(WONDERS) 7 Most Extreme Paths

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1. El Caminito Del Rey (Spain)

Adrenaline-junkies have been flocking to southern Spain to experience the 110-year-old El Caminito Del Rey. And you don't need to be an experienced climber either, the only requirements are that walkers should be at least twelve years old and have a good head for heights. The trail, also known as the King's Pathway, was originally built in 1905 for workers to travel between two hydroelectric power plants but was closed-off in 2000 after two walkers fell to their deaths.Link

2.Huashan Cliffside Path (China)

Huashan is located near the southeast corner of the Ordos Loop section of the Yellow River basin, south of the Wei River valley, at the eastern end of the Qinling Mountains, in southern Shaanxi province. It is part of the Qin Ling Mountain Range that divides not only northern and southern Shaanxi, but also China. There are two walking trails leading to Huashan's North Peak (1614 m), the lowest of the mountain's five major peaks. The most popular is the traditional route in Hua Shan Yu (Hua Shan Gorge) first developed in the 3rd to 4th century A.D. and with successive expansion, mostly during the Tang Dynasty.

The inherent danger of many of the exposed, narrow pathways with precipitous drops gave the mountain a deserved reputation for danger. As tourism has boomed and the mountain's accessibility vastly improved with the installation of the cable car in the 1990s, visitor numbers surged. Despite the safety measures introduced by cutting deeper pathways and building up stone steps and wider paths, as well as adding railings, fatalities continued to occur.Link

3. School 5,000ft Cliff Path (China)

The children of Gulucan village in West China take their lives in their hands every day with a walk to school which involves navigating a narrow path carved into a 5,000-ft cliff-side. It is the only way they can get to the school, which with its five concrete rooms is known as the best construction in the village.Link

4. Roche Veyrand (France)

France is home to around 120 via ferratas, ranging from easy to extremely difficult routes. Roche Veyrand is definitely a fine example of one of these quite difficult and challenging tracks. The path is located in St Pierre d'Entremont, in the Rhône-Alpes region, which stretches in the south-eastern part of the country.Link

5. Ebenalp Path (Switzerland)

A journey back in time to the prehistoric caves on the Ebenalp at Wildkirchli is a once in a lifetime experience for young and old. The path leads from the Ebenalp mountain station to the site in just under 20 minutes. Link

6. Yueyang's New Paths (China)

Meet China's amazing army of "spidermen" who are risking their lives to build a scenic trail 300 metres above the ground. With little more than a safety harness and a ledge to support them, the men are building hundreds of metres of cliff paths - only a metre wide and without a guardrail - in Yueyang, in Hunan province.

The concrete for the paths is mixed at ground level and winched up in a make-shift cable car.Zhang Bin, head of the path construction team, said: "Workers building plank paths along cliffs should at least be psychologically stable." Link

7. The Cliffs of Moher (Ireland)

For those who want to experience an unforgettable adrenalin rush, you need to refuse to settle with anything short of the best. For the passionate bike riders who are willing to travel to The Cliffs of Moher there is a treat in store, the most dangerous bike ride trail on this planet.

Towering at a top height of 700 feet above the Atlantic ocean, the Cliffs of Moher located near the charming town of Doolin in Co. Clare Ireland offer a truly enriching experience for the brave and adventurous at heart.Link

 

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(FAST FACTS) 10 Weirdest and Uniquely Shaped Buildings

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1. The Hashtag Tower (Seoul, Korea)

Now this is something to talk about: Danish architects BIG have designed an apartment tower complex that looks like a hashtag.

The Cross # Towers constitute a three-dimensional urban community of interlocking horizontal and vertical towers. Three public bridges connect two slender towers at different levels – underground, on the street and in the air. Catering to the demands and desires of different residents, age groups and cultures, the bridges are landscaped and equipped for a variety of activities traditionally restricted to the ground. The resultant volume forms a distinct figure on the new skyline of Seoul – a “#” that serves as a gateway to the new Yongsan Business District, signaling a radical departure from the crude repetition of disconnected towers, leaning towards a new urban community that populates the three-dimensional space of the city. Link

2. Elephant Building (Bangkok)

Meet the Elephant Building in Bangkok, Thailand. Designed by Sumet Jumsai and completed in 1997. Link

3. Ren Building (Shangai)

The Ren Building is an interesting design by PLOT, which has since split up into BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) and JDS (Julien De Smedt). The project was a proposal for a hotel, sports and conference center for the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai. The building was conceived as two buildings merging into one. The first building, emerging from the water, is supposed to be devoted to activities of the body, and houses the sports and water culture center. The second building, emerging from land, is to be devoted to the spirit and enlightenment, and houses the conference center and meeting facilities. The two buildings are to meet in a 1000-room hotel, a building for living. The building becomes the Chinese sign for "The People", and a recognizable landmark for the World Expo in China. Link

4. Swastika Building (California, US)

This is a US Navy building in Coronado, CA that was unintentionally built in the shape of a swastika. Now, because of a public uproar, the Navy will be spending $600,000 to alter the shape of the building.Link

5. Wing Shape Zayed National Museum (UAE)

This wing-shaped building is the Zayed National Museum designed by Foster + Partners. It is located on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE, and will be the first museum completed for the island for showcasing the history, culture and more recently, the social and economic transformation of the Emirates.

