pawelkkostrzewa's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Seoul, South Korea

Hyangwonjeong Pavilion

A unique structure located on the grounds of one of five grand palaces that were built by the Joseon dynasty.
Seoul, South Korea

Suguksa Temple

The name of the only golden Buddhist temple in Korea translates as "the temple that protects the country."
Seoul, South Korea

108 Heaven Stairway

A remnant of Korea's colonial past lies forgotten in a hip neighborhood in Seoul.
Seoul, South Korea

Coffee Hanyakbang

About as hidden as can be, this specialty coffee shop is wedged between multi-story buildings at the end of a dark, skinny alleyway in Seoul.
Nara, Japan

Buddha's Nostril

Devoted Buddhists can earn enlightenment in the next life by crawling through this symbolic nostril.
Ikaruga, Japan

Hōryū-ji

Home to the world's oldest wooden building.
Nara, Japan

Tōdai-ji Daibutsuden (The Great Buddha Hall)

This massive wooden building contains a giant Buddha, healing pillars, and tame deer wandering the grounds.
Beijing, China

Chairman Mao Memorial Hall

The embalmed remains of the communist leader lie within a custom crystal coffin.
Beijing, China

Working People's Cultural Palace

This smaller cousin of the Forbidden City has gone from ancestral sacrifice to tourist's whispers.
Beijing, China

Ming Dynasty Tombs

Ming Dynasty necropolis raided during the Cultural Revolution.
Beijing, China

The Forbidden City

The most famous location in China was home to whole dynasties worth of imperial rulers.
Osaka, Japan

Sakura no Tōrinuke

Every spring, this walkway outside the Japan Mint turns into a cherry blossom tunnel.
Gyeongju, South Korea

Wolji Pond

This human-made pond is part of a Korean palace complex first built in the 7th century.
Kyoto, Japan

Sanjūsangen-dō

1,001 carved statues of the Buddhist God of Mercy, each with a unique face.
Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Dushanbe Flagpole

The world's second-tallest flagpole stands proud despite dropping rank.
Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Wall of Great Tajik Writers

A building facade covered with the statues of 11 giants of Tajik literature.
Hisor, Tajikistan

Hisor Fort

The first version of this stalwart construction appeared around 3,000 years ago.
Xiva, Uzbekistan

Walls of Itchan Kala

Ancient barriers wrap around what was once an important stop along the Silk Road.
Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Kalyan Minaret

This "tower of death" has acted as an observatory, a religious hub, and an executioner's lair.
Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Shah-i-Zinda Necropolis

The Avenue of Mausolea is a series of grand palatial tombs.
Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Bibi-Khanym Mosque

Controversially restored in the 1970s, this giant 15th-century mosque is shrouded in legend.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Chorsu Bazaar

Prowl through this sprawling bazaar under a massive Soviet-era dome for delicious eats.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Tashkent Metro Stations

An underground world of gorgeous, palatial metro stations designed as a nuclear shelter complex.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Amir Timur (Tamerlane) Museum

Looking for a unifying history, Uzbekistan finds its answer in a 14th Century Turco-Mongol conqueror... despite the fact he wasn't Uzbek.