RAJA AMPAT ISLANDS - WEST PAPUA

Raja Ampat, or the Four Kings, is an archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands, cays, and shoals surrounding the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo, and the smaller island of Kofiau. Raja Ampat is located off the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea, in Indonesia's West Papua province.

Raja Ampat Regency is a new regency which separated from Sorong Regency in 2004. It encompasses more than 40,000 km² of land and sea, which also contains Cenderawasih Bay, the largest marine national park in Indonesia.

It is a part of the newly named West Papua (province) of Indonesia which was formerly Irian Jaya. Some of the islands are the most northern pieces of land in the Australian continent.

The oceanic natural resources around Raja Ampat give it significant potential as a tourist area. Many sources place Raja Ampat as one of their top ten most popular places for diving whilst it retains the number one ranking in terms of underwater biodiversity.

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WAKATOBI NATIONAL PARK - SOUTH EAST SULAWESI

Wakatobi National Park is a marine national park, south of Sulawesi island of Indonesia. The name of Wakatobi is an acronym of the four main Tukangbesi Islands: Wangi-wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia, and Binongko. Since 2005, the park has been listed as a tentative World Heritage Site.

Wakatobi National Park is located south-east of Sulawesi, between 05°12’-06°10’S and 123°20’-124°39’E, between the Banda Sea to the north-east and the Flores Sea to the south-west.

It consists of four larger islands : Wangi-Wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia and Binongko, as well as many small islands such as Tokobao, North Lintea, South Lintea, Kampenaune, Hoga and Tolandono.

The highest elevation is 274 metres (899 ft) on Wangi-Wangi, followed by Lagole Hill (271m) on Tomia, Terpadu Hill (222 m) on Binongko and Mount Sampuagiwolo (203 m) on Kadelupa. The water depth varies, with the deepest parts reaching 1,044 metres (3,425 ft).

The types of vegetation found in the national park are mangrove forest, coastal forest, lowland swamp forest, riverbank vegetation, lowland rainforest, mountain rainforest and coral reefs.

The Wakatobi Archipelago has 25 groups of coral reefs including fringing reefs, barrier reefs and atolls. A survey conducted in 2003 identified 396 species of coral belonging to 68 genera and 15 families. These include Acropora formosa, Acropora hyacinthus, Psammocora profundasafla, Pavona cactus, Leptoseris yabei, Fungia molucensis, Lobophyllia robusta, Merulina ampliata, Platygyra versifora, Euphyllia glabrescens, Tubastraea frondes, Stylophora pistillata, Sarcophyton throchelliophorum, and Sinularia species.

Among the recorded species of seabird are the Brown Booby, Common Kingfisher and Malaysian Plover.

Turtles in the park include the Hawksbill turtle, Loggerhead sea turtle, and Olive Ridley.

After the designation of the Wakatobi Marine Conservation Area in 1996, the Wakatobi National Park with a total area of 1,390,000 ha has been established in 2002. It is managed by the Wakatobi National Park Authority (Balai Taman Nasional). In 2005 the park has been listed as a tentative World Heritage Site.

Major threats are posed by overfishing and destructive fishing practices, including fish bombing and poison fishing.

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SENGGIGI BEACH - LOMBOK

Senggigi Beach is a famous tourism spot in Lombok, Indonesia.

Senggigi beach is located on the west coast of the Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Barat or NTB) province, Indonesia. Senggigi beach is not as big as Kuta Beach in Bali, but once we were here, we will feel like being at Kuta Beach, Bali.

Its coastal beach is still beautiful, although there is still littered with leafage garbage because the leaves are still rarely cleaned.

Underwater scenery is very beautiful, and tourists can do snorkeling as much because the waves are not too large.

Coral reefs rose at the middle of the beach causing large waves would break in the middle of the beach. There are also hotels with varying prices, from the high rate hotel to the hotel with economical rate.

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SHWEDAGON PAGODA - YANGON

The Shwedagon Pagoda (officially titled Shwedagon Zedi Daw ([ʃwèdəɡòʊɴ zèdìdɔ̀]), also known in English as the Great Dagon Pagoda and the Golden Pagoda, is a 99 metres (325 ft) gilded pagoda and stupa located in Yangon, Burma.

