Lonely Planet names Astana among Asia's top 10 destinations for 2017
Calling the capital city of Kazakhstan a mirage of glass and steel in seemingly endless, empty steppe, Lonely Planet placed Astana 5th, right in the middle of the top 10. According to lonelyplanet.com , being part of President Nazarbayev's futuristic vision, Astana is renowned for its golden skyscrapers, world's largest marquee and a stained-glass pyramid.
It also mentions that this summer Astana plays host to the World Expo on the subject of sustainable energy. To this end, Kazakhstani authorities offered nationals of 45 countries a visa-free travel to the country, including EU, USA, Canada and Australia.
The Chinese province of Gansu, the land of snow-capped mountains, tops Lonely Planet's top 10 Asian destinations. Coming in second is South of Tokyo in Japan. Northern Kerala in India and Keong Saik Road in Singapore are ranked 4th and 5th respectively.
Takayama in Japan, Xi'an in China, Sri Lanka's hill country, Melaka City in Malaysia and Raja Ampat in Indonesia also made the top 10.
Headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book publisher in the world. It was founded in 1972 in Australia and since then has opened offices in London, Beijing and New Delhi.
By Tatyana Kudrenok