On Tuesday 12 March 2013
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| China, Taiwan
We are heading to Beijing, China, first.
Beijing, one of the world’s oldest cities, is the capital of the People’s Republic of China, and the country’s political, economic, and cultural center. Located on the edge of the North China Plain, it is the second largest city in the country with a population of more than 12 million.
Beijing is a city of contrasts where the ultra-modern and the historical live side by side: the latest computers and cell phones coexist with the abacus; neon discos and nightclubs stand next to ancient temples. Inhabited by cave dwellers some 500,000 years ago and rebuilt by Kublai Khan in 1215 AD, Beijing—once a capital for Mongol and Manchu—is destined to be one of the most important cities of the 21st century. Many changes have taken place for the Olympic games that Beijing hosted in 2008.
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| Maldives
After Beijing, we are flying to Maldives.
The Republic of Maldives consists of 1,190 islands (approximately 200 are inhabited) in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Sri Lanka. It is a presidential-parliamentary democracy and has a population of fewer than 325,000, with approximately 100,000 people residing in the capital city of Malé, and an estimated 100,000 foreign workers.
Beautiful atolls, inhabited by over 1,100 species of fish and other sea life, attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Tourism facilities are well developed on the resort islands. Read the Department of State’s Fact Sheet on Maldives for additional information.
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