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Paro Taktsang, also known by the names Taktsang Palphug Monastery and the Tiger's Nest, is a major Buddhist sacred site and temple complex built into the 1,000-metre (3,281-foot) cliffside of the upper Paro valley in Bhutan. The elegant structure is perhaps the most well known cultural icon of Bhutan.<br/><br/>

The monastery first began construction in 1692 around Taktsang Senge Samdup, a cave where the 8th-century Buddhist sage Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, was said to have meditated in for three years, three months, three days and three hours; Guru Rinpoche is credited for introducing Buddhism to Bhutan, acting as a tutelary deity for the country.<br/><br/>

The name Taktsang, which literally translates to "Tigress Lair", comes from the supposed fact that Guru Rinpoche flew to the cave from Tibet on the back of a tigress, who in some legends is said to have been the former wife of an emperor and a disciple of the Guru, named Yeshe Tsogyal.
Hanoi's Old Quarter lies immediately north of Ho Hoan Kiem lake. It's better known locally as Bam Sau Pho Phuong or the ‘Thirty Six Streets’. 'Phuong' means a trade guild, and most of the streets begin with the word 'hang' meaning merchandise. This ancient section of the city has long been associated with commerce, and it remains very much so today.
Poster art in Japan between approximately 1920 and 1945 mirrors the rapid militarisation of society and the growth of militarism, statism and fascism during the Showa Era.<br/><br/>

In the 1920s expo poster art features elements of modern art and even Art Deco. Themes are whimsical and outward looking, representing Japan's growing importance and influence in the world of international commerce and art. By the 1930s this kind of poster art had grown much more bleak, less concerned with human themes and more directed towards statism and social control. Feminine imagery disappears to be replaced by wheels of industry, with distinct similarities to contemporary Nazi art in Fascist Germany.<br/><br/>

From the outbreak of full scale hostilities with China through to Pearl Harbour and Japan's entry into World War II, ponderous, heavy machinery, marching soldiers, menacing guns and above all bomber aircraft combine to give the posters a crushing, inhuman, Orwellian aspect. This epitomises Japanese fascist art of the Showa Period.
The invasion of Iwo Jima began on February 19, 1945, and continued to March 27, 1945. The battle was a major initiative of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. The Marine invasion was charged with the mission of capturing the airfields on the island, which up until that time had harried U.S. bombing missions to Tokyo. Once the bases were secured, they could then be of use in the impending invasion of the Japanese mainland.<br/><br/>

The battle was marked by some of the fiercest fighting of the War. The Imperial Japanese Army positions on the island were heavily fortified, with vast bunkers, hidden artillery, and 18 kilometres of tunnels.The battle was the first U.S. attack on the Japanese Home Islands and the Imperial soldiers defended their positions tenaciously. Of the 21,000 Japanese soldiers present at the beginning of the battle, over 19,000 were killed and only 1,083 taken prisoner.
Poster art in Japan between approximately 1920 and 1945 mirrors the rapid militarisation of society and the growth of militarism, statism and fascism during the Showa Era.<br/><br/>

In the 1920s expo poster art features elements of modern art and even Art Deco. Themes are whimsical and outward looking, representing Japan's growing importance and influence in the world of international commerce and art. By the 1930s this kind of poster art had grown much more bleak, less concerned with human themes and more directed towards statism and social control. Feminine imagery disappears to be replaced by wheels of industry, with distinct similarities to contemporary Nazi art in Fascist Germany.<br/><br/>

From the outbreak of full scale hostilities with China through to Pearl Harbour and Japan's entry into World War II, ponderous, heavy machinery, marching soldiers, menacing guns and above all bomber aircraft combine to give the posters a crushing, inhuman, Orwellian aspect. This epitomises Japanese fascist art of the Showa Period.
The National Fascist Party (Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was an Italian political party, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of fascism (previously represented by groups known as Fasci). The party ruled Italy from 1922 when Fascists took the power with the March on Rome, to 1943, when Mussolini was deposed by the Grand Council of Fascism.<br/><br/>

