ASIA

Thailand

History: Thai people, who originally lived in southwestern China, migrated into mainland Southeast Asia over a period of many centuries. The oldest known mention of their existence in the region by the exonym Siamese is in a 12th-century inscription at the Khmer temple complex of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
Food: Thai cuisine is the national cuisine of Thailand. Balance, detail, and variety are of paramount significance to Thai chefs. Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components and a spicy edge. Thai food is often demonstrated with intricacy; attention to detail; texture; color; taste; and the use of ingredients with medicinal benefits, as well as good flavor.
Music: Thai musical instruments are varied and reflect ancient influence from far afield - including the klong thap and khim (Persian origin), the jakhe (Indian origin), the klong jin (Chinese origin), and the klong kaek (Indonesian origin). Though Thailand was never colonized by colonial powers, pop music and other forms of modern Asian, European and American music have become extremely influential. The two most popular styles of traditional Thai music are luk thung and mor lam; the latter in particular has close affinities with the Music of Laos.
Fun Facts:
1) Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country that was never colonized by an European country. In fact, in the Thai language, the name of the country is Prathet Thai which means “land of the free.” Very fitting!
2) Thailand is where you’ll find both the smallest and the largest creatures. The smallest mammal in the world, the bumblebee bat, calls Thailand home. You can also find the largest fish, the whale shark, in Thai waters.
3) Males were all Buddhist monks for a while. There was a time when all young men in Thailand (including royalty) were required to become Buddhist monks–even if only for a short period of time–before they turned 20. This practice is not observed as it used to be these days, however.
4) You’re lucky that you know Bangkok as “Bangkok.” Its real name is one of the longest names of a place in the world, made up of Pali and Sanskrit root words: Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit. What does that name mean? It means “City of Angels, Great City of Immortals, Magnificent City of the Nine Gems, Seat of the King, City of Royal Palaces, Home of Gods Incarnate, Erected by Visvakarman at Indra’s Behest.”
5) People often marvel at the forests and jungles of Thailand, but there used to be more. What most people don’t realize is that over one hundred years ago, nearly all of northern Thailand was covered in hardwood forest. Today, about a quarter of that forest is left. Only Singapore has lost more trees. For this reason, logging is completely banned in Thailand.

India

History: The history of India includes the prehistoric settlements and societies in the Indian subcontinent; the advancement of civilisation from the Indus Valley Civilisation to the eventual blending of the Indo-Aryan culture to form the Vedic Civilisation; the rise of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism; the onset of a succession of powerful dynasties and empires for more than three millennia throughout various geographic areas of the subcontinent.
Food: Indian cuisine encompasses a wide variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the range of diversity in soil type, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially from each other and use locally available spices, herbs, vegetables, and fruits. Indian food is also heavily influenced by religious, in particular Hindu and cultural choices and traditions.
Music: The music of India includes multiple varieties of Indian classical music, folk music, filmi and Indian pop. India's classical music tradition, including Hindustani music and Carnatic, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. Music in India began as an integral part of socio-religious life.
Fun Facts
100 million people come to India's Kumbh Mela Festival, the world's biggest gathering of humans.
2) It's illegal for foreigners to take Indian currency (rupees) out of India.
3) The world's biggest family lives together in India: a man with 39 wives and 94 children.
4) 70% of all the world's spices come from India.
5) India has more population than the entire Western Hemisphere of Earth.

