This silent film dates to the late 1920s or early 1930s and was used to promote travel on the P&O Orient Line of steamships with service to Asia. The film begins at ;11 with images of Kandy, Ceylon — current day Sri Lanka. Kandy is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings’ era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. At :25 the Temple of the Tooth is shown. Sri Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a Buddhist temple in the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of the 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. Kandy was the last capital of the Sri Lankan kings and is a World Heritage Site mainly due to the temple. At 1:50 the Elephant Park at Katugastota is shown. This attraction still exists today, allowing tourists to view elephants bathing in the river.

At 4:08 the film transitions to Japan, where street scenes are shown in a quiet enclave. At 4:29 a Japanese home is shown with an indoor fountain. At 4:43, women and children are shown in traditional dress. At 6:00 a marketplace is shown.

At 8:30 the film moves to China, where a wedding procession is shown. The setting is likely Peping, or Beijing. A few moments later a funeral procession is shown at 9:17. At 10:58 a streetcar is seen making its way past the procession. At 11:05, the film shows a section of the Great Wall of China. More of the Wall is seen at 11:58; in between is a ride on a train.

At 12:20, Thailand is shown and specifically the Khlongs, an area where houses are on the canals. A khlong — also commonly spelled klong — commonly refers to a canal in Thailand. These canals are spawned by the Chao Phraya, the Tha Chin, the Mae Klong Rivers, and their tributaries particularly in the low-lying areas of central Thailand. The Thai word khlong is not limited to artificial canals. Many smaller rivers are referred to as “khlongs”, followed by the name of the stream. Historically, the Thai capital Bangkok was crisscrossed by khlongs, and so gained the nickname, “Venice of the East”. Khlongs were used for transportation and for floating markets, but also for sewage disposal. Today, most of the khlongs of Bangkok have been filled in, although the Thonburi side of Bangkok (covering areas west of Chao Phraya River) still retains several of its larger khlongs. At 14:18 the Grand Palace in Bangkok as well as some of the temples or Wats are shown.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com