Although the main operations theatre of the Italian navy in World War II lay in the Mediterranean, The Regia Marina had a naval base in the concession territory of Tianjin in China. The primary Italian vessels based in China were the mine-layer Lepanto and the gunboat Carlotto. During World War II, Italian supply ships, auxiliary cruisers and submarines operated throughout the waters of the Far East, often in disguise. The Italians also utilized Japanese-controlled port facilities such as Shanghai, China, and Kobe, Japan.
Colombo is the commercial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the legislative capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is within the urban area of, and a satellite city of, Colombo.<br/><br/>

Due to its large harbour and its strategic position along the East-West sea trade routes, Colombo was known to ancient traders 2,000 years ago. It was made the capital of the island when Sri Lanka was ceded to the British Empire in 1815, and its status as capital was retained when the nation became independent in 1948. In 1978, when administrative functions were moved to Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Colombo was designated as the commercial capital of Sri Lanka.
Avraham Stern or Avraham Shtern, alias Yair (born in Suwalki, PolandDecember 23, 1907 – February 12, 1942) was one of the leaders of the Jewish paramilitary organization Irgun.<br/><br/>

In September 1940, he founded a breakaway militant Zionist group named Lehi a Hebrew acronym for Lohamei Herut Israel, meaning 'Fighters for the Freedom of Israel', in September 1940. Lehi was better known as the 'Stern Gang' by the British authorities and by the mainstream in the Yishuv Jewish establishment.
The Black Flag Army (Chinese: Heiqi Jun; Vietnamese: Quan co den) was a splinter remnant of a bandit group recruited largely from soldiers of ethnic Zhuang background, who crossed the border from Guangxi province of China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam (Vietnam) in 1865.<br/><br/>

They became known mainly for their fights against French forces in cooperation with both Vietnamese and Chinese authorities. The Black Flag Army is so named because of the preference of its commander, Liu Yongfu, for using black command flags.
The Army of the Republic of Viet Nam (ARVN; Vietnamese: Lục quân Việt Nam Cộng hòa), also known as the South Vietnamese Army (SVA), were the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, the armed forces of South Vietnam, which existed from 1955 until the Fall of Saigon in 1975. It is estimated to have suffered 1,394,000 casualties (killed and wounded) during the Vietnam War.<br/><br/>

After the fall of Saigon to the invading North Vietnamese Army (NVA), the ARVN was dissolved. While some high-ranking officers had fled the country to the United States or elsewhere, thousands of former ARVN officers were sent to reeducation camps by the communist government of the new, unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Li Hongzhang (Wade–Giles: Li Hung-chang), Marquis Suyi of the First Class (February 15, 1823 – November 7, 1901), was a Chinese civilian official who ended several major rebellions, and a leading statesman of the late Qing Empire. He served in important positions of the Imperial Court, once holding the office of the Viceroy of Zhili.<br/><br/>

William Ewart Gladstone (29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898), was a British Liberal politician. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times (1868–74, 1880–85, February–July 1886 and 1892–94), more than any other person, and served as Chancellor of the Exchequer four times. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister; he resigned for the final time when was 84 years old.<br/><br/>

The Black Flag Army (Chinese: Heiqi Jun) was a remnant of a bandit group that may have been former Taiping rebels that crossed the border from Guangxi province in China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam (Vietnam) in 1865. They became known mainly for their fights against French forces in cooperation with both Vietnamese and Chinese authorities. The Black Flag Army is so named because of the preference of its commander, Liu Yongfu, for using black command flags.
Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism.<br/><br/>

Although related, it should not be confused with social realism, a type of art that realistically depicts subjects of social concern. Unlike social realism, socialist realism often glorifies the roles of the poor.
The Presidential Palace was originally constructed in 1901 for Paul Doumer, then Governor of French Indochina. Painted in the dark mustard yellow stonework with the green windows and louvered shutters so favoured in Vietnam, it is now chiefly employed to receive visiting dignitaries and heads of state.<br/><br/>