China

Written records of the history of China can be found from as early as 1500 BC under the Shang dynasty. Ancient historical texts such as the Records of the Grand Historian and the Bamboo Annals describe a Xia dynasty, which had no system of writing on a durable medium, before the Shang. The Yellow River's Yellow river civilization is said to be the cradle of Chinese civilization, although cultures originated at various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River's Yangtze civilization millennia ago in the Neolithic era. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest civilizations, and is regarded as one of the cradles of civilization.
Food: Chinese cuisine is an important part of Chinese culture. The preference for seasoning and cooking techniques of Chinese provinces depend on differences in historical background and ethnic groups. Geographic features including mountains, rivers, forests and deserts also have a strong effect on the local available ingredients, considering climate of China varies from tropical in the south to subarctic in the northeast. Imperial, royal and noble preference also plays a role in the change of Chinese cuisines. Because of imperial expansion and trading, ingredients and cooking techniques from other cultures are integrated into Chinese cuisines over time.
Music of China refers to the music of the Chinese people, which may be the music of the Han Chinese as well as other ethnic minorities within mainland China. It also includes music produced by people of Chinese origin in some territories outside mainland China using traditional Chinese instruments or in the Chinese language. It covers a highly diverse range of music from the traditional to the modern.
Fun Facts:
1) Chinese New Year Celebartion lasts 15 days.
2) In China, every year is represented by one of 12 animals.
3) China’s Bailong Elevator carries visitors more than 300m up a cliff’s edge.
4) You can buy green-bean-flavoured ice pops in China!
5) In Ancient China, soldiers sometimes wore armour made from paper.

Japan

Japan's many kingdoms and tribes gradually came to be unified under a centralized government, nominally controlled by the Emperor. The imperial dynasty established at this time continues to reign over Japan to this day. In 794, a new imperial capital was established at Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto), marking the beginning of the Heian period, which lasted until 1185. The Heian period is considered a golden age of classical Japanese culture. Japanese religious life from this time and onwards was a mix of Buddhism, and native religious practices known as Shinto.
Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of social and economic changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan is based on rice with miso soup and other dishes; there is an emphasis on seasonal ingredients. Side dishes often consist of fish, pickled vegetables, and vegetables cooked in broth. Seafood is common, often grilled, but also served raw as sashimi or in sushi.
The music of Japan includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern. Japan is the largest physical music market in the world, with 37 of the top 50 best selling albums nd 49 of the top 50 best selling singles in 2014. Local music often appears at karaoke venues, which is on lease from the record labels. Traditional Japanese music is quite different from Western music as it is often based on the intervals of human breathing rather than mathematical timing.
Fun Facts: A nice muck melon, similar to a cantaloupe costs over $300.
2) There are four different writing systems in Japan; Romaji, Katakana, Hiragana, Kanji.
3) Coffee is very popular and Japan imports appromixmately 85% of Jamaica's annual coffee production.
4)Japan's literacy rate is almost 100%.
5) Sumo is Japan's national sport although baseball is also very popular.

South Korea

History: The history of South Korea formally begins with its establishment on 17 August 1948, although Syngman Rhee had officially declared independence two days prior. In the aftermath of the Japanese occupation of Korea which ended with Japan's defeat in World War 2 in 1945, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel morth in accodrance with a United Nations arrangment.
Food: Korean cuisine has envolved through centuries of social and political change though a complex interaction of the natural enviroment and different cultural trends. It is largely based on rice, vegtables, and meats.
Music: Contemporary South Korean music can be divided into three different main categories: Traditional Korean folk music, popular music, or K-pop, and Western-influenced non-popular music. K-pop is very popular all over the world.
Fun Facts
1) Most restaurants, including McDonald's, will deliver food stright to homes in South Korea.
2) South Koreans love shopping, and the country has some of the biggest shopping malls in the world.
3)All South Korean roofs are curved at the ends giving the appearance of a smile.
4) South Korea harvest more than 90% of the world's seaweed consumption.
5) South Koreans are the world's biggest users of credit cards.

Vietnam

History: According to mythology, the first ruler of Vietnam was Hung Vuong, who founded the nation in 2879 B.C. China ruled the nation then known as Nam Viet as a vassal state from 111 B.C. until the 15th century, an era of nationalistic expansion, when Cambodians were pushed out of the southern area of what is now Vietnam.
Food: Each Vietnamese dish has a distinctive flavor which reflects one or more of these elements. Common ingredients include fish sauce, shrimp paste, soy sauce, rice, fresh herbs, fruit and vegetables. Vietnamese recipes use lemongrass, ginger, mint, Vietnamese mint, long coriander, Saigon cinnamon, bird's eye chili, lime, and Thai basil leaves. Traditional Vietnamese cooking is greatly admired for its fresh ingredients, minimal use of dairy and oil, complementary textures, and reliance on herbs and vegetables. With the balance between fresh herbs and meats and a selective use of spices to reach a fine taste, Vietnamese food is considered one of the healthiest cuisines worldwide.
Music: Traditional Vietnamese music is highly diverse and syncretistic, combining native and foreign influences. Throughout its history, Vietnam has been most heavily influenced by the Chinese musical tradition, as an integral part, along with Korea, Mongolia and Japan. The former Indochinese kingdom of Champa also exerted some influence on Vietnam's traditional music.

