The western-most fortress on the Great Wall of China has gone from a strategic stronghold to a kitschy tourist carnival.

A lush desert oasis in the shape of a narrow crescent.

Believed to have once stored either human remains or rice wine, thousands of mysterious stone jars lie in ruin.

More than 200 statues filled with cryptic symbols give this park spot an aura of horror vacui fantasy.

This tiered waterfall is so pretty it may cause visitors to cry tears of their own.

Thousands of effigies of Buddha watch from caves set high above a legendary river, plus whiskey.

The field of tiny caves that mark this Chinese cliffside are each their own historic Buddhist temple.

This vertical pinnacle in China was the inspiration for the floating mountains in the movie “Avatar.”

Comprised of thousands of cave temple carvings this cornucopia of ancient Chinese stone art is unrivaled anywhere in the world.

Open-air museum with an elaborate sculpture garden, stretching for over 70,000 square-meters.

Statue of Lenin, from Cold War era Czechoslovakia, now in a neighborhood of Seattle.

A giant Troll lurks under one of Seattle's oldest bridges.

Perhaps the world's only gas station inspired by a political scandal.

This Tang Dynasty behemoth is the biggest Buddha in the world.

A giant scale model giving a sneak peek at what urban planners see for Shanghai by 2020.

This former textile district now is now a thriving center for contemporary Chinese art.

This probably wasn't what Mao had in mind.

A fifth-century temple improbably built into the side of a cliff.

Explore this massive series of 45 caves and over 51,000 sculptures carved from cliffsides in China.

A clay house decorated with ceramic chips in Tianjin.

A waste incinerator with a restaurant on its chimney.

This Taiwanese promontory is covered in otherworldly hoodoo formations.

With over 100 jam-packed rooms to explore plus elaborate tea services and events, the Mansion on O Street is a hidden treasure.

Fittingly, America's museum of architecture is itself a magnificently designed old building.