If you every have the chance to visit Cambodia, you truly have to visit the Temples of Angkor. The main temple, Angkor Wat, was built in the early 12th century by King Suryavarman II. The temple is the heart and soul of Cambodia and is even featured on the country´s flag. It is said to be the world’s largest single religious monument stretching over more than 248 sq miles (400 sq km). The Temples of Angkor attract around 2 million visitors annually. This is not random, but a careful choice, once yellow is the official color of the Chinese emperor. If you pay attention, you’ll notice that all the rooftops in the Forbidden City are finished with yellow glazed tiles. One has a silk ball under its paw which represents power, the other has a cub that represents life. Two giant lion status guard the entrance to the inner palace. Built in 1406 to 1420, this impressive construction consists of 980 buildings and covers 7,800,000 sq ft (720,000 sq meters).
The Forbidden City was named such because it was forbidden for any commoner to enter.
Located in the centre of Beijing, the Forbidden City was the imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. SEE ALSO: Meet the baby Taj Mahal in Agra – The Itmad-ud-Daulah’s Tomb One interesting curiosity is that Taj Mahal is perfectly symmetrical from all the four sides. Standing at over 171 meters (561 ft) high, it’s said that it combines elements from Turkish, Ottoman, Persian and Indian architectural styles. Its construction took about 21 years to be completed and thousands of artisans and craftsmen were needed.Īccording to legend, Shah Jahan had planned to build another Taj Mahal in black marble on the other side of the river, however, his plans were interrupted. This historical construction was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, and has become one of the most ambitious architectural designs ever created in the world and one of India’s most visited tourist destination. It is said to be the only Monastery in China that has a combination of the three traditional Chinese religions – Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, holding a very strong spiritual connotation. The Monastery is built into a cliff more than 50m above the ground, to protect it from the floods that often happens in the area. This impressive ancient construction is just a few hours south of Beijing. As its name indicates, it’s a monastery that looks like it is hanging in a cliff, looking like something you would only see in a Indiana Jones movie. The 1400-year-old Hanging Monastery is one of the most impressive constructions you’ll ever seen. The Tiger´s Nest Monastery was built in 1692 around a cave where Guru Rinpoche stayed and meditated for 3 years, 3 months, 3 days and 3 hours in order to overpower the evil demons living inside the cave, during the 8 thcentury. One of the most impressive things about this historical construction is its location: the temple is located on the edge of cliff 900m/3000ft above the valley’s floor in western Bhutan, and it’s only accessible by a two-hour hike. This monastery, locally called Taktshang Goemba and also known as Paro Taktsang or Tiger’s Nest, is one of Bhutan’s most iconic buildings and one of the major sacred sites in the entire region. Even though it´s not the home to the Dalai Lama anymore (he lives in Dharamshala, India), it is still a must-visit! 2. At over 12,000 ft (3,700 meters) above sea level, this impressive palace also holds the record of being the highest located palace in the world. Standing 13 stories tall with 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and 200,000 statues, the Potala Palace in Tibet is a magnificent ansient structure inside out.
Among this material evidence, we can find tens of thousands of diverse cultural relics (it is told that it has 1000 rooms with personal belongings of at least 5 Dalai Lamas!), some of the best Tibetan art, and magnificent wall paintings. Nowadays, the Potala Palace is a museum, containing material evidence of incalculable value related with the Tibetan history. It used to be the winter home to the Dalai Lamas from the 17th century to 1959. This asian palace is one of the most recognizable buildings in the entire world. Continue to read to discover our selection of some of the most magnificent ancient structures you can find in Asia. A strong spiritual presence combined with impressive architecture that makes us unable of moving our eyes away from them. There is something magical about the religious buildings in Asia. It’s impossible to stay indifferent contemplating an ancient Asian temple.
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