Fun Facts
1) Their culture is a complex adapatation of Chinese, Japanese, French and American colonial influences.
2) Traditional Vietnamese culture revolves around the core values of humanity, community, harmony, and family.
3)Water puppetry is another popular art form that dates back as far as the 11th century.
4)Hoi An ancient town was a trading port from the 15th century that has endured up to date.
5)The Perfume River is so named dute to the scent of the tropical flowers that fall onto the water during autumn.

Taiwan

History: The history of Taiwan dates back tens of thousands of years to the earliest known evidence of human habitation. The sudden apperance of a culture based on agriculture around 3000 BC is believed to reflect the arrival of the ancetors of today's Taiwanese aborgines.
Food: Taiwanese cuisine itself is often associated with influences from mid to southern provinces of China, most notably from the province of Fujian, but influences from all mainland China can easily be found. A notable Japnese influence also exists due to the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule.
Music: The music of Taiwan reflects the diverse culture of Taiwanese people. Taiwan has undergone several econmic, social and changes through its cultural history and Taiwanese music reflects those issues in their own way. The music of this country has adopted a mixed style.
Fun Facts
1) Taiwan had a time period recently of economic reform that uplifted residents to the middle and upper classes.
2) Politeness, honor, respect for elders is of major conern in this culture.
3)It takes roughly eight hours to drive around the whole island.
4)Most people in Taiwan are Buddhist or Taosit. THey low to draw upon the wisdom of nature.
5) 96% of adults in Taiwan can read.

The Philippines

History: The history of the Philippines from 1521 to 1898, also known as the Spanish Colonial Times, begins with the arrival in 1521 of European explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailing for Spain, which heralded the period when the Philippines was a colony of the Spanish Empire, and ends with the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in 1898, which marked the beginning of the American Colonial Era of Philippine history.
Food: Philippine cuisine consists of the food, preparation methods, and eating customs found in the Philippines. The style of cooking and the food associated with it have evolved over many centuries from their Austronesian origins to a mixed cuisine of Malay-Indonesian, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, and American.
Filipino music is composed in various genres and styles. The compositons are often a mixture of different Asian, Spanish, Latin American, American, and indigenous influences.
Fun Facts
1) Philippines is the second-largest archipelago in the world.
2)The Philippines priduces and exports more coconuts than any country in the world.
3) The Philippines was the first country in Southeast Asia t gain independence after World War 2.
4)The Philippines are named after Kind Philip 2 of Spain.
5)The world's largest pearl was discovered by a Filipino diver in the Palawan Sea in 1934.

Pakistan

History: The history of Pakistan encompassess the history of the ndus Valley region constituting modern-day Pakistan.The region has witnessed human activity- the ancient history of the region includes one of earliest human settlements of the world.
Food: Within Pakistan, cuisine varies greatly from region to region, reflecting the country's ethnic and cultural diversity. Food from the eastern provinces of Punjab and Sindh can be highly seasoned and spicy, which is characteristic of the flavors of the South Asian region.
Music: The Music of Pakistan includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Middle Eastern, and modern-day Western popular music influences. With these multiple influences, as distinvtive Pakistani sound has emerged.
Fun Facts
1)Sialkot in Pakistan is the world's largest producer of hand-sewn footballs.
2) Pakistan has the highest paved international road.
3)Pakistan has the largest canal-based irrigation system in the world.
4)The name Pakistan means "Land of the pure" in Persian and Urdu.
5)Just two people have won the Nobel Prize from Pakistan.