The pagoda lies to the west of Kandawgyi Lake, on Singuttara Hill, thus dominating the skyline of the city.

It is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda for the Burmese with relics of the past four Buddhas enshrined within, namely the staff of Kakusandha, the water filter of Koṇāgamana, a piece of the robe of Kassapa and eight strands of hair of Gautama, the historical Buddha.

Uppatasanti Pagoda is a same-sized replica of Shwedagon Pagoda in Naypyidaw, the new capital of Burma.

According to tradition, the Shwedagon Pagoda has existed for more than 2,500 years, making it the oldest historical pagoda in Burma and the world. According to tradition, two merchant brothers, Taphussa and Bhallika, from the land of Ramanya, met the Lord Gautama Buddha during his lifetime and received eight of the Buddha's hairs.

The brothers traveled back to their homeland in Burma and, with the help of the local king, King Okkalapa of Burma, found Singuttara Hill, where relics of other Buddhas preceding Gautama Buddha had been enshrined.


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HA LONG BAY - VIETNAM

Ha Long Bay (Vietnamese: Vịnh Hạ Long, About this sound listen, literally: "descending dragon bay") is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a popular travel destination, located in Quang Ninh province, Vietnam.

Administratively, the bay belongs to Hạ Long City, Cẩm Phả town, and part of Van Don district. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes.

Ha Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bái Tử Long bay to the northeast, and Cát Bà islands to the southwest. These larger zones share similar geological, geographical, geomorphological, climate, and cultural characters.

Ha Long Bay has an area of around 1,553 km2, including 1,960–2,000 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334 km2 with a high density of 775 islets.

The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate.

The geo-diversity of the environment in the area has created biodiversity, including a tropical evergreen biosystem, oceanic and sea shore biosystem. Ha Long Bay is home to 14 endemic floral species and 60 endemic faunal species.

Historical research surveys have shown the presence of prehistorical human beings in this area tens of thousands years ago. The successive ancient cultures are the Soi Nhụ culture around 18,000–7000 BC, the Cái Bèo culture 7000–5000 BC and the Hạ Long culture 5,000–3,500 years ago. Hạ Long Bay also marked important events in the history of Vietnam with many artifacts found in Bài Thơ Mout, Đầu Gỗ Cave, Bãi Cháy.

500 years ago, Nguyen Trai praised the beauty of Hạ Long Bay in his verse Lộ nhập Vân Đồn, in which he called it "rock wonder in the sky". In 1962, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam listed Hạ Long Bay in the National Relics and Landscapes publication. In 1994, the core zone of Hạ Long Bay was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site according to criterion vii, and listed for a second time according to criterion viii.


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ANGKOR WAT - CAMBODIA

Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built by Tamil King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city.


As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture, with key features such as the Jagati.

It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.

The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "City Temple"; Angkor is a vernacular form of the word nokor (នគរ), which comes from the Sanskrit word nagar (नगर). Wat is the Khmer form of the Pali word "vatthu", meaning "temple grounds". Prior to this time the temple was known as Preah Pisnulok (Vara Vishnuloka in Sanskrit), after the posthumous title of its founder.


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MACAU

Macau, also spelled Macao(Traditional Chinese: 澳門, Simplified Chinese : 澳门, Cantonese Jyutping : ou3mun4*2 ; Hanyu Pinyin : Àomén), is along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China. It lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta, bordering Guangdong province to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east and south.

The territory's economy is heavily dependent on gambling and tourism but also includes manufacturing.

Macau was a Portuguese colony and both the first and last European colony in China. Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 16th century and subsequently administered the region until the handover on 20 December 1999.

The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of Macau stipulate that Macau operates with a high degree of autonomy until at least 2049, fifty years after the transfer.

Under the policy of "one country, two systems", the PRC's Central People's Government is responsible for the territory's defense and foreign affairs, while Macau maintains its own legal system, police force, monetary system, customs policy, and immigration policy.

Macau participates in many international organizations and events that do not require members to possess national sovereignty. According to The World Factbook, Macau has the second highest life expectancy in the world.