Vietnamese national hero, Ho Chi Minh, who became President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1954, declined to live here. According to his biographer Duiker: ‘he refused an offer by his colleagues to live in the Governor-General’s Palace, which he considered to be too pretentious for his tastes, and decided to take up residence in a small gardener’s house on the palace grounds’.
Factory was the English term for the trading posts system originally established by Europeans in foreign territories, first within different states of medieval Europe, and later in their colonial possessions.<br/><br/>

Factories served simultaneously as market, warehouse, customs, defense and support to the navigation or exploration, headquarters or de facto government of local communities, with the head of the factory being called a factor.
Wat Suan Dok (Thai: วัดสวนดอก, which roughly translates as Flower Garden Temple) was founded by King Kue Na of Lanna for the monk Sumana Thera in the year 1370 CE. The temple was built in the centre of Wiang Suan Dok, a walled settlement of the Lawa people older than Chiang Mai itself.<br/><br/>

Chiang Mai, sometimes written as 'Chiengmai' or 'Chiangmai', is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand, and is the capital of Chiang Mai Province. It is located 700 km (435 mi) north of Bangkok, among the highest mountains in the country. The city is on the Ping river, a major tributary of the Chao Phraya river.<br/><br/>

King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning 'new city') in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom. The ruler was known as the Chao. The city was surrounded by a moat and a defensive wall, since nearby Burma was a constant threat.<br/><br/>

Chiang Mai formally became part of Siam in 1774 by an agreement with Chao Kavila, after the Thai King Taksin helped drive out the Burmese. Chiang Mai then slowly grew in cultural, trading and economic importance to its current status as the unofficial capital of northern Thailand, second in importance only to Bangkok.
In 1875, Siamese (Thai) forces crossed the Mekong River at Nong Khai, northeastern Thailand, in the first miltary expedition of what would become known as the 'Haw Wars'. The expedition's goal was to capture the Haw base at Thung Chiang Kham in Laos.
In 1875, Siamese (Thai) forces crossed the Mekong River at Nong Khai, northeastern Thailand, in the first miltary expedition of what would become known as the 'Haw Wars'. The expedition's goal was to capture the Haw base at Thung Chiang Kham in Laos.
The Black Flag Army (Chinese: Heiqi Jun; Vietnamese: Quan co den) was a splinter remnant of a bandit group recruited largely from soldiers of ethnic Zhuang background, who crossed the border from Guangxi province of China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam (Vietnam) in 1865. They became known mainly for their fights against French forces in cooperation with both Vietnamese and Chinese authorities. The Black Flag Army is so named because of the preference of its commander, Liu Yongfu, for using black command flags.
In 1875, Siamese (Thai) forces crossed the Mekong River at Nong Khai, northeastern Thailand, in the first miltary expedition of what would become known as the 'Haw Wars'. The expedition's goal was to capture the Haw base at Thung Chiang Kham in Laos.
The Black Flag Army (Chinese: Heiqi Jun) was a remnant of a bandit group that may have been former Taiping rebels that crossed the border from Guangxi province in China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam (Vietnam) in 1865. They became known mainly for their fights against French forces in cooperation with both Vietnamese and Chinese authorities. The Black Flag Army is so named because of the preference of its commander, Liu Yongfu, for using black command flags. <br/><br/>

Pha That Luang, the 'Great Sacred Stupa' of Vientiane, is the most important religious edifice in Laos. It also has great spiritual significance for the Lao people, having been considered the symbol of Lao independence and sovereignty since the time of Lan Xang, the Kingdom of the Million Elephants, in the mid-sixteenth century.<br/><br/>

According to legend, That Luang was first established in the year 236 of the Buddhist Era, corresponding to 307 BC, when five Lao monks who had been studying in India, returned home bearing a breastbone of the Buddha. The five pilgrims persuaded Phaya Chanthaburi Pasithisak, then Lord of Vientiane, to build a stupa over the sacred relic 'for those who wished to pray and worship'.<br/><br/>

