top places to visit in usa: Complete Guide to US Tourist Cities

August 30, Saturday, 14-28°C, Sunny

A city is a country’s calling card, and even more so, a window to showcase its culture. We generally believe that famous cities in developed countries should be filled with skyscrapers, like a superimposed version of Shanghai’s Lujiazui, which is what they should look like, such as Los Angeles, Washington, New York, and other cities. However, what we saw with our own eyes was quite different from our imagination.

First stop, Los Angeles

For this group tour to the United States, the first stop was Los Angeles city, after a thirteen-hour flight. Los Angeles’ airport is not very large, somewhat like the T1 terminal in Lanzhou. People always tend to guess the content through so-called appearances, ignoring time and space. Before coming to America, I imagined skyscrapers, sports cars, and famous watches as representing America. In reality, what I saw was completely different from my imagination.

View of Los Angeles city

On the final day, we toured Los Angeles city. Standing at the highest peak of Griffith Observatory, you can clearly see the entire panorama of Los Angeles. Except for fewer than ten tall buildings in the downtown area, the rest are mostly low-rise buildings, none exceeding three stories.

Mysterious Hollywood hilltop

We visited several attractions in downtown Los Angeles, such as the TCL Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. These are all low-rise buildings with narrow streets, lacking any glamorous modern facilities—just simple and ordinary. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is merely a regular sidewalk with numerous stars’ names engraved in five-pointed stars, which pedestrians casually walk upon. The Academy Awards ceremony takes place at the Dolby Theatre, where the front is just a small space as wide as a street, usually nothing special. Only on the day when it’s sealed off and barricaded, with massive media and celebrities gathering from around the world, does it demonstrate its significance. Suddenly, I recalled an ancient Chinese saying: ‘A mountain isn’t famous for its height, but for the immortals within; water isn’t sacred for its depth, but for the dragons it harbors.’ A city’s value doesn’t lie in how many tall buildings it possesses, but in its influence! In terms of appearance, any prefecture-level city in China might appear more ‘city-like’ than Los Angeles, yet the whole world knows about Los Angeles!

The cityscape of San Francisco

Second stop, San Francisco

In movies, San Francisco is always closely intertwined with the destiny of Chinese people. Seeing it in person, it feels like a large Chinese town, with neither modern buildings nor clean, orderly streets. After climbing several slopes approaching sixty degrees, I stood at the highest point of Lombard Street, where I could see most of San Francisco. Except for one tower that was the tallest building, all others were like the houses nearby, mostly two or three stories high. This reminded me of the self-built houses by farmers in Yantan, Lanzhou, with houses being built higher and higher on top of bungalows. The streets were covered with fallen tree leaves, and I didn’t see any sanitation workers cleaning. The streets were narrow and quite steep. The famous Lombard Street is only beautiful during the hydrangea blooming season, and it’s less than one hundred meters long. Such scenery can be found everywhere in Tianfu New Area in Chengdu, where it wouldn’t even be considered a tourist attraction, just a street scene!

Lombard Street

When we visited that day, the hydrangeas had already passed their peak blooming season, with only a small portion still having flowers.

Streets of San Francisco

Happened to have a film crew shooting on location here, so both ends of the flower street were blocked off. We could only take a detour through a nearby street, stand at the highest point of the flower street to enjoy the view, took a few photos and left. The street was paved with red bricks, and the large trees on both sides were quite distinctive. The weather was very nice, with a deep blue sky that was impressive.

Photo at the San Francisco Bridge

We also went to the San Francisco Bridge and the Palace of Fine Arts. I personally have a good impression of the Palace of Fine Arts; not only is the environment nice, but the design of the water area is also distinctive. Due to limited time, we could only see the exterior, and we didn’t go inside before leaving San Francisco.

The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco

The beautiful Palace of Fine Arts

Third stop, Manhattan, New York

Manhattan, just the name itself feels sophisticated. As a borough of New York City, it is world-renowned and described as the economic and cultural center of the entire United States, home to New York City’s Central Business District. And the reputation of Manhattan’s Wall Street is even more globally famous! Because it is the world’s financial center, controlling the financial lifeline of the entire world, where stock gods and gods of wealth reside. When a butterfly flaps its wings on Wall Street, a tornado sweeps through the global financial markets!

With this impression, when I set foot on this street, I was truly shocked! Not by its grandeur, but by its narrowness and disorder!! I really didn’t expect this street to be so narrow and crowded!

Crowded and narrow Wall Street

Wall Street is located in Lower Manhattan, extending from Broadway to the East River, with a total length of about 500 meters and a width of only 11 meters. The tall buildings here are all in European architectural style, and while they aren’t particularly tall in terms of floors, they appear especially grand when standing in the narrow street.

