![Conservation Yellow in Peril](https://cdn.magzter.com/1334720108/1722923344/articles/KsqgV2CIH1722940965948/CONSERVATION-YELLOW-IN-PERIL.jpg)
In Asia, seahorses are generally bought by men over the age of 50. Blended with herbs and boiled as a tea, they’re most often used to treat male sexual dysfunction, though they’re also said to relieve a broad range of ailments, including skin conditions, asthma, lethargy and menstrual cramps. That, of course, is according to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), but it goes without saying that there’s no scientific evidence to support the idea that ingesting seahorse boosts performance, improves your complexion or helps you breathe more easily.
Chinese medicine shops across the region are crammed with seahorses, selling for a few US dollars each. Large, pale and smooth-skinned seahorses tend to fetch higher prices, making species like the yellow seahorse extremely valuable to the TCM trade. Also known as the common seahorse, spotted seahorse, estuary seahorse and oceanic seahorse, Hippocampus kuda has no spines and is typically between 7 and 17 centimetres, on the large side for a seahorse. The body colouration is often yellow or yellowish, though it can also be brown or black, with numerous very fine dark spots.
The yellow seahorse could be called an Asian icon, as it inhabits waters from the Persian Gulf to Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands beyond, as far north as Japan and as far south as Australia. They are found in shallow waters of estuaries, lagoons, harbours, coastal zones, and seagrass beds. But experts say their numbers are dwindling. Their conservation status was first assessed nearly 30 years ago, with a 30-percent decline in numbers reported in 1989–99. They have appeared on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species as “Vulnerable” since, though the last species assessment was more than a decade ago, and there’s an urgent need for updated information.
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Denne historien er fra AG 164-utgaven av ASIAN Geographic.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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![The Mighty Yellow](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/717/1790442/hp44Mu3uU1722941290763/crp_THE-MIGHTY-YELLOW.jpg)
The Mighty Yellow
Over 5,000 kilometres long and flowing through nine provinces and autonomous regions, the Yellow River is China's second largest, after the Yangtze, while its basin is deemed the cradle of Chinese civilisation
![Wildlife Big Yellow Beauty](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/717/1790442/76_7NE3Uz1722940576701/crp_WILDLIFE-BIG-YELLOW-BEAUTY.jpg)
Wildlife Big Yellow Beauty
The popular "amelanistic" form of the Burmese python is considered among the most beautiful snakes - if that's your sort of thing
![All That Glitters Is Gold](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/717/1790442/oW2WXOX-91722937847320/crp_ALL-THAT-GLITTERS-IS-GOLD.jpg)
All That Glitters Is Gold
From Turkey to China, the yellow metal plays a central role in cultural practices and is coveted as a symbol of affluence and status
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Chengdu Hotel Spotlight TRIKA TSANG INTERNATIONAL HOTEL
For an authentic taste of Tibet in the heart of Chengdu, the most luxurious option is the majestic Trika Tsang International Hotel.
![Conservation Yellow in Peril](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/717/1790442/KsqgV2CIH1722940965948/CONSERVATION-YELLOW-IN-PERIL.jpg)
Conservation Yellow in Peril
While the demand for use in traditional Chinese medicine is putting seahorses under pressure, it is damaging non-selective fishing that is driving depletion
![Revealed Doctor Yellow](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/717/1790442/gZXItzf0c1722940124056/REVEALED-DOCTOR-YELLOW.jpg)
Revealed Doctor Yellow
Japan Railways' special lemony Shinkansen is a rare sight to behold
![History Spiritual Rebirth](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/717/1790442/_hwWRjce81722939384579/HISTORY-SPIRITUAL-REBIRTH.jpg)
History Spiritual Rebirth
During the Spanish Golden Age, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan achieved the first European navigation to Asia via the Pacific, arriving in the Philippines in 1521 and claiming the islands for Spain. But by converting the first Filipinos to Catholicism, Magellan also instigated the Christianisation of the entire archipelago, a spiritual rebirth celebrated through the two most important festivals in the Philippines - Fiesta Señor and Sinulog.
![Green Dreams](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/717/1594102/b3OMB2OAr1707301533117/crp_GREEN-DREAMS.jpg)
Green Dreams
With its tea plantations and rice paddies, dense jungles and expansive forests, the region is well known as a green paradise. But many of the most impressive Asian landscapes have names you may never have heard of. Journey with us as we reveal just some of the incredible locations that make the rest of the world green with envy!
![Life On The Edge](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/717/1594102/4WYS1vBRk1707303132367/crp_LIFE-ON-THE-EDGE.jpg)
Life On The Edge
In the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the remote northern Russian Far East, indigenous ethnic groups like the Chukchi and the Yupik live in the most extreme conditions, hunting seals in their traditional kayaks as they have for millennia
![The Karakoram Anomaly Decoded](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/717/1594102/p4-2Fw0dk1707302217665/crp_THE-KARAKORAM-ANOMALY-DECODED.jpg)
The Karakoram Anomaly Decoded
For decades, scientists have believed that glaciers in the Karakoram Range are defying the trend of those across the globe-resisting glacial melt due to human-induced global warming. But as we trek up the Karakoram's second-longest glacier in July, as the United Nations announces the world's hottest ever month on record, does the melting ice beneath our feet suggest the so-called Karakoram Anomaly is slowing? Or is there a ray of hope it will continue to delay the inevitable?