1.
Montreal
–
Montreal, officially Montréal, is the most populous municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec and the 2nd-most populous in Canada as a whole. Originally called Ville-Marie, or City of Mary, it is believed to be named after Mount Royal, the city has a distinct four-season continental climate, with warm-to-hot summers and cold, snowy winters. In 2016, Montreal had a population of 1,704,694, Montreals metropolitan area had a population of 4,098,927 and a population of 1,958,257 in the urban agglomeration, with all of the municipalities on the Island of Montreal included. Legally a French-speaking city,60. 5% of Montrealers speak French at home,21. 2% speak English and 19. 8% speak neither, Montreal is one of the most bilingual cities in Quebec and Canada, with 56% of the population able to speak both official languages. Montreal is the second-largest primarily French-speaking city in the world after Paris, historically the commercial capital of Canada, it was surpassed in population and economic strength by Toronto in the 1970s. It remains an important centre of commerce, aerospace, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, education, culture, tourism, gaming, film, Montreal was also named a UNESCO City of Design. In 2009, Montreal was named North Americas leading host city for international events, according to the 2009 preliminary rankings of the International Congress. According to the 2015 Global Liveability Ranking by the Economist Intelligence Unit, in the 2017 edition of their Best Student Cities ranking, Quacquarelli Symonds ranked Montreal as the worlds best city to study abroad. Also, Montreal has 11 universities with 170,000 students enrolled, the Greater Montréal region has the highest number of university students per capita among all metropolitan areas in North America. It is the only Canadian city to have held the Summer Olympics, currently, the city hosts the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula One, the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Just for Laughs festival. In 2012, Montreal was ranked as a Beta+ world city, in Kanien’kéha, or Mohawk language, the island is called Tiohtià, ke Tsi or Ka-wé-no-te. In Anishinaabemowin, or Ojibwe language, the land is called Mooniyaang, though the city was first named by French colonizers Ville Marie, or City of Mary, its current name comes from Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill in the heart of the city. The most popular theory is that the name derives from Mont Réal, Cartiers 1535 diary entry, naming the mountain, according to the Commission de toponymie du Québec and the Geographical Names Board of Canada, Canadian place names have only one official form. Thus, Montreal is officially spelled with an accent over the e in both English and French. In practice, this is limited to governmental uses. English-speaking Montrealers, including English-language media, regularly omit the accent when writing in English, archaeological evidence demonstrates that First Nations native people occupied the island of Montreal as early as 4,000 years ago. By the year AD1000, they had started to cultivate maize, within a few hundred years, they had built fortified villages. Archeologists have found evidence of their habitation there and at locations in the valley since at least the 14th century
Montreal
–
Clockwise from top:
Downtown Montreal as seen from the
Champlain Bridge;
McGill University;
Saint Joseph's Oratory; the
Old Montreal featuring the
Montreal Clock Tower and the
Jacques Cartier Bridge during the
Montreal Fireworks Festival; a view of the
Notre-Dame Basilica from
Place d'Armes; and the
Olympic Stadium.
Montreal
–
The Montreal Harbour in 1889.
Montreal
–
Saint Jacques Street (formerly St. James Street), in 1910
Montreal
–
Bonsecours Market in autumn.
2.
International Civil Aviation Organization
–
The International Civil Aviation Organization, is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of air transport to ensure safe. Its headquarters are located in the Quartier International of Montreal, Quebec, ICAO defines the protocols for air accident investigation followed by transport safety authorities in countries signatory to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The Air Navigation Commission is the body within ICAO. The Commission is composed of 19 Commissioners, nominated by the ICAOs contracting states, Commissioners serve as independent experts, who although nominated by their states, do not serve as state or political representatives. The development of Aviation Standards and Recommended Practices is done under the direction of the ANC through the process of ICAO Panels. Once approved by the Commission, standards are sent to the Council, the forerunner to ICAO was the International Commission for Air Navigation. It held its first convention in 1903 in Berlin, Germany, at the second convention in 1906, also held in Berlin,27 countries attended. The third convention, held in London in 1912 allocated the first radio callsigns for use by aircraft, ICAN continued to operate until 1945. Fifty-two countries signed the Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention, in Chicago, Illinois, on 7 December 1944. Under its terms, a Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization was to be established, accordingly, PICAO began operating on 6 June 1945, replacing ICAN. The 26th country ratified the Convention on 5 March 1947 and, consequently PICAO was disestablished on 4 April 1947 and replaced by ICAO, in October 1947, ICAO became an agency of the United Nations linked to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. In April 2013 Qatar offered to serve as the new permanent seat of the Organization, according to the Globe and Mail, Qatars move was at least partly motivated by the pro-Israel foreign policy of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Approximately one month later, Qatar withdrew its bid after a proposal to the ICAOs governing council to move the ICAO triennial conference to Doha was defeated by a vote of 22–14. The 9th edition of the Convention on International Civil Aviation includes modifications from 1948 up to year 2006, ICAO refers to its current edition of the Convention as the Statute, and designates it as ICAO Document 7300/9. The Convention has 19 Annexes that are listed by title in the article Convention on International Civil Aviation, as of March 2016, there are 191 ICAO members, consisting of 190 of the 193 UN members, plus the Cook Islands. Liechtenstein has delegated Switzerland to implement the treaty to make it applicable in the territory of Liechtenstein, Taiwan attended the 38th Session of the ICAO Assembly in 2013, but in 2016 was denied such an invitation, despite expressions of support from the United States for Taiwan to participate. However, the Republic of China under the name of Chinese Taipei is a member of International Air Transport Association, the Council of ICAO is elected by the Assembly every 3 years and consists of 36 members elected in 3 categories
International Civil Aviation Organization
–
ICAO World Headquarters,
Montreal,
Quebec,
Canada
International Civil Aviation Organization
–
International Civil Aviation Organization
3.