Although Wall Street is the smallest street in New York, it is also the most awesome one. It gathers world-class large financial groups and companies such as Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and Rockefeller. As the New York Stock Exchange, which is the headquarters of NASDAQ and the U.S. Securities Exchange, Wall Street has become the ‘American Financial Center’ that leads the world and the world’s financial securities trading center. As a result, Wall Street has become synonymous with Manhattan’s financial markets and financial institutions.

Wall Street’s “Sliver of Sky”

Walking into the towering Wall Street is like being in a “sliver of sky” in a deep mountain canyon. Looking up, under the palm-sized blue sky, the buildings not only hang American flags but also various colored construction coverings, making the narrow space even more crowded, giving people an unfathomable sense of fear, mystery, and oppression.

The U.S. Capitol Building on Wall Street

The street is under maintenance, with construction scaffolding everywhere. The U.S. Capitol Building, where the first president Washington was inaugurated, has now become a national memorial and museum. It is also under maintenance, surrounded by fences outside. No workers were visible, so it could only be viewed from a distance.

I’m standing on Wall Street territory

Trinity Church at the end of the street is also under maintenance, so we could only take pictures from the outside.

The streets of Wall Street

Taking photos with the Charging Bull requires waiting in line. Interestingly, Chinese tourists all take photos with the bull’s head, while most Americans, regardless of gender, go to the rear of the bull to queue up, and then touch the bull’s testicles for photos!

Taking a photo with the bronze bull at the New York Stock Exchange

It is said that the bull’s testicles are a symbol of strength. There is a local urban legend that touching the bull’s testicles brings good luck and wealth. As a result, the bull’s two testicles have been polished to a shine, making them particularly eye-catching, and everyone becomes even more enthusiastic about touching them.

Two beautiful women

The stock exchange on Wall Street, the center of the world’s stock markets, is just a very ordinary low-rise building, with only the European-style reliefs outside giving it a slightly solemn feel. The entire Wall Street doesn’t have all the appearance we associate with “financial tycoons” in our imagination. What we see is narrow, crowded, and messy, but none of these superficial aspects affect its financial status. This is indeed the real Wall Street! It happened that a company was going to ring the bell for its IPO at the stock exchange, so there was a promotional event at the entrance. There were company introductions, several media outlets with cameras set up waiting to film, and next to them, people were giving away free souvenirs. Someone in our group queued up and received a small folding fan.

Wall Street Stock Exchange

United Nations Headquarters, I’ve heard this name many times in various media, imagining that it’s the center where world events are decided, must be a very impressive building.

A souvenir photo at the entrance of the United Nations Headquarters Building

The building behind is the United Nations Headquarters

If it weren’t for the flags of many countries hanging on the exterior of the building, no one would pay attention to this office building with no special external features, just an ordinary building!! There are guards at the entrance, and visitors need to go through security checks. We didn’t have enough time, so our team could only take photos from the outside.

Capitol Hill

Fourth stop, Washington

Washington, the capital of the United States. Because the impression of the previous cities was different from what I imagined, I didn’t dare to have any preconceptions anymore. But when I arrived in Washington, I still felt the difference between the capital city and others: the roads are wider, the greening is uniformly good, with green trees and large lawns everywhere. There are more neat and proper buildings, traffic flows more orderly, and there are very few skyscrapers.

National Mall

The attractions we visited were basically concentrated around the National Mall. There is the Washington Monument, which was built to commemorate George Washington, the first president of the United States. Washington was the leader of the American Revolutionary War and also the first president of the United States, holding an important position in American history. This monument is the tallest building in Washington D.C., and later buildings were all constructed lower than this monument to show respect for Washington. Therefore, the entire Washington D.C. has no skyscrapers, only low-rise buildings.

Exterior of the Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Memorial are both different from what we imagined, very simple. In the center of the hall, there is a statue of the commemorated person, and only some text on the surrounding walls, extremely simple. What’s different about Jefferson’s Memorial from Lincoln’s is that its four sides are composed of several Roman columns, and the blue sky and white clouds outside can be seen.

Lincoln Memorial

What is particularly impressive is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the United States was designed by Maya Ying Lin, the famous Chinese-American architect who is the niece of Lin Huiyin. This is a work that was controversial from design to construction, those who like it believe it is a space that confronts history and heals trauma, while those who dislike it say it is a shameful black wound.

Outside the Vietnam War Memorial

Walking through the memorial corridor, the black marble is engraved with the names of fallen soldiers, and occasionally there are photos or flowers below, which should be tributes from later generations. This is the first time I’ve seen such a unique memorial. What particularly struck me is that they actually have a complete list of all the fallen soldiers, which is truly impressive!