The second, historic establishment of Pha That Luang was undertaken by King Setthathirat the Great, who moved the Lao capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane in the mid-sixteenth century. Construction of the great stupa began in 1566.
Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين‎ Filasṭīn, Falasṭīn, Filisṭīn; Greek: Παλαιστίνη, Palaistinē; Latin: Palaestina; Hebrew: פלשתינה Palestina) is a n ame given to the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The region is also known as the Land of Israel (Hebrew: ארץ־ישראל Eretz-Yisra'el), the Holy Land and the Southern Levant.<br/><br/>

In 1832 Palestine was conquered by Muhammad Ali's Egypt, but in 1840 Britain intervened and returned control of the Levant to the Ottomans in return for further capitulations. The end of the 19th century saw the beginning of Zionist immigration and the Revival of the Hebrew language. The movement was publicly supported by Great Britain during World War I with the Balfour Declaration of 1917. The British captured Jerusalem a month later, and were formally awarded a mandate in 1922.<br/><br/>

In 1947, following World War II and the Holocaust, the British Government announced their desire to terminate the Mandate, and the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition the territory into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jewish leadership accepted the proposal but the Arab Higher Committee rejected it; a civil war began immediately, and the State of Israel was declared in 1948.<br/><br/>

The 1948 Palestinian exodus, known in Arabic as the Nakba (Arabic: النكبة‎, an-Nakbah, 'The Catastrophe') occurred when approximately 711,000 to 725,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War during which Israel captured and incorporated a further 26% of Palestinian territory.<br/><br/>

In the course of the Six Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the remainder of historic Palestine and began a continuing policy of Israeli settlement and annexation.
Wat Lok Moli or ‘topknot of the world’ is thought to have been founded by King Ku Na, the 6th king of the Mangrai Dynasty (1263–1578), who ruled the Lan Na Kingdom from Chiang Mai between about 1367 and 1388. It was probably a royal temple, since the northern side of the city was a royal precinct at the time; certainly the sanctuary enjoyed a long and close association with the Mangrai rulers.  According to a notice at the south entrance of the temple, King Ku Na invited a group of ten monks from Burma to come and live in Chiang Mai, providing Lok Moli as a residence for them.<br/><br/> 
 

The huge chedi that distinguishes Lok Moli was built in 1527, perhaps after the orders of the 11th Mangrai monarch, King Muang Kaeo (1495–1526), but apparently during the first year of the first reign of his younger brother, King Ket Chettharat (1526–1538).
The Presidential Palace was originally constructed in 1901 for Paul Doumer, then Governor of French Indochina. Painted in the dark mustard yellow stonework with the green windows and louvered shutters so favoured in Vietnam, it is now chiefly employed to receive visiting dignitaries and heads of state.<br/><br/>

Vietnamese national hero, Ho Chi Minh, who became President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1954, declined to live here. According to his biographer Duiker: ‘he refused an offer by his colleagues to live in the Governor-General’s Palace, which he considered to be too pretentious for his tastes, and decided to take up residence in a small gardener’s house on the palace grounds’.
Hanoi's Old Quarter lies immediately north of Ho Hoan Kiem lake. It's better known locally as Bam Sau Pho Phuong or the ‘Thirty Six Streets’. 'Phuong' means a trade guild, and most of the streets begin with the word 'hang' meaning merchandise. This ancient section of the city has long been associated with commerce, and it remains very much so today.
The Presidential Palace was originally constructed in 1901 for Paul Doumer, then Governor of French Indochina. Painted in the dark mustard yellow stonework with the green windows and louvered shutters so favoured in Vietnam, it is now chiefly employed to receive visiting dignitaries and heads of state.<br/><br/>

