason for this climate in Central Asia? The enormous height above ocean level and the powerful wall of the Himalayas, which blocks access from the Indian Ocean to moist winds, create a rather harsh, dry climate on the northern side of the Himalayan Mountains. Although Tibet is located at the latitude of the Mediterranean Sea, frosts in winter here can reach sub-zero temperatures of up to 35 degrees.

In the summer, the sun gets very hot, while it can be cold in the shade at the same time. Night frosts are common even in July, and in summer there are also snowstorms. In the summer, over South-East and partly Central Asia, the pressure decreases and the temperature rises. Masses of the summer monsoon rush towards the center of the continent from the sea, bringing a relative decrease in temperature and moisture.

The Central Asian basin is characterized by the lowest temperatures in winter (-50 °C). Very severe frosts come to Western Tibet. The July temperature averages 26-32 °C, and the absolute maximum reaches 50 °C. The surface of the sand is heated to 79 °C.

The climate of this part of Asia is characterized by large fluctuations in temperatures from year to year, sharp fluctuations in temperatures per day, a small amount of atmospheric precipitation, low cloudiness and dry air.

The climate of the Central countries is especially beneficial for vegetation. Due to the dry air, it is relatively easily tolerated. The excellent climate conditions of the mountainous regions are good enough for the creation of resorts.

States included in Central Asia: Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.

Southwest Asia

This wonderful territory is washed by the waters of the Black, Mediterranean, Aegean, Red, Caspian, Marmara and Arabian seas, as well as the waters of the Persian Gulf.

The climate is tropical, subtropical continental and Mediterranean. Tropical is characterized by minimal rainfall and high temperatures. Natural zones are represented by hard-leaved forests, deserts and semi-deserts.

Iran, Iraq and Turkey are the largest states in South-West Asia. The climate here is excellent for a summer holiday.

The highest temperatures in summer (the hot plains of Arabia and Lower Mesopotamia) are 55 °C. The lowest summer temperatures (northeast Hokkaido) are plus 20 degrees.

East Asia

This part of Asia occupies the eastern extreme of the Eurasian continent. It adjoins the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Continental monsoons contribute to the formation in any zone of this Asian region of colder air than in other parts of the planet typical for the same latitudes.

The climate of East Asia is mostly monsoonal. And this is a rainy, damp summer (80% of annual precipitation). Warm air masses come from the ocean, although it is cooler than on land. Cold sea currents move from north to south along the coasts. The warm lower layers of air located above them quickly cool, and therefore low-level fogs often occur here. The atmosphere becomes two layers - the warm upper one slides over the colder lower one, and precipitation occurs.

The mechanism of summer monsoon circulation is associated with cyclones caused by the contact of the warmest and coldest air masses.

When cyclones capture dry continental air from the continental depths, drought occurs. Cyclones born near the Philippines (far in the south) appear quite clearly. The result is typhoons, which are systems of winds with hurricane speeds.

The territories of East Asia include China, Mongolia, the Korean Peninsula, the islands of the Yellow Sea, the Sea of ​​Japan and the East China Sea, as well as parts of the islands of the South China Sea.

Conclusion

According to reviews from travelers, Asia is an interesting, exotic corner of the globe that leaves unique and unforgettable impressions.

Western Asia has especially comfortable climate conditions for summer holidays, although all parts of the continent have their own unique flavor and charm.

Latitudinal zoning. The large area of ​​Asia and the sharp contrasts in climate and topography have determined the presence on its territory of all the natural zones of the Northern Hemisphere.

The latitudinal extent of the zones is more clearly manifested in the northern lowland part of Asia. In the oceanic sectors and in the subequatorial belt, this pattern is violated. Great mosaic patterns are observed in the nature of mountainous regions.

Forest natural areas. Most of Asia is occupied by forests, which are located in all climatic zones except the Arctic. In the temperate zone there is a wide strip of taiga, bordered by mixed forests in the south.

Taiga occupies the central parts of the West Siberian Plain and the Central Siberian Plateau. The continental climate and the distribution of permafrost determined the soil characteristics and species composition of the vegetation of Asian coniferous forests, which differ from European ones. The taiga of Siberia is predominantly sparse and light-coniferous. The main tree species that forms it is larch, which can withstand very low temperatures and is undemanding to soils.