Ottawa
–
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It stands on the bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of southern Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, the two form the core of the Ottawa–Gatineau census metropolitan area and the National Capital Region. The 2016 census reported a population of 934,243, making it the fourth-largest city in Canada, the City of Ottawa reported that the city had an estimated population of 960,754 as of December 2015. Founded in 1826 as Bytown, and incorporated as Ottawa in 1855, the city name Ottawa was chosen in reference to the Ottawa River nearby, the name of which is derived from the Algonquin Odawa, meaning to trade. The city is the most educated in Canada, and is home to a number of post-secondary, research, and cultural institutions, including the National Arts Centre, Ottawa also has the highest standard of living in the nation and low unemployment. It ranked second out of 150 worldwide in the Numbeo quality of life index 2014–2015, with the draining of the Champlain Sea around ten thousand years ago the Ottawa Valley became habitable. The area was used for wild harvesting, hunting, fishing, trade, travel. The Ottawa river valley has archaeological sites with arrow heads, pottery, the area has three major rivers that meet, making it an important trade and travel area for thousands of years. The Algonquins called the Ottawa River Kichi Sibi or Kichissippi meaning Great River or Grand River, Étienne Brûlé, the first European to travel up the Ottawa River, passed by Ottawa in 1610 on his way to the Great Lakes. Three years later, Samuel de Champlain wrote about the waterfalls of the area and about his encounters with the Algonquins, the early explorers and traders were later followed by many missionaries. The first maps of the area used the word Ottawa to name the river, philemon Wright, a New Englander, created the first settlement in the area on 7 March 1800 on the north side of the river, across from Ottawa in Hull. He, with five other families and twenty-five labourers, set about to create a community called Wrightsville. Wright pioneered the Ottawa Valley timber trade by transporting timber by river from the Ottawa Valley to Quebec City, the following year, the town would soon be named after British military engineer Colonel John By who was responsible for the entire Rideau Waterway construction project. Colonel By set up military barracks on the site of todays Parliament Hill and he also laid out the streets of the town and created two distinct neighbourhoods named Upper Town west of the canal and Lower Town east of the canal. Similar to its Upper Canada and Lower Canada namesakes, historically Upper Town was predominantly English speaking and Protestant whereas Lower Town was predominantly French, Irish, bytowns population grew to 1,000 as the Rideau Canal was being completed in 1832. In 1855 Bytown was renamed Ottawa and incorporated as a city, William Pittman Lett was installed as the first city clerk guiding it through 36 years of development. On New Years Eve 1857, Queen Victoria, as a symbolic, in reality, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald had assigned this selection process to the Executive Branch of the Government, as previous attempts to arrive at a consensus had ended in deadlock
Ottawa
–
Centre Block on Parliament Hill, the
National War Memorial in
downtown Ottawa, the
National Gallery of Canada, and the
Rideau Canal and
Château Laurier.
Ottawa
–
Bytown in 1853. Military Barracks on hill top was occupied by "A" Company of the
Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment, presently home to
Parliament Hill.
Ottawa
–
Centre Block on
Parliament Hill under construction in 1863
Ottawa
–
Looking east down
Rideau Street. In view: the
Union Station on the right, and the (now demolished)
Daly Building on the left. 1922
4.
