Ancient Wonder of the World Overrun by Tourists in Viral Video

A video showing "insane" crowds at the Great Wall of China has stunned users on TikTok. The clip was shared by @vincentlivinginchina and has amassed over 929,000 views since it was first posted on July 14. The footage was captured on July 14 at the UNESCO-designated ancient wonder, which was built in various stages between the 3rd century B.C. and the 17th century A.D.. The video shows a sea of people filling a long section of the wall captured in the clip. The tourists appeared to move up the wall at a snail's pace, a few inches at a time. The poster, who did not share their name or location, told Newsweek that crowds of this scale occur during the summer school holiday period, exacerbated by tour companies bringing tourists there "all at the same time." "It is so packed and crowded here that taking a few steps may take a few minutes," the poster noted in a caption shared with the clip. Jet-setters are likely to see crowds wherever they head this year, especially at the world's most famed attractions such as the Great Wall of China, as travel is set to hit "record highs" in 2024, with global tourism spending expected to reach $2 trillion, according to a December 2023 survey by Euromonitor International, the market research firm. Air travel is seeing continued strong growth following the pandemic era. Total passenger demand in April was reported to be up 11 percent, compared with April, 2023, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported in May. In November 2023, globally, total air traffic was reported to be at 99.1 percent of November 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels, according to an IATA report in January.

'That's Insane'

In a later comment, the original poster said: "Normally it's not so crazy. It's due to the summer holiday where primary and secondary school holiday just started." The poster advised avoiding school holidays or public holidays when asked about when's the best time to visit the Great Wall of China. TikTok users were shocked by the scene in the viral clip. Peggy Lavin Acres noted: "Wow, I'd get claustrophobic! That's insane!! Why isn't there wait times & limits on numbers of people??" The original poster replied: "It only happens at the beginning of the holiday." Kalya Aye650 said "that is a lot of people," and engsinyap said: "Wow People mountain People Sea." Fiona'sFrivolite wrote: "Oh that looks like my nightmare." User @travelwithcristy simply wrote "my anxiety" and user7363745100607LENA said "never ever ,,crazy." MalosKain said: "I'd love to see it, but this would completely ruin the experience. No thanks." Marin Vojkovic noted: "If this keeps up, the wall will start to degrade seriously..."

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