A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring Earth's view of the Sun. Eclipses can be total, annular, or partial. The zone of a total eclipse where the sky appears dark is often just a few miles wide. This is known as the path of totality.
An eclipse that is "visible from Asia" in general terms might not be visible at all at a specific location. E.g., parts of Sri Lanka may fall into darkness for a few seconds, people in Indonesia, India, and Pakistan enjoy the partial eclipse, and Beijing may be too far away to fall under the Moon's shadow.
Occasionally a major city lies in the direct path of an annular or total eclipse, which is of great interest to astronomy buffs – some people make travel arrangements years in advance to observe eclipses. Nearly two-thirds of the Earth's surface is covered by oceans, thus a total eclipse at a major metropolitan area where hotels and amenities are available is an event of considerable interest.
Eclipses were of great interest to ancient Chinese astronomers, who viewed them as omens. Many are recorded in the Spring and Autumn Annals and in the Twenty-Four Histories, which has been helpful to historians in assigning absolute dates to events from Chinese history.
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