Brussels
–
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the region of Flanders or Wallonia. The region has a population of 1.2 million and an area with a population of over 1.8 million. Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, the secretariat of the Benelux and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are also located in Brussels. Today, it is considered an Alpha global city, historically a Dutch-speaking city, Brussels has seen a language shift to French from the late 19th century onwards. Today, the majority language is French, and the Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. All road signs, street names, and many advertisements and services are shown in both languages, Brussels is increasingly becoming multilingual with increasing numbers of migrants, expatriates and minority groups speaking their own languages. The most common theory of the origin of Brussels name is that it derives from the Old Dutch Broekzele or Broeksel, meaning marsh, Saint Vindicianus, the bishop of Cambrai made the first recorded reference to the place Brosella in 695 when it was still a hamlet. The origin of the settlement that was to become Brussels lies in Saint Gaugericus construction of a chapel on an island in the river Senne around 580. The official founding of Brussels is usually situated around 979, when Duke Charles of Lower Lotharingia transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel to the Saint Gaugericus chapel, Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island. Lambert I of Leuven, Count of Leuven gained the County of Brussels around 1000 by marrying Charles daughter, as it grew to a population of around 30,000, the surrounding marshes were drained to allow for further expansion. The Counts of Leuven became Dukes of Brabant at about this time, in the 13th century, the city got its first walls. After the construction of the city walls in the early 13th century, to let the city expand, a second set of walls was erected between 1356 and 1383. Today, traces of it can still be seen, mostly because the small ring, Brabant had lost its independence, but Brussels became the Princely Capital of the prosperous Low Countries, and flourished. In 1516 Charles V, who had been heir of the Low Countries since 1506, was declared King of Spain in St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. Upon the death of his grandfather, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and it was in the Palace complex at Coudenberg that Charles V abdicated in 1555. This impressive palace, famous all over Europe, had expanded since it had first become the seat of the Dukes of Brabant. In 1695, during the Nine Years War, King Louis XIV of France sent troops to bombard Brussels with artillery, together with the resulting fire, it was the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels
Brussels
–
A
collage with several views of Brussels, Top: View of the
Northern Quarter business district, 2nd left: Floral carpet event in the
Grand Place, 2nd right:
Brussels City Hall and
Mont des Arts area, 3rd:
Cinquantenaire Park, 4th left:
Manneken Pis, 4th middle:
St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral, 4th right:
Congress Column, Bottom:
Royal Palace of Brussels
Brussels
–
Charles of Lorraine founded what would become Brussels c. 979
Brussels
–
Grand Place after
the 1695 bombardment by the French army
Brussels
–
Episode of the
Belgian Revolution of 1830,
Wappers (1834)
5.
Panama City
–
Panama City is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has an population of 430,299, and its population totals 880,691 when rural areas are included. The city is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, the city is the political and administrative center of the country, as well as a hub for international banking and commerce. It is considered a world city, one of three Central American cities listed in this category. Panamas Tocumen International Airport, the largest and busiest airport in Central America, Panama was chosen as the 2003 American Capital of Culture jointly with Curitiba, Brazil. It is among the top five places for retirement in the world, the city of Panama was founded on August 15,1519, by Spanish conquistador Pedro Arias Dávila. The city was the point for expeditions that conquered the Inca Empire in Peru. On January 28,1671, the city was destroyed by a fire when privateer Henry Morgan sacked. The city was reestablished two years later on January 21,1673, in a peninsula located 8 km from the original settlement. The site of the devastated city is still in ruins and is now a popular tourist attraction known as Panama Viejo. The city was founded on August 15,1519, by Pedro Arias de Ávila, also known as Pedrarias Dávila. Within a few years of its founding, the city became a point for the exploration and conquest of Peru. In 1671 Henry Morgan with a band of 1400 men attacked and looted the city, the ruins of the old city still remain and are a popular tourist attraction known as Panamá la Vieja. It was rebuilt in 1673 in a new location approximately 5 miles southwest of the original city and this location is now known as the Casco Viejo of the city. One year before the start of the California Gold Rush, the Panama Railroad Company was formed and that traffic greatly increased the prosperity of the city during that period. The construction of the Panama Canal was of benefit to the infrastructure. Of particular note are the improvements in health and sanitation brought about by the American presence in the Canal Zone, dr. William Gorgas, the chief sanitary officer for the canal construction, had a particularly large impact. He hypothesized that diseases were spread by the abundance of native to the area, and ordered the fumigation of homes
Panama City
–
Clockwise, from top:
Panama Canal, Skyline,
Bridge of the Americas, The bovedas,
Casco Viejo of Panama and Metropolitan Cathedral of Panama.
Panama City
–
Astronaut's photo of Panama City.
Panama City
–
Casco Viejo seen from Cerro Ancón.
Panama City
–
The skyline of Panama City from
Ancon Hill. 2008
6.