Etymology
Before the Portuguese settlement in the early 16th century, Macau was known as Haojing (Oyster Mirror) or Jinghai (Mirror Sea). The name Macau is thought to be derived from the A-Ma Temple (Chinese: 媽閣廟; Mandarin Pinyin: Māgé Miào; Jyutping: Maa1 Gok3 Miu6), a temple built in 1448 dedicated to Matsu – the goddess of seafarers and fishermen.

It is said that when the Portuguese sailors landed at the coast just outside the temple and asked the name of the place, the natives replied "媽閣" (Mandarin Pinyin: Māgé; Jyutping: Maa1 Gok3). The Portuguese then named the peninsula "Macau". The present Chinese name (澳門, Àomén) means "Inlet Gates".


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HUALIEN CITY - TAIWAN

Hualien City (Chinese: 花蓮市; pinyin: Huāliánshì; Wade–Giles: Hua-lien shih; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Hoa-liân-chhī) is the capital of Hualien County, Taiwan. It is located on the East coast of Taiwan, by the Pacific Ocean, and has a population of 110,000 inhabitants.

History
According to The Record of Hualien County (花蓮縣志), Hualien was called "Kilai" (Chinese: 奇萊; pinyin: Jīlái; Wade–Giles: Chi-lai; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kî-lâi; hiragana: きらい) prior to Japanese rule. Because Kilai (Kirai in Japanese Romaji) is pronounced the same as "dislike" (嫌い) in Japanese, the Japanese administration changed the name into Karen (花蓮; かれん) in the early 20th century.

After World War II, the same Kanji (花蓮) were kept by the Republic of China's Kuomintang administration, which promoted the Chinese romanization "Hualien".

The Spaniards tried to mine gold in Hualien in 1622. Permanent settlements began in 1851, when 2,200 Han Chinese farmers led by Huang A-fong (黃阿鳳) from Taipei arrived at Fengchuan (now the area near Hualien Rear Station). In 1875, more farmers, led by Lin Cang-an (林蒼安) from Yilan, settled at Fengchuan. But, by the time of the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), when Hualien City, along with the rest of Taiwan, was ceded to Japan, there were still not many settlers in Hualien. Circa 1912, the city was expanded to Guohua and Guoan Villages, a region later known as Old New Port (舊新港). Around 1923, the city extended to Aolang Port (鯉浪港), today known as New Port (新港), including Guowei and Guoji Villages.

The government promoted Hualien as a county-controlled city in 1946.

The major aboriginal tribes that reside in Hualien include the Ami, Atayal, and Bunun

Attractions
* Chishingtarn Coast Scenic Area
* North Shore Park (Bei Bin Park)
* Hualien Fish Market
* South Shore Park and Night Market (Nan Bin Park)
* Tzu Chiang Night Market
* Mei Lun Mountain Park
* Pine Garden
* Museum of Sculpture
* Old Railroad Cultural Shopping Street
* Rock Artificial Street
* Still Thought's Hall (Jing-Si Hall) of Buddhist Compasson Relief Tzu Chi Foundation


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KAOSHIUNG - TAIWAN

Kaohsiung (Chinese: 高雄; pinyin: Gāoxióng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ko-hiông; old names: Takao, Takow, Takau) is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west.


Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China (Taiwan). On December 25, 2010, it merged with Kaohsiung County to form a larger municipality.

Kaohsiung is the second largest city in Taiwan, with a population around 2.9 million. It is a center for manufacturing, refining, shipbuilding, and other light and heavy industries.

A major port, through which pass most of Taiwan's marine imports and exports, is located at the city but is not managed by the city government.

Kaohsiung International Airport serving the city is the second largest airport in Taiwan. The Port of Kaohsiung is the largest harbor in Taiwan. Kaohsiung is the terminal of the Sun Yat-sen Freeway. The city is served by the railway stations of Western Line and Pingtung Line.

Taiwan High Speed Rail connects it with Taipei City. The Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit, the city's subway system, was launched in early 2008. Kaohsiung was the host city of the 2009 World Games, a multisport event primarily composed of sports not featured in the Olympic Games. The city is also home to the Republic of China Navy.


