Sapporo, (säp-pô´rô), capital of Hokkaido prefecture, SW Hokkaido, Japan. One of Japan's most rapidly growing urban centers, Sapporo is famous for its annual snow festival. It was the site of the 1972 winter Olympics.

Mexico City sits on the high plateau of central Mexico, layered with more than seven centuries of history and culture. Built atop the ruins of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán, the city reflects a continuous dialogue between Indigenous foundations, Spanish colonial influence, and modern urban life.

KwaZulu-Natal is a province on South Africa’s east coast, stretching from the Indian Ocean beaches around Durban to the mountains of the Drakensberg and the savanna of the interior. Its landscapes include subtropical forests, grasslands, wetlands, estuaries, sugarcane fields, and protected wildlife areas.

The United Arab Emirates rolls history and invention into a seamless experience. In Abu Dhabi, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque stands out with its reflective pools, marble columns inlaid with floral patterns, and the world’s largest hand-knotted carpet beneath domes that glow by night. On Saadiyat Island, the Louvre Abu Dhabi shelters art that spans civilizations, all beneath a dome designed to scatter sunlight like palm fronds.

The Great Wall of China stretches across mountains, deserts, and grasslands, forming one of the most striking man-made landmarks in the world. Rather than a single continuous wall, it is a network of sections built with stone, brick, and packed earth, each shaped by the landscape it crosses. In areas near Beijing, such as Mutianyu, the wall winds along forested ridges, offering sweeping views that change with the seasons.