A prestigious learning institute of old Shanghai.

The world’s tallest outdoor lift stretches along the stone pillars that inspired the floating mountains in the movie “Avatar.”

The highest bridge in the world rises a dizzying 1,854 feet above the river.

Rock-cut caves and 7,000 Buddhist sculptures carved into the nearly sheer face of a sandstone mountain.

A 1,500-year-old, 3-story subterranean city where ancient Persians took refuge in times of war.

A smoky doorway in Dakar leads to one of the city’s great communal eating experiences.

This giant statue is the product of a mixture of corruption, Stalinist architecture, and North Korean manpower.

This unique religious structure is an architectural gem with arresting ocean views.

The first mosque in Ghana is known as the "Mecca of West Africa."

An enormous public square and parade ground built to celebrate Ghana's independence.

One of the largest concentrations of rock paintings in Southern Africa.

This striking otherworldly landscape outside Angola's capital city is the product of millions of years of erosion.

The largest prehistoric ruins south of the Sahara, once a powerful center of international trade.

These homes carved into the mountains seem to defy the laws of nature.

The central mosque of this Mali town is entirely built from mud.

Every Friday, Sufi dervishes whirl around the tomb in a trance-like state as part of a sacred ritual called dhikr.

These Nubian pyramids are strange and unique, even by pyramid standards.

These pillars are one of the few remnants from the mysterious lost empire of Makuria.

Highly unusual subterranean stupa and adjacent cave monastery.

Rock-cut chamber at top of an outcroup, reached by a mountain stairway of forty steps.

Despite a history of destruction, this former citadel survives to document Afghanistan's oft overlooked history.

What was once supposed to be the symbol of a shining Afghan future is now a bombed-out ruin.

Once an impressive link to Afghanistan’s Buddhist past, now a sad reminder of intolerance towards other cultures.

One of the oldest and largest castles in the world.