Casablanca, Morocco
–
Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco, located in the central-western part of the country bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It is the largest city in the Maghreb, as well as one of the largest and most important cities in Africa, Casablanca is Moroccos chief port and one of the largest financial centers on the continent. The 2012 census recorded a population of about 4 million in the prefecture of Casablanca, Casablanca is considered the economic and business center of Morocco, although the national political capital is Rabat. The leading Moroccan companies and international corporations doing Moroccan business have their headquarters, recent industrial statistics show Casablanca retains its historical position as the main industrial zone of the country. The Port of Casablanca is one of the largest artificial ports in the world, Casablanca also hosts the primary naval base for the Royal Moroccan Navy. The original name of the city was Anfa, in Berber language, after the Portuguese took control of Anfa in the 15th century AD, they rebuilt it, changing the name to Casa Branca. It derives from the Portuguese word combination meaning White House, the present name, which is the Spanish version, came when the Portuguese kingdom was integrated in personal union to the Spanish kingdom. During the French protectorate in Morocco, the name remained Casablanca, in the 18th century, an earthquake destroyed most of the town. It was rebuilt by the Sultan who changed the name into the local Arabic which is Ad-dar Al Baidaa, the city is still nicknamed Casa by many locals and outsiders to the city. In many other cities with a different dialect, it is called Ad-dar Al-Bida, a famous boulevard inside Casablanca City is called Anfa Boulevard. Anfa is generally considered the old original city of Casablanca. The area which is today Casablanca was founded and settled by Berbers by at least the seventh century BC and it was used as a port by the Phoenicians and later the Romans. In his book Description of Africa, Leo Africanus refers to ancient Casablanca as Anfa and he believed Anfa was the most prosperous city on the Atlantic Coast because of its fertile land. Barghawata rose as an independent state around this time, and continued until it was conquered by the Almoravids in 1068. Following the defeat of the Barghawata in the 12th century, Arab tribes of Hilal and Sulaym descent settled in the region, mixing with the local Berbers, during the 14th century, under the Merinids, Anfa rose in importance as a port. The last of the Merinids were ousted by a revolt in 1465. The Portuguese used the ruins of Anfa to build a fortress in 1515. The town that grew up around it was called Casa Branca, as Portugal broke ties with Spain in 1640, Casablanca came under fully Portuguese control once again
Casablanca, Morocco
–
Casablanca in 1572, still called Anfa on this painting, by the time the Portuguese renamed it "Casa Branca" which would eventually became Casablanca
Casablanca, Morocco
–
Casablanca الدار البيضاء (Arabic) Anfa / ⴰⵏⴼⴰ (Berber)
Casablanca, Morocco
–
Casablanca in 1930
Casablanca, Morocco
–
Architecture of Casablanca, influenced by French styles
7.
List of Airport Service Quality Award winners
–
The ACI gives out the ASQ, based on passenger satisfaction ratings in the ASQ Survey, which is a global survey based on interviews with passengers on the day of travel. Only airports which have participated in all four quarters of the year, along with the World Airport Awards by Skytrax, this award is considered one of the most prestigious accolades in the industry. ^a In 2006, the category was called Africa - Middle East, ^b Since 2012 the category is called 2-5 million. This award recognises airports, based on the results for overall satisfaction as rated solely by domestic passengers, the award has been replaced with the Best Regional Airport award in 2010. This award, replacing the Best Domestic Airport in 2010, has been classified since 2012 as recognising only airports with 2 million passengers or less and this award recognizes those airports which have been rated by passengers as having the most courteous and helpful airport, airline and security staff
List of Airport Service Quality Award winners
–
Seoul's
Incheon International Airport has won "Best Airport Worldwide" on every occasion.
8.
Skytrax
–
Skytrax is a United Kingdom-based consultancy which runs an airline and airport review and ranking site. Apart from these evaluations, Skytrax has a forum where passengers give potential passengers insights. The website also hosts flight reviews, flight checks, and satisfaction surveys, Skytrax holds an annual World Airline Awards and World Airport Awards, as well as the ranking for airlines and airports. The Authority upheld all five complaints and Skytrax agreed to some promotional wording. Inflight Research Services sent some information to the UK House of Lords Select Committee on Science, Skytrax presents awards annually to airports and airlines that it considers noteworthy in their performance
Skytrax
–
The Skytrax logo
9.
South Korea
–
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a sovereign state in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The earliest Korean pottery dates to 8000 BC, with three kingdoms flourishing in the 1st century BC and its rich and vibrant culture left 19 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity, the third largest in the world, along with 12 World Heritage Sites. Annexed into Imperial Japan in 1910, Korea was divided after its surrender in 1945, peace has since mostly continued with the two agreeing to work peacefully for reunification and the South solidifying peace as a regional power with the worlds 10th largest defence budget. South Koreas tiger economy soared at an average of 10% for over 30 years in a period of rapid transformation called the Miracle on the Han River. A long legacy of openness and focus on innovation made it successful, today, it is the worlds fifth largest exporter with the G20s largest budget surplus and highest credit rating of any country in East Asia. It has free trade agreements with 75% of the economy and is the only G20 nation trading freely with China, the US. Since 1988, its constitution guarantees a liberal democracy with high government transparency, high personal freedoms led to the rise of a globally influential pop culture such as K-pop and K-drama, a phenomenon called the Korean Wave, known for its distinctive fashionable and trendy style. Home of the UN Green Climate Fund and GGGI, South Korea is a leader in low carbon growth, committed to helping developing countries as a major DAC. It is the third least ignorant country in the Index of Ignorance, ranking eighth highest for peaceful tolerance. It is the worlds largest spender on R&D per GDP, leading the OECD in graduates in science, the name Korea derives from the name Goryeo. The name Goryeo itself was first used by the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo in the 5th century as a form of its name. The 10th-century kingdom of Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo, and thus inherited its name, the modern spelling of Korea first appeared in the late 17th century in the travel writings of the Dutch East India Companys Hendrick Hamel. After Goryeo was replaced by Joseon in 1392, Joseon became the name for the entire territory. The new official name has its origin in the ancient country of Gojoseon, in 1897, the Joseon dynasty changed the official name of the country from Joseon to Daehan Jeguk. The name Daehan, which means great Han literally, derives from Samhan, however, the name Joseon was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, though it was no longer the official name. Under Japanese rule, the two names Han and Joseon coexisted, there were several groups who fought for independence, the most notable being the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Following the surrender of Japan, in 1945, the Republic of Korea was adopted as the name for the new country. Since the government only controlled the part of the Korean Peninsula
South Korea
–
Flag
South Korea
–
Balhae and
Silla, 830 CE
South Korea
–
Jikji, the first known book printed with movable metal type in 1377. Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris
10.
