As an individual who has long enjoyed traveling, particularly traveling abroad, I have got to say that by far, Asia has become my favorite international region. Whether you call it Asia, the Orient, or just “The East”, the continent of Asia as well as the numerous islands that surround it is a vast and abundant land with a diverse culture, climate, and landscape. While visiting, I’ve found everything from mountains to deserts, to ski resorts, and sandy beaches. I’ve visited historic ruins that date back thousands of years I’ve seen the world from the view atop the planet’s tallest sky scraper in one of the most modern cities on the globe. While I was careful to see as much of the region as possible – allowing me to sample as much different Asian cuisine and culture as possible – I have to say that it was not so difficult to come up with my favorite Asian country of them all: China.

In fact, in all the world and of all the sites of interest I’ve seen – be them natural, historical, or cultural in significance – there is perhaps no more impressive sight these eyes have seen than the Great Wall of China. In Chinese, the wall is known as Chángchéng which literally translate to “long city” or “fortress”, and was built between the years 220 and 206 BC by the Chinese emperor Qui Shi Huang. However, the part we are more familiar with today (and the portion I toured while on holiday there) was built during the Ming Dynasty and stretches for more than four thousand miles. In fact, the wall is so massive that is the only manmade object which can be clearly seen from space – no small feat considering how long ago it was built! With that said, I was fully impressed with it from my humble view here on earth and I was truly awed by the fact that the full wall took centuries to complete and that millions of men are said to have died during its construction. At its peak, over one million soldiers guarded the wall and, as far as defenses go, the wall was all but insurmountable. And so, as I said, while I think Asia in general is amazing and while I think China is even more special, within China there is no place quite so as amazing – or worth seeing – as the Great Wall of China.