In heavily swamped Western Siberia, the forests are predominantly pine. Scots pine belongs to one of the most unpretentious species: it grows on sand and rocky soils, and is not afraid of swamps. Siberian pine is called cedar.

Conifers are a valuable forest resource. For example, larch does not rot in water, Scots pine is indispensable in construction, and Siberian pine is used for the production of pencils.

Mixed forests grow in the south of Western Siberia. Here coniferous forests alternate with birch and aspen groves. Further east, mixed forests disappear. Deciduous trees reappear only in the far east, off the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan.

Pacific mixed forests are a natural mixture of southern and northern species. Another famous traveler N.M. Przhevalsky said that the spruce here is entwined with grapes, the birch is a neighbor of the velvet tree, and in the snow there are traces of a sable and a Ussuri tiger.

The forests here are multi-tiered, intertwined with vines of wild grapes. Schisandra and ginseng are found in the herbal cover. Next to larch forests there are steppe areas. The rivers are inhabited by northern grayling and a guest from the south – tropical snakehead.

The main reason for such contrasts is that there was no glaciation here, so relict southern species could survive.

The variable-moist (monsoon) forests of Asia are located in three climatic zones, covering East Asia south of the Amur River and large areas in South Asia. The presence of a dry season forced plants, including evergreens, to withstand dry air. As we move from temperate to tropical latitudes, coniferous and deciduous trees (pine, oak, walnut, Japanese cherry - sakura) are gradually replaced by evergreens. Palm trees and ficus trees, tree ferns and bamboos, and magnolias become common here. Red and yellow earth soils form under these forests.

Variable humid forests in eastern Asia are highly modified by humans. In place of destroyed woody vegetation, residents grow rice, tea, and citrus fruits. The fauna, in which there are many endemics, also suffered: the bamboo bear - panda, Japanese macaques that escape the snow in hot springs, a giant salamander up to a meter long, etc.

The variable-humid forests of Hindustan and Indochina are especially unique. The seasons, which differ greatly in moisture content, are characterized by almost the same temperature here. In some places, forests of iron, sal, satin and teak trees have been preserved on the red-yellow soils. There are many types of palm trees with colorful wood. There is sandalwood, the wood of which retains a wonderful smell for decades. The original multi-stemmed banyan tree also grows here.

In India, the banyan tree grows, which consists of 30,000 large trunks and the same number of smaller ones. Its height is 60 m and its age is about 3000 years. About 7,000 people can find shelter in the shade of this tree.

Forests are rapidly retreating from human onslaught in South Asia as well. True, due to the fact that Indians consider every animal sacred, many monkeys can be found in the jungles of Hindustan to this day, although they cause great damage to peasant gardens and fields. There are wild boars, deer, tigers, leopards, wild elephants and rhinoceroses. Lots of poisonous insects and snakes. Great variety of birds. In the waters of the Ganges, together with the gharial crocodiles, the freshwater dolphin lives.

In western Asia, forests occupy a very small area. They stretch in a narrow strip on the coasts of the Black and Mediterranean Seas. It is dominated by hard-leaved evergreen forests and shrubs of the Mediterranean type, which are greatly modified by man.

In the humid, warm climate of the western Caucasus, relict broad-leaved forests with evergreen tree species entwined with vines have been preserved in the Colchis Lowland.

The moist equatorial forests (hylaea) of Asia occupy large areas on the islands of the Malay Archipelago and about. Sri Lanka. In terms of richness of flora, they compete with forests in other parts of the world. There are more than 20,000 species of flowering plants alone. For example, there are ten times more orchids than in Africa.

Asian Hylaea are forests with a complex system of tiers. The tallest trees reach 70 m (palm trees, ficus trees). Among the trees there are often valuable species with colored wood. There are many lianas, orchids, and mosses in the forest. There are no bushes, their place is taken by dwarf trees. Spicy plants grow here: cloves, cinnamon trees, nutmeg, and black pepper. It is no coincidence that the Moluccas have long been called the “spice islands”.

The fauna of the Gilis is very diverse. Most of the animals here live in the upper tiers of the forest. There are many monkeys, only here you can find orangutans and gibbons. Felid predators are common, including tigers. Elephant and rhinoceros are occasionally seen. A large number of reptiles, including, for example, a flying dragon that can jump up to 30 m.

The area of ​​Asia's equatorial rainforests has been steadily declining as a result of human encroachment.

Read in the section