Vietnamese national hero, Ho Chi Minh, who became President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1954, declined to live here. According to his biographer Duiker: ‘he refused an offer by his colleagues to live in the Governor-General’s Palace, which he considered to be too pretentious for his tastes, and decided to take up residence in a small gardener’s house on the palace grounds’.
On May 27, 1948, Nguyễn Văn Xuân, then President of the Republic of Cochinchina, became President of the rightist Provisional Central Government of Vietnam (Thủ tướng lâm thời) following the merging of the government of Cochin China and Vietnam. Nguyễn Văn Xuân later went into exile in France, where he died in 1989.
The Tonkin Campaign (French: Campagne du Tonkin) was an armed conflict fought between June 1883 and April 1886 by the French against, variously, the Vietnamese, Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army and the Chinese Guangxi and Yunnan armies to occupy Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and entrench a French protectorate there.<br/><br/>

The campaign, complicated in August 1884 by the outbreak of the Sino-French War and in July 1885 by the Can Vuong nationalist uprising in Annam, which required the diversion of large numbers of French troops, was conducted by the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps, supported by the gunboats of the Tonkin Flotilla. The campaign officially ended in April 1886, when the expeditionary corps was reduced in size to a division of occupation, but Tonkin was not effectively pacified until 1896.
The Tonkin Campaign (French: Campagne du Tonkin) was a armed conflict fought between June 1883 and April 1886 by the French against, variously, the Vietnamese, Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army and the Chinese Guangxi and Yunnan armies to occupy Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and entrench a French protectorate there.<br/><br/>

The campaign, complicated in August 1884 by the outbreak of the Sino-French War and in July 1885 by the Can Vuong nationalist uprising in Annam, which required the diversion of large numbers of French troops, was conducted by the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps, supported by the gunboats of the Tonkin Flotilla. The campaign officially ended in April 1886, when the expeditionary corps was reduced in size to a division of occupation, but Tonkin was not effectively pacified until 1896.<br/><br/>

The Black Flag Army (Chinese: Heiqi Jun) was a remnant of a bandit group that may have been former Taiping rebels that crossed the border from Guangxi province in China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam (Vietnam) in 1865. They became known mainly for their fights against French forces in cooperation with both Vietnamese and Chinese authorities. The Black Flag Army is so named because of the preference of its commander, Liu Yongfu, for using black command flags.
The Tonkin Campaign (French: Campagne du Tonkin) was an armed conflict fought between June 1883 and April 1886 by the French against, variously, the Vietnamese, Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army and the Chinese Guangxi and Yunnan armies to occupy Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and entrench a French protectorate there.<br/><br/>

The campaign, complicated in August 1884 by the outbreak of the Sino-French War and in July 1885 by the Can Vuong nationalist uprising in Annam, which required the diversion of large numbers of French troops, was conducted by the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps, supported by the gunboats of the Tonkin Flotilla. The campaign officially ended in April 1886, when the expeditionary corps was reduced in size to a division of occupation, but Tonkin was not effectively pacified until 1896.
Marie Joseph François (Francis) Garnier (Vietnamese: Ngạc Nhi; 25 July 1839 – 21 December 1873) was a French officer and explorer known for his exploration of the Mekong River in Southeast Asia.<br/><br/>

In 1873 Garnier was sent to Tonkin by Admiral Dupré, the governor of Cochinchina, to resolve a dispute between the Vietnamese authorities and the French entrepreneur Jean Dupuis. Persuaded that the time was ripe for a French conquest of Tonkin, Garnier captured Hanoi, the capital of Tonkin, 20 November 1873.<br/><br/>

A few weeks later Liu Yongfu, a soldier of fortune, and 600 Black Flags attacked Hanoi. In the ensuing skirmish Garnier was killed. The French government disavowed Garnier's adventure and hastened to conclude a peace settlement with the Vietnamese.
The Tonkin Campaign (French: Campagne du Tonkin) was a armed conflict fought between June 1883 and April 1886 by the French against, variously, the Vietnamese, Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army and the Chinese Guangxi and Yunnan armies to occupy Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and entrench a French protectorate there.<br/><br/>

