Buddhism is practiced in China, Japan, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and many other Asian countries.

China’s official language is Mandarin.

Merchants traveled on the Silk Road from China to as far as the

Mediterranean region.

Marco Polo wrote a book about his travels in China to help Europeans

learn about their civilization.

A Chinese thinker named Confucius taught the people virtue, and to

behave properly.

Shoguns were powerful people who governed Japan until the

1800s

Yamato was a Japanese dynasty that ruled in the 1400s.

Mathew C. Perry pressured Japan to end isolation.

By the 1890’s, large areas of China were claimed as spheres of

influence by European governments and Japan.

Japan is the world’s second largest economy.

China’s population passed 1.3 billion in 2005

Islam is the major religion in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia.

A megalopolis is a super-sized city.

Singapore is located at the tip of the Malay Peninsula

Arranged marriages were one aspect of daily life that has

changed in East Asia.

Southeast Asia is more ethnically diverse than East Asia

Some of the world’s largest cities are in East and Southeast Asia.

Wealthier countries like Japan and South Korea have declining birth

rates

About one third of the world’s population lives in East and

Southeast Asia.

Mao Zedong was the communist leader who gained control of China

in 1949.