Incheon International Airport
–
Incheon International Airport is the largest airport in South Korea, the primary airport serving the Seoul Capital Area, and one of the largest and busiest airports in the world. Since 2005, it has been rated the best airport worldwide by Airports Council International every year and it is also rated as the worlds cleanest airport and the worlds best international transit airport by Skytrax. The airport has a course, spa, private sleeping rooms, an ice skating rink, a casino, indoor gardens. Its duty-free shopping mall has been rated the worlds best for three years in a row in 2013 by Business Traveller, Incheon International Airport also claims that it has only a 0. 0001% baggage mishandling rate. Incheon International Airport is located west of Incheons city center, on an artificially created piece of land between Yeongjong and Yongyu islands, the two islands were originally separated by shallow sea. That area between the two islands was reclaimed for the project, effectively connecting the once separate Yeongjong and Yongyu islands. The reclaimed area as well as the two islands are all part of Jung-gu, a district of Incheon. Seoul Incheon International Airports terminal has 76 boarding gates altogether, with 44 in the terminal and 30 in Concourse A. After the Seoul Olympics of 1988, international air traffic to Korea increased, in the 1990s, it became apparent that Gimpo International Airport could not cope with the increase in air traffic. To reduce the load on Gimpo International Airport, the government decided to build a new airport, the new airport was originally planned to be located in Cheongju,124 km far from Seoul, but due to its distance, it was opposed by Seoul and Gyeonggi citizens. Hwaseong was the choice, but it was also rejected due to similar reasons. Finally the area chosen was Incheon, completion was initially scheduled for 1997 but delayed due to the economic crisis. Finally, the airport was opened in March 2001. On 15 November 2006, the Airbus A380 landed at the airport as part of the first leg of its certification trip, tests on the runways, taxiways, and ramps showed that the airport could handle the aircraft. To further upgrade service, Incheon and major Korean logistics firm Hanjin Corporation agreed on January 10,2008 to build Yeongjong Medical Centre and this hospital is currently serving nearby residents and some of Koreas annual 30,000 medical tourists. Located 48 km west of Seoul, the capital and the largest city of South Korea, Incheon International Airport is the hub for Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air. The airport serves as a hub for international civilian air transportation, in that year,40,785,953 international passengers used the airport. The airport was planned to be built in three phases, incrementally increasing airport capacity as the demand grew
Incheon International Airport
–
Aerial view of Terminal 1
Incheon International Airport
–
An Orient Thai Airlines
Boeing 747-200 at ICN
Incheon International Airport
–
Inside Incheon International Airport
Incheon International Airport
–
An
Asiana Airlines Boeing 767-300 in Star Alliance livery touching down at Incheon International Airport. A
Korean Air Boeing 777-200ER can be seen in the background.
11.
Hong Kong
–
Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the Pearl River Delta of East Asia. Macau lies across the delta to the west, and the Chinese province of Guangdong borders the territory to the north. With a total area of 1,106 square kilometres. Hong Kong was later occupied by Japan during World War II until British control resumed in 1945, under the principle of one country, two systems, Hong Kong maintains a separate political and economic system from China. Except in military defence and foreign affairs, Hong Kong maintains its independent executive, legislative, in addition, Hong Kong develops relations directly with foreign states and international organisations in a broad range of appropriate fields. Hong Kong is one of the worlds most significant financial centres, with the highest Financial Development Index score and consistently ranks as the worlds most competitive and freest economic entity. As the worlds 8th largest trading entity, its legal tender, Hong Kongs tertiary sector dominated economy is characterised by simple taxation with a competitive level of corporate tax and supported by its independent judiciary system. However, while Hong Kong has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world and it has a very high Human Development Index ranking and the worlds longest life expectancy. Over 90% of the population use of well-developed public transportation. Seasonal air pollution with origins from neighbouring areas of Mainland China. Hong Kong was officially recorded in the 1842 Treaty of Nanking to encompass the entirety of the island, before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet—now Aberdeen Harbour —between Aberdeen Island and the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. Aberdeen was a point of contact between British sailors and local fishermen. Detailed and accurate romanisation systems for Cantonese were available and in use at the time, fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbours fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River or to the incense from factories lining the coast of northern Kowloon. The incense was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before Hong Kong developed Victoria Harbour, the name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926. Nevertheless, a number of century-old institutions still retain the form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric. As of 1997, its name is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. This is the title as mentioned in the Hong Kong Basic Law. Hong Kong has carried many nicknames, the most famous among those is the Pearl of the Orient, which reflected the impressive nightscape of the citys light decorations on the skyscrapers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour
Hong Kong
–
The Cenotaph in Hong Kong commemorates those who died in service in WWI and WWII.