The campaign, complicated in August 1884 by the outbreak of the Sino-French War and in July 1885 by the Can Vuong nationalist uprising in Annam, which required the diversion of large numbers of French troops, was conducted by the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps, supported by the gunboats of the Tonkin Flotilla. The campaign officially ended in April 1886, when the expeditionary corps was reduced in size to a division of occupation, but Tonkin was not effectively pacified until 1896.<br/><br/>

The Black Flag Army (Chinese: Heiqi Jun) was a remnant of a bandit group that may have been former Taiping rebels that crossed the border from Guangxi province in China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam (Vietnam) in 1865. They became known mainly for their fights against French forces in cooperation with both Vietnamese and Chinese authorities. The Black Flag Army is so named because of the preference of its commander, Liu Yongfu, for using black command flags.
The Black Flag Army (Chinese: Heiqi Jun) was a remnant of a bandit group that may have been former Taiping rebels that crossed the border from Guangxi province in China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam (Vietnam) in 1865. They became known mainly for their fights against French forces in cooperation with both Vietnamese and Chinese authorities. The Black Flag Army is so named because of the preference of its commander, Liu Yongfu, for using black command flags.
The Gangatilaka Vihara, built in the 1960s, is a huge hollow dagoba next to the Kalu Ganga river.
During late 1920s and 1930s Japan, a new poster style developed that reflected the growing influence of the masses in Japanese society. These art posters were strongly influenced by the emerging political forces of Communism and Fascism in Europe and the Soviet Union, adopting a style that incorporated bold slogans with artistic themes ranging from Leftist socialist realism through Stateism and state-directed public welfare, to Militarism and Imperialist expansionism.<br/><br/>

Though diverse in their messages, all bear the stamp of the ovebearing proletarian art of the time, reflecting shades of Nazi Germany, Socialist Russia and Fascist Italy in the Far East.
Kandy is Sri Lanka's second biggest city with a population of around 170,000 and is the cultural centre of the whole island. For about two centuries (until 1815) it was the capital of Sri Lanka.
The Imam Asim Shrine and other tombs can be found 23 kilometres from Khotan (Hotan) on the southern Silk Road. It is the site of a huge pilgrimage each May.<br/><br/>Imam Asim was one of the first Islamic missionaries to visit this area.<br/><br/>Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
Zhangye is an important light industrial and agricultural centre at the heart of the Hexi Corridor with a population of about 200,000. It was originally an important garrison town designed to protect Silk Road traffic and keep the troublesome nomadic invaders out of China Proper.
Sri Dalada Maligawa or The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is located in the royal palace complex and houses the Relic of the tooth of Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country.
The India Gate, originally called the All India War Memorial, is a war memorial located astride the Rajpath, on the eastern edge of the ‘ceremonial axis’ of New Delhi, formerly called Kingsway.<br/><br/>

The names of some 70,000 Indian soldiers who died in World War I, in France and Flanders, Mesopotamia, and Persia, East Africa, Gallipoli and elsewhere in the near and the far-east, between 1914–19, are inscribed on the memorial arch. In addition, the war memorial bears the names of some 12,516 Indian soldiers who died while serving in India or the North-west Frontier and during the Third Afghan War.<br/><br/>

The India Gate war memorial, the architectural style of which has been compared with the Gateway of India in Bombay, and the Napoleonic Arc de Triomphe in Paris, was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.
The Black Flag Army (Chinese: Heiqi Jun; Vietnamese: Quan co den) was a splinter remnant of a bandit group recruited largely from soldiers of ethnic Zhuang background, who crossed the border from Guangxi province of China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam (Vietnam) in 1865. They became known mainly for their fights against French forces in cooperation with both Vietnamese and Chinese authorities. The Black Flag Army is so named because of the preference of its commander, Liu Yongfu, for using black command flags.
The Black Flag Army (Chinese: Hēiqí Jūn; Vietnamese: Quân cờ đen) was a splinter remnant of a bandit group recruited largely from soldiers of ethnic Zhuang background, who crossed the border from Guangxi province of China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam (Vietnam) in 1865. They became known mainly for their fights against French forces in cooperation with both Vietnamese and Chinese authorities. The Black Flag Army is so named because of the preference of its commander, Liu Yongfu, for using black command flags.
The Black Flag Army (Chinese: Heiqi Jun) was a remnant of a bandit group that may have been former Taiping rebels that crossed the border from Guangxi province in China into Upper Tonkin, in the Empire of Annam (Vietnam) in 1865. They became known mainly for their fights against French forces in cooperation with both Vietnamese and Chinese authorities. The Black Flag Army is so named because of the preference of its commander, Liu Yongfu, for using black command flags. <br/><br/>