The museum features five wing-shaped towers protruding from a man-made, landscaped mound that houses the galleries. The towers act as thermal chimneys and draw cooling currents through the museum without any need for electricity. Fresh air is captured and drawn through underground ground-cooling pipes and then released into the museum's air. Since the towers heat up at the top, air is pulled up vertically through the galleries due to the thermal stack effect, and is then pushed out of the air vents.Link

6. The Dancing House (Czech Republic)

The Dancing House, aka the Dancing Building, is an architectural masterpiece in downtown Prague. It got its name due to its shape. The original name was Fred and Ginger (after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers) as it resembles a pair of dancers. It was designed in 1992 by Croatian-Czech architect Vlado Milunic and finished in 1996. Link

7.  “COR” building (Miami, Fl)

A new high rise is going up in Miami's design district, and its a lean, green, eco machine. A collaboration between Chad Oppenheim architecture + design, energy consultant Buro Happold, and structural engineer Ysreal Seinuk, the $40 million, 25-story, “COR” building will incorporate mixed-use residential and commercial space, integrating green technologies including wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, and solar hot water generation. The building's exoskeleton is a hyper-efficient structure that provides thermal mass for insulation, shade for residents, and architectural elements such as terraces and armatures that support turbines.

With the aim to attract creative and design-oriented businesses and professionals, the interior of COR features sleek commercial and comfortable residential spaces ranging from $400,000 to $2 million. Each residential unit will include Energy Star appliances, recycled glass tile flooring, and bamboo-lined hallways. In total, COR will play host to 113 residential units, 20,100 square feet of office space, and 5,400 square feet of retail space (which already includes a café and furniture store).  Link

8. Wood Skyscraper (Vancouver)

The seemingly radical idea of building a skyscraper out of wood is not so strange after all, as architect Michael Green is quick to point out, because of two main advantages that wood has over concrete and steel - it's eco-friendly and cost-effective.

‘Tallwood' would be made of large panels of ‘laminated strand lumber'—a composite made by gluing together strands of wood. Trees are a renewable resource, and they help to reduce air pollution. Sourcing from sustainably-managed forests could be deemed more environmentally sensitive, according to CNN.

Unlike concrete—which produces about 6-9kg of carbon dioxide for every 10kg of concrete—wood sucks carbon out of the atmosphere. And contrary to popular belief, wood actually is quite fire-resistant. Link

9. Coin Building (UAE)

Aldar headquarters building in Abu Dhabi. Designed by MZ Architects and opened in 2010. This coin-shaped building is the world's first circular skyscraper. Link

10. Egg Building (China)

This beautiful structure known as “The Egg” is China's National Centre for the Performing Arts. This dome-shaped building is submerged in water and contains an Opera House, a Concert Hall, and a Theater. Remarkably, this building is just as massive and intriguing below the surface of the water. “The Egg” is home to underwater corridors, an underwater garage, and even an artificial lake. The structure took over five years to build. Link

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(WONDERS) 10 Most Fascinating Tunnels

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1. California's Sequoia National Park

This unusual tunnel can be seen in California's Sequoia National Park. The drive is cut through the tree trunk of a Sequoia which fell in 1937. Instead of removing it from the road, the park administration decided to cut a tunnel in it. It's 5.18 m. (17 ft.) wide and 2.44 m. (8 ft.) high.Link 

2. Prairie Lights

Prairie Lights is Texas's premier holiday drive-through park, featuring more than 4 million lights along the shores of beautiful Lynn Creek Park on Joe Pool Lake in Grand Prairie. Visitors are amazed by the world's longest light tunnel and the Holiday Village out-of-car experiences.Link

3. Train Tree Tunnel

This beautiful train tree tunnel is located in Kleven, Ukraine. It's called the Tunnel of Love.

Photo by Oleg Gordienko, original caption by the photographer is Green Mile. Link

4. Red Rock Canyon

Road Through Rock Formation, Red Rock Canyon, Utah, USA.Link

5. The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel

This has to be one of the most surreal, psychedelic and fun forms of public transport. The Tunnel connects East Nanjin Rd on the Bund, and Pudong near the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, running under the Huangpu river in Shanghai, China. It's a psychedelic trip in a glass capsule along the 647-meter flashing, srobing tunnel.Link

6. Tunnel House

This building and an adjacent one had been used for exhibition space and art classes for over 30 years and they're both scheduled to be torn down to make way for a new larger structure. So, as a final farewell, local Houston artists, Dan Havel and Dean Ruck, turned them into an art installation known as "Inversion." Using boards from the outside of the houses they created a large funnel-like vortex running between the two that ends in a small hole in an adjacent courtyard. It's a cool effect particularly for those who always wanted to experience a black hole without the whole "being crushed to a quantum singularity" end result.Link

7. Rotterdam Market Hall

Imagine having this cool public market pop up in your town? Well the lucky residents of Rotterdam, The Netherlands, are actually getting one! The mayor announced the commencement of construction on the huge tunnel-shaped market hall which will flash images of gigantic fresh fruits and vegetables via LCD screens on the inside and be lined with balconied apartments offering killer views on the outside. This true mixed-use development combining residences, shopping, restaurants and a public market will be a central hub of activity for citizens and tourists. The project is being developed by Provast and was designed by MVRDV.

The new icon for Rotterdam is expected to be completed in 2014.Link

8. Wisteria Tunnel

This stunning flower walkway is the known as the Wisteria Tunnel, situated in the Kawachi Fuji Garden in Kitakyushu, Japan.Link

9. Red Mountain Pass and Ouray, Colorado

Unusual tunnel for runoff or rock slides.Link

10. L'Oceanographic Center in Valencia

Underwater tunnel at the L'Oceanographic Center in Valencia, Spain.Link

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