Hong Kong
–
Flag
Hong Kong
–
Stamp with portrait of
Queen Elizabeth II, 1953
Hong Kong
–
Development of
Hong Kong Island in 1986
12.
Hong Kong International Airport
–
Hong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is located on the island of Chek Lap Kok, which largely comprises land reclaimed for the construction of the airport itself, the airport is also colloquially known as Chek Lap Kok Airport, to distinguish it from its predecessor, the closed Kai Tak Airport. The airport has been in operation since 1998, replacing the Kai Tak Airport. It is an important regional trans-shipment centre, passenger hub and gateway for destinations in Mainland China, the airport is the worlds busiest cargo gateway and one of the worlds busiest passenger airports. It is also home to one of the worlds largest passenger terminal buildings. The airport is operated by the Airport Authority Hong Kong 24 hours a day and is the hub for Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon, Hong Kong Airlines, Hong Kong Express Airways. The airport is one of the hubs of Oneworld alliance, and it is a focus city for many airlines, including China Airlines and China Eastern Airlines. Singapore Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and Air India utilize Hong Kong as a point for their flights. HKIA is an important contributor to Hong Kongs economy, with approximately 65,000 employees, more than 100 airlines operate flights from the airport to over 180 cities across the globe. In 2015, HKIA handled 68.5 million passengers, making it the 8th busiest airport worldwide by passenger traffic, since 2010, it has also surpassed Memphis International Airport to become the worlds busiest airport by cargo traffic. Chek Lap Kok Airport was designed as a replacement for the former Hong Kong International Airport originally built in 1925. Located in the densely built-up Kowloon City District with a single runway extending into Kowloon Bay, in addition, noise mitigation measures restricted nighttime flights, as severe noise pollution adversely affected an estimated total of at least 340,000 people. A1974 planning study by the Civil Aviation and Public Works departments identified the island of Chek Lap Kok, off Lantau Island. Away from the city centre, flight paths would be routed over the South China Sea rather than populous urban areas. The Chek Lap Kok airport master plan and civil engineering studies were completed towards the end of 1982 and 1983 respectively, in February 1983, however, the government shelved the project for financial and economic reasons. In 1988, the Port & Airport Development Strategy Study was undertaken by consultants, headed by Mott MacDonald Hong Kong Limited, reporting in December 1989. This study looked at forecasts for airport and port traffic to the year 2011 and came up with three recommended strategies for overall strategic development in Hong Kong. The consultants produced detailed analyses for each scenario, enabling Government to consider these appraisals for each of the three Recommended Strategies
Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport
–
Hong Kong International Airport Chek Lap Kok Airport 香港國際機場 赤鱲角機場
Hong Kong International Airport
–
View of the airport from the
Ngong Ping 360 cable car
Hong Kong International Airport
–
A front view of Hong Kong Airport
13.
Malaysia
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Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy located in Southeast Asia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government, with a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia, located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries on earth, with large numbers of endemic species. Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, the first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946, Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963 to become Malaysia, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, which plays a role in politics. About half the population is ethnically Malay, with minorities of Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indians. The constitution declares Islam the state religion while allowing freedom of religion for non-Muslims, the government system is closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system and the legal system is based on common law. The head of state is the king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and he is an elected monarch chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine Malay states every five years. The head of government is the prime minister, since its independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with its GDP growing at an average of 6. 5% per annum for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce. Today, Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, ranked third largest in Southeast Asia, the name Malaysia is a combination of the word Malay and the Latin-Greek suffix -sia/-σία. The word melayu in Malay may derive from the Tamil words malai and ur meaning mountain and city, land, malayadvipa was the word used by ancient Indian traders when referring to the Malay Peninsula. Whether or not it originated from these roots, the word melayu or mlayu may have used in early Malay/Javanese to mean to steadily accelerate or run. This term was applied to describe the current of the river Melayu in Sumatra. The name was adopted by the Melayu Kingdom that existed in the seventh century on Sumatra
Malaysia
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"Malaysia" used as a label for the
Malay Archipelago on a 1914 map from a United States atlas
Malaysia
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Flag
Malaysia
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The Dutch fleet battling with the Portuguese armada as part of the
Dutch–Portuguese War in 1606 to gain control of
Malacca.
Malaysia
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Statue of
Francis Light in the
Fort Cornwallis of Penang, marking the first step of
British expansion in the 18th century over the Malay Archipelago.
14.