Pha That Luang, the 'Great Sacred Stupa' of Vientiane, is the most important religious edifice in Laos. It also has great spiritual significance for the Lao people, having been considered the symbol of Lao independence and sovereignty since the time of Lan Xang, the Kingdom of the Million Elephants, in the mid-sixteenth century.<br/><br/>

According to legend, That Luang was first established in the year 236 of the Buddhist Era, corresponding to 307 BC, when five Lao monks who had been studying in India, returned home bearing a breastbone of the Buddha. The five pilgrims persuaded Phaya Chanthaburi Pasithisak, then Lord of Vientiane, to build a stupa over the sacred relic 'for those who wished to pray and worship'.<br/><br/>

The second, historic establishment of Pha That Luang was undertaken by King Setthathirat the Great, who moved the Lao capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane in the mid-sixteenth century. Construction of the great stupa began in 1566.
The Ma clique is a collective name for a group of Hui (Muslim Chinese) warlords in northwestern China who ruled the Chinese provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia from the 1910s until 1949.<br/><br/>

There were three families in the Ma clique (‘Ma’ being a common Hui rendering of the common Muslim name, Muhammad), each of them controlling one area respectively. The three most prominent members of the clique were Ma Bufang, Ma Hongkui and Ma Hongbin, collectively known as the 'Xibei San Ma', (The Three Ma of the Northwest).<br/><br/>

Some contemporary accounts, such as Edgar Snow's, described the clique as the ‘Four Ma’, adding Ma Bufang's brother Ma Buqing to the list of the top warlords.
Bhumibol Adulyadej (Phumiphon Adunyadet; born 5 December 1927) is the current King of Thailand. He is known as Rama IX (and within the Thai royal family and to close associates simply as Lek. Having reigned since 9 June 1946, he is the world's longest-serving current head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history.
Bhumibol Adulyadej (Phumiphon Adunyadet; born 5 December 1927) is the current King of Thailand. He is known as Rama IX (and within the Thai royal family and to close associates simply as Lek. Having reigned since 9 June 1946, he is the world's longest-serving current head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history.
The Vegetarian Festival is a religious festival annually held on the island of Phuket in southern Thailand. It attracts crowds of spectators because of many of the unusual religious rituals that are performed. Many religious devotees will slash themselves with swords, pierce their cheeks with sharp objects and commit other painful acts. The Nine Emperor Gods Festival (Chinese: Jiǔhuángyé; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Káu-ông-iâ; Cantonese: Kow Wong Yeh) is a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of 9th lunar month of the Chinese calendar, which is observed primarily in Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.
The Vegetarian Festival is a religious festival annually held on the island of Phuket in southern Thailand. It attracts crowds of spectators because of many of the unusual religious rituals that are performed. Many religious devotees will slash themselves with swords, pierce their cheeks with sharp objects and commit other painful acts. The Nine Emperor Gods Festival (Chinese: Jiǔhuángyé; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Káu-ông-iâ; Cantonese: Kow Wong Yeh) is a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of 9th lunar month of the Chinese calendar, which is observed primarily in Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Left to Right: Woman and man of the Tonkinese wealthy class; Li Yu-tche, a Chinese mandarin travelling with Duupis; M. Dupuis in Chinese dress; a Yunnanese soldier of M. Dupuis' escort; man and woman of 'the people' of Tonkin - that is, not of the wealthy class.<br/><br/>

Jean Dupuis was associated with the unsuccessful effort to establish French influence in northern Vietnam in 1873