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ALISHAN NATIONAL SCENIC AREA - CHIAYI

The Alishan National Scenic Area (Chinese: 阿里山國家風景區; pinyin: Ālǐshān guójiā fēngjǐng qū; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: A-lí-san Kok-ka Hong-kéng-khu) is a mountain resort and natural preserve located in the mountains of Chiayi County in Taiwan.

It is 415 km² in area. It includes, among other things, mountain wilderness, four villages, waterfalls, high altitude tea plantations, the Alishan Forest Railway and several hiking trails.

The area is popular among tourists and mountain climbers, and Alishan or Mount Ali (Chinese: 阿里山; pinyin: Ālǐshān) itself has become one of the major landmarks associated with Taiwan. The area is also famous for its production of high mountain tea and wasabi.

Alishan is well known for its sunrises, and on a suitable morning one can observe the sun come up on a sea of clouds (simplified Chinese: 云海; traditional Chinese: 雲海; pinyin: yúnhǎi) in the area between Alishan and Yüshan.

Alishan and Sun Moon Lake are, arguably, two of the most well-known scenic spots in Asia. The song Ālǐshān de gūniang, ‘the girls of Alishan’, that refers to the beautiful girls of the Tsou aborigial tribe, is one of Taiwan's most popular folk songs. This song is also well known in several foreign countries, like the People's Republic of China.


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XIMENDING - TAIPEI

Ximending (Chinese: 西門町; pinyin: Xīméndīng; Wade–Giles: Hsi-men-ting; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Se-mn̂g-teng; Romaji: Seimon-chō; sometimes Ximenting) is a neighborhood and shopping district in the Wanhua District of Taipei, Taiwan. It was the first pedestrian zone in Taiwan.

Ximending has been called the "Harajuku of Taipei" and the "Shibuya of Taipei". Ximending is the source of Taiwan's fashion, subculture, and Japanese culture.

Ximending is also the main LGBT district of Taiwan, with a host of gay clubs and pubs surrounding the area.

This area is in the northeastern part of Wanhua District in Taipei and it is also the most important consumer district in the Western District of Taipei. The well-known Ximending Pedestrian Area was the first pedestrian area built in Taipei and is the largest in Taiwan.

Ximending is a popular shopping district for young people.

Access
Because many bus lines gather on Zhonghua Road, Ximending is also an important area for bus transfers. Ximending is also accessible via exit 6 of the Taipei Metro Ximen Station (Banqiao Line and Xiaonanmen Line)

History
Name
The Ximending Pedestrian Area is named after the administrative division Seimon-chō (西門町), which existed during Japanese rule, referring to an area outside the west gate of the city. The area of Seimon-chō included modern-day Chengdu Road (成都路), Xining South Road (西寧南路), Kunming Street (昆明街), and Kangding Road (康定路). However, today the Ximending Pedestrian Area not only includes Seimon-chō but also Wakatake-chō (若竹町) and Shinki-chō (新起町).

The historical spelling of this area was Hsimenting, which is based on the Wade-Giles romanization of Mandarin Chinese. The use of the character 町 is unusual in a Chinese context; it is a chō (a part of a ward) in the Japanese municipality system.

Origin
The name of Ximending was derived from its position outside the west gate of Taipei City. In the beginning during Japanese rule, Ximending was an area of wilderness, through which there was a road connecting the west gate of Taipei to the town of Bangka. Later, the Japanese decided to follow the example of Asakusa in Tokyo to set up an entertainment and business area.

The earliest entertainment facilities constructed included the Taihokuza in 1897, Eiza (now called New Wanguo Market) in 1902, and the Red House Theater in 1908.

Popularity
Ximending attracts an average of over 3 million shoppers per month. It has been called the "Harajuku of Taipei". The local bookstores sell Japanese magazines, books, CD albums, and clothing, making it a haven for the "Harizu", or Japanese culture adorers. Individual vendors gather in the streets as well as the large business buildings, such as Wannien Department Store and Shizilin Square during the day, and Wanguo Department Store and Eslite 116 later at night.

Due to the density of young people, Ximending is comparable to Shilin Night Market and the Eastern District to be areas with the highest crime rates.


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