Kuala Lumpur International Airport
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Kuala Lumpur International Airport is Malaysias main international airport and one of the major airports in South East Asia. Built at a cost of US$3.5 billion in Sepang district of Selangor, it is located approximately 45 kilometres south of Kuala Lumpur city centre, KLIA is the largest and busiest airport in Malaysia. In 2015, it handled 48,938,424 passengers and 726,230 tonnes of cargo and it is the worlds 23rd-busiest airport by total passenger traffic. The airport is operated by Malaysia Airports Sepang Sdn Bhd and is the hub of Malaysia Airlines, MASkargo, AirAsia, AirAsia X, Malindo Air, UPS Airlines. The construction of the airport was mainly by a few state owned construction companies as well as Ekovest Berhad – helmed by Tan Sri Datuk Lim Kang Hoo. It was created as part of the Multimedia Super Corridor, a development plan for Malaysia. The chief architect who designed the new terminal was the Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. Upon KLIAs completion, Subang Airports Terminal 1 building was demolished, Malaysia Airports agreed to redevelop the remaining Terminal 3 to create a specialist airport for turboprop and charter planes surrounded by a residential area and a business park. The IATA airport code KUL was transferred from Subang Airport, which handles only turboprop aircraft, general aviation. Subang Airports IATA code has since changed to SZB. The airports site spans 100 square kilometres 2, of agricultural land and is one of the worlds largest airport sites. An ambitious three-phase development plan anticipates KLIA to have five runways, Phase One involved the construction of the main terminal and one satellite terminal, giving a capacity of 25 million passengers, and two full service runways. The Phase One airport had sixty contact piers, twenty remote parking bays with eighty aircraft parking positions, four maintenance hangars, Phase Two, designed to increase capacity to 35 million passengers per year is largely complete. Phase Three is anticipated to increase capacity to 100 million passengers per year, the first domestic arrival was Malaysia Airlines flight MH1263 from Kuantan at 07,10 MST. The first international arrival was Malaysia Airlines flight MH188 from Malé International Airport at 07,30 MST. The first domestic departure was Malaysia Airlines flight MH1432 to Langkawi at 07,20 MST, the inauguration of the airport was marked with problems. Aerobridge and bay allocation systems broke down, queues built up throughout the airport, bags were lost and there were waits of over five hours. Most of these issues were remedied eventually, though baggage handling system was plagued with problems until it was put up for a replacement tender in 2007
Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Kuala Lumpur International Airport
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KLIA main entrance from the side
Kuala Lumpur International Airport
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KLIA Main terminal architecture
Kuala Lumpur International Airport
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Inside the main terminal building.
15.
Singapore
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Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, sometimes referred to as the Lion City or the Little Red Dot, is a sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia. It lies one degree north of the equator, at the tip of peninsular Malaysia. Singapores territory consists of one island along with 62 other islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its size by 23%. During the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan, after early years of turbulence, and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its workforce. Singapore is a global commerce, finance and transport hub, the country has also been identified as a tax haven. Singapore ranks 5th internationally and first in Asia on the UN Human Development Index and it is ranked highly in education, healthcare, life expectancy, quality of life, personal safety, and housing, but does not fare well on the Democracy index. Although income inequality is high, 90% of homes are owner-occupied, 38% of Singapores 5.6 million residents are permanent residents and other foreign nationals. There are four languages on the island, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil. English is its language, most Singaporeans are bilingual. Singapore is a multiparty parliamentary republic, with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. The Peoples Action Party has won every election since self-government in 1959, however, it is unlikely that lions ever lived on the island, Sang Nila Utama, the Srivijayan prince said to have founded and named the island Singapura, perhaps saw a Malayan tiger. There are however other suggestions for the origin of the name, the central island has also been called Pulau Ujong as far back as the third century CE, literally island at the end in Malay. In 1299, according to the Malay Annals, the Kingdom of Singapura was founded on the island by Sang Nila Utama and these Indianized Kingdoms, a term coined by George Cœdès were characterized by surprising resilience, political integrity and administrative stability. In 1613, Portuguese raiders burned down the settlement, which by then was part of the Johor Sultanate. The wider maritime region and much trade was under Dutch control for the following period, in 1824 the entire island, as well as the Temenggong, became a British possession after a further treaty with the Sultan. In 1826, Singapore became part of the Straits Settlements, under the jurisdiction of British India, prior to Raffles arrival, there were only about a thousand people living on the island, mostly indigenous Malays along with a handful of Chinese. By 1860 the population had swelled to over 80,000, many of these early immigrants came to work on the pepper and gambier plantations
Singapore
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Raffles Square around 1900.
Singapore
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Flag
Singapore
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Victorious Japanese troops marching through Singapore City after the British capitulation at the
Battle of Singapore in 1942.
Singapore
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A cheering crowd welcome the return of British forces, 1945
16.
