Asia is a stunningly beautiful land where past, present and future blend harmoniously together.  Click below for cheap flights to Asia, holiday package deals in Asia and your essential Asia Travel Guide including weather, people, things to do, places to stay and books to read.

What's the Best Time to Visit Asia?

March to May and September to November are best, avoiding the extremes of winter and summer

What are Asia's Essential Experiences?

Adding the Great Wall sites near Beijing to your have-seen must-sees

Paying a mandatory visit to the ancient Forbidden City and Summer Palace in Beijing

Parading through the Army of Terracotta Warriors, grand reminders of China’s imperial past

Enjoying the more-familiar Western atmosphere of Shanghai

Chilling out in Xishuangbanna’s lush, subtropical rainforest

Getting Under the Skin...

Read The Search for Modern China by Jonathan D Spence – probably the most readable attempt to encompass Chinese modern history in a single volume; the novels of Pearl S Buck, including The Good Earth and Imperial Woman

Listen to Moon Rising in the Rosy Clouds, a selection of classical and modern works featuring traditional instruments by the Chinese National Orchestra

Watch the gorgeous films of Zhang Yimou, of the ‘Fifth Generation’ film movement, including Shanghai Triad and Raise the Red Lantern

Eat Peking duck in Beijing; anything with four legs (bar your table) in Guangzhou

Drink cha (tea). As political surveillance is relaxed, China’s teahouses, traditional centres of gossip and intrigue, are making a comeback

In a Word...

Tai gui le! (too expensive!)

What is Asia well known for?

Pandas; unchecked development; students practicing English on tourists; edgy modern art scene; Tiananmen Square; noodles; the Great Wall

Surprises...

Not all Chinese ‘look’ Chinese: the majority, Han Chinese (92%), are only one of 56 officially recognized ethnic groups in China