Taiwan has been out on a limb, diplomatically, for the past 35 years but that hasn’t stopped its capital Taipei from thriving. It’s a blend of Chinese, Japanese and indigenous Taiwanese influences with friendly residents…
Which countries get their way in the world without having to resort to military might? Who are the soft power leaders who know the value of well-placed aid or a good pop star? Over the following pages we name the top 25…
Chinese contemporary artist Yue Minjun may command millions for his paintings overseas but at home he is dogged by a growing trade in cheap copies of his work. While Microsoft, Louis Vuitton and Hollywood studios have been…
On millionaires’ row in Herat, elaborate palaces are being built by businessmen who have made fortunes from exploiting the needs of the new Afghanistan – or selling heroin. A heady mix of Iranian, Italian and Gulf influe…
Thailand's first female PM Yingluck Shinawatra gets the once over for our Style Leader, and we report on Hanoi's urban masterplan and Japan's pay rise for its football heroines.
Construction work continues in Burma’s new model capital, inaugurated in 2005. Its sparkling buildings are designed to consolidate the generals’ power – but with small steps towards democracy, could Aung San Suu Kyi one day…
The South Korean capital’s traditional tile-roofed homes were, until recently, in danger of becoming a thing of the past. Now a modernised, 80-year-old house in one central neighbourhood has proved there is still life in…
Syria is moving away from the staunch socialist principles that dominated the country for decades. President Bashar al Assad has created a new merchant class and forged business links with neighbour Turkey. Nowhere has…
The sartorial preferences of North Korea's new Supreme Leader, the big ambitions of Seoul's Incheon airport, and a Q&A with the head of an Indian bicycle rental company.
The Japanese fashion designer, best known for his eponymous label Kenzo, puts his success down to happenstance – but he’s being modest. Instead he should claim innovation and a sense of fun as the elements that have made…
The foreboding exteriors of the Fredensborg Houses have been compared with a prison. But peek inside and Jørn Utzon’s revolutionary housing project is every bit as captivating as his masterpiece: the Sydney Opera House.