Singapore Changi Airport
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Singapore Changi Airport, or simply Changi Airport, is the primary civilian airport for Singapore, and one of the largest transportation hubs in Southeast Asia. It is currently the Worlds Best Airport, for the fifth year and counting and is one of the worlds busiest airports by international passenger traffic. The airport is located in Changi, at the end of Singapore, approximately 17.2 kilometres northeast from Marina Bay. It is operated by Changi Airport Group and it is the base of Singapore Airlines, Singapore Airlines Cargo, SilkAir, Scoot, Tigerair, Jetstar Asia Airways. Changi Airport serves more than 100 airlines flying to some 380 cities in about 90 countries and territories worldwide. Each week, about 7,000 flights land or depart from Changi, or about one every 90 seconds, for the 2016 full-year figures published by the airport, the airport handled 58,698,039 passengers, the most in its 35-year history. This made it the sixth busiest airport by passenger traffic in the world. In December 2016, Changi Airport registered a total of 5.68 million passenger movements and its daily record was also broken on the Saturday before Christmas, with more than 202,359 passengers passing through during the 24 hours. In addition to being an important passenger hub, the airport is one of the busiest cargo airports in the world, the total number of commercial aircraft movements increased by 4. 1% from the previous year to 360,490 in 2016. The airport has won over 533 awards since 1981, including 26 Best Airport awards in just 2016 alone, Changi Airport has three main passenger terminals, arranged in an elongated inverted U shape. Currently the airport has a total annual handling capacity of 66 million passengers. Terminal 1 opened in 1981, located at the northern end, Terminal 2 in 1990, located to the eastern side. Terminal 3 in 2008, located to the western side, there is also a privately run luxury terminal called the JetQuay CIP Terminal. It is similar to the Lufthansa First Class Terminal at Frankfurt Airport, the Budget Terminal, opened on 26 March 2006 and closed on 25 September 2012. Terminal 4, which will be ready by 2017, built on the site of the former Budget Terminal, Terminal 5 is set to be ready in the mid-2020s. It will be able to handle 50 million passenger movements per annum, the airport terminal structure will almost be larger than all the previous terminals combined, built on reclaimed land to the east of the present terminals. Jewel Changi Airport set to open in early 2019, is a structure interconnecting Terminals 1,2 &3. Part of the project will help expand Terminal 1 to handle 28 million passengers per year, as all passenger traffic out of the airport is international in nature, the three major terminals in operation are equipped with immigration-processing facilities for international travel
Singapore Changi Airport
Singapore Changi Airport
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Singapore Changi Airport Lapangan Terbang Changi Singapura 新加坡樟宜机场 (Xīnjiāpō Zhāngyí Jīchǎng) சிங்கப்பூர் சாங்கி சர்வதேச விமானநிலையம் (Ciṅkappūr Cāṅki Vimana Nilaiyam)
Singapore Changi Airport
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Terminal 2 Check-in area
Singapore Changi Airport
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Terminal 3 airside area
17.
China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
China
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Yinxu, ruins of an ancient
palace dating from the
Shang Dynasty (14th century BCE)
China
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Flag
China
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Some of the thousands of life-size
Terracotta Warriors of the
Qin Dynasty, c. 210 BCE
China
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The
Great Wall of China was built by several dynasties over two thousand years to protect the sedentary agricultural regions of the
Chinese interior from incursions by
nomadic pastoralists of the northern
steppes.
18.
Beijing Capital International Airport
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Beijing Capital International Airport is the main international airport serving Beijing. It is located 32 km northeast of Beijings city center, in an enclave of Chaoyang District, the airport is owned and operated by the Beijing Capital International Airport Company Limited, a state-controlled company. The airports IATA Airport code, PEK, is based on the citys romanized name. Beijing Capital International Airport is the hub for Air China, the flag carrier of the Peoples Republic of China. China Eastern Airlines, Hainan Airlines and China Southern Airlines also use the airport as their hub, Beijing Capital International Airport covers 1480 hectares of land. Beijing Capital has rapidly ascended in rankings of the worlds busiest airports in the past decade and it had become the busiest airport in Asia in terms of passenger traffic and total traffic movements by 2009. It has been the second busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic since 2010. The airport registered 557,167 aircraft movements, ranking 6th in the world in 2012, in terms of cargo traffic, Beijing airport has also witnessed rapid growth. By 2012, the airport had become the 13th busiest airport in the world by cargo traffic, Beijing Airport was opened on 2 March 1958. The airport then consisted of one terminal building, which still stands to this day, apparently for the use of VIPs. On 1 January 1980, a newer, larger Terminal 1 – green in colour – opened, the terminal was larger than the one built in the 1950s, but by the mid-1990s, its size became relatively inadequate. The first International flight to China and Beijing Capital International Airport was of Pakistan International Airlines from Islamabad. In late 1999, to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, Terminal 1 was then temporarily closed for renovation after the opening of Terminal 2. 20 September 2004 saw the opening of a renovated Terminal 1, other airlines domestic and international flights still operated in Terminal 2. Another round of expansion started in 2007, a third runway opened on 29 October 2007, to relieve congestion on the other two runways. Terminal 3 was completed in February 2008, in time for the Beijing Olympics and this colossal expansion also included a rail link to the city-center. At its opening, the new Terminal 3 was the largest man made structure in the world in terms of area covered, the expansion was largely funded by a 30 billion yen loan from Japan and a 500-million-euro loan from the European Investment Bank. The loan is the largest ever granted by the EIB in Asia, fresh from hosting the 2008 Olympic Games and adding its new terminal building, Beijing Capital has overtaken Tokyo Haneda to be the busiest airport in Asia based on scheduled seat capacity
Beijing Capital International Airport
Beijing Capital International Airport
Beijing Capital International Airport
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The Capital Airport in 1959
Beijing Capital International Airport
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U.S. President
Richard Nixon 's
Air Force One at the Capital Airport in 1972.
Incheon International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport
Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Singapore Changi Airport
Beijing Capital International Airport