I’m quite satisfied with this photo I took. The black marble wall is engraved with the names of fallen soldiers, and its shiny surface reflects the shadows of people, blue sky, and green trees from reality. In the distance stands the Washington Monument. Suddenly, I seemed to understand the designer’s intention: everything we have today is the result of the struggles of those who have passed away.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

The world-famous White House, which I often saw on TV, looked pretty much the same when I arrived in America. Separated by lawns and railings, with more lawns and railings inside, I could only gaze from afar and take a photo to prove I had been there. Near the photo spot, there was a man loudly reciting something, which the tour guide said was promoting some religious belief.

Photo taken outside the White House

Washington Monument

The Capitol building is really beautiful. This time I saw it from all around – front, back, left, and right. There are green spaces, lakes, and plazas, and every angle looks great.

The other side of Capitol Hill

Fifth stop, Las Vegas

From Route 66, we headed west. The entire journey was through the Gobi Desert, just as desolate as our western Gobi Desert. The drive took a little over five hours, and at around 8:30 PM, we arrived in Las Vegas.

The desolate Gobi Desert

Las Vegas, the world-famous “gambling city” is the largest city in Nevada, USA. Located on the edge of the desert in southeastern Nevada. Along the way, there’s a stretch of Gobi desert that gives a strong sense of desolation and history.

Just as we entered the urban area, I saw a solitary building by the roadside. The tour guide said this was also a “gambling” hotel, specifically for guests to have a small gamble for practice when they were about to leave or had just arrived. When we reached the city, the sun had just set, and looking against the sunset, the entire city looked ordinary, even dilapidated, like a county town from our 1990s. The buildings were low and dusty. Because the climate here is arid with vast deserts, there are few industries that can develop, yet it features the gambling industry and is known as the “city that never sleeps,” with its urban functions transforming into a center for conventions, leisure, and entertainment.

The hotel we stayed at

But when night falls and the bright lights come on, Las Vegas shows a completely different face! We took a tour of the old town in the city, where it was full of bright lights and revelry. Along the entire commercial street, there were five or six performance stages, all with bands playing. The deafening sound system played powerful music that made one’s heart pound uncomfortably. Everywhere, men and women were twisting their bodies passionately to the music, and there were also performers dressed in gorilla and puppet costumes dancing.

Old Las Vegas at Night

Continuing on, there were many scantily clad men and women in the night market, all with exceptionally good figures, charging tourists for photos. We didn’t dare to approach as we passed by, just taking a distant glance. The shops on both sides were selling food and drinks.

The Venetian’s internal guest room corridor

The exterior of The Venetian Hotel

The casino on the first floor of the hotel we stayed at

We also visited the most famous casino complex in the area: The Venetian Casino. It has hotels, casinos, shopping streets, food streets, performance theaters, etc., and is the most representative building in Las Vegas.

The Venetian was rebuilt in 1997 on the original site of the Sands Hotel and Casino and opened two years later. The hotel includes an 11,000㎡ casino, a 35-story and a 12-story tower, with a total of 4,049 rooms. The hotel has also been a venue for multiple shows, such as Blue Man Group, a special edition of The Phantom of the Opera, etc. We spent more than an hour walking around inside.

The small river inside The Venetian

In the evening, we also watched the musical fountain at the square, which lasted only about ten minutes. The effect was really mediocre, but due to the fame of Las Vegas, everyone who comes here feels they have to see it.

Night tour in Las Vegas gave me a taste of the glamorous and decadent atmosphere of the gambling city. We returned to the hotel after 11 PM, and after completing the check-in procedures, the tour guide reminded everyone in the group that everything in the room is chargeable except for the items in the bathroom. They are sensor-equipped, so you’ll be automatically charged as soon as you pick them up, regardless of whether you use them or not. The TV is also chargeable, so we were advised not to touch things indiscriminately. It was my first time staying in a so-called luxury hotel with a casino – I just took a shower, slept, and left the next day! To be honest, the room facilities don’t compare to our four-star hotels, but they have a great reputation, so what can you do!

In conclusion, the famous American cities we visited were indeed quite different from what we had imagined. They could be said to be unremarkable in appearance, but none of this affects their status. Their history and economic strength are undeniable and cannot be taken away by anyone.

People are always like this. When they don’t have something, they always want others to think they do, so they pay special attention to superficial things, such as so-called symbols, so-called city appearance, so-called glamour, etc., in order to achieve a deceptive effect. When you truly possess something, you can’t be bothered with these superficialities, because there’s no need to prove anything to others. Others’ opinions can no longer cause you harm or influence you, and you can act freely according to your own thoughts. Therefore, strength is the fundamental principle, and this applies to both countries and individuals! If it weren’t for the rapid development brought by China’s reform and opening up, which greatly increased our country’s economic strength, how could an ordinary person like me possibly travel thousands of miles to see the world?! I truly need to be grateful for the strength of our country; we are all beneficiaries!

Seeing the world is about reducing this kind of assumption, using your own eyes to see the real world, using your own mind to think of your own answers, and living your own life.