Real-Life Locations that Inspired the World of Avatar: The Last Airbender
COVID-19 is a great reminder that not all heroes wear capes. Some wear hospital scrubs, or laminated name tags from grocery stores, and others wear monk’s robes with matching arrow tattoos. If that last outfit doesn’t sound like any essential worker you’ve ever heard of, then you need to run to the nearest streaming device and watch Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix.
Avatar—not to be confused with James Cameron’s blue-man space blockbuster of the same name—takes viewers to a world in which people known as “benders” have the power to manipulate the elements of air, water, earth, or fire. The avatar, the only person who can bend all four elements, must bring balance to the world. We follow the story of Aang, the current avatar (and the inked-up monk I mentioned earlier) who must defeat the tyrannical Fire Nation amid its war of global domination. I fell in love with Avatar during its original run on Nickelodeon in 2005. Even then, I knew it was special: Few shows, let alone cartoons aimed at a younger audience, have explored themes ranging from war, trauma, and relationships quite as masterfully.
Now that it’s streaming again after several years off the airwaves, I’ve been binging Avatar like there’s no tomorrow (and considering the way 2020 has been going so far, there might not be). Watching Aang and pals traverse the globe has given me some serious travel envy in the age of quarantine, and while I might not be able to hop on my flying bison and vacation on Kyoshi Island once lockdowns are lifted, many of the stunning locations that make the world of Avatar a character in its own right are inspired by places here on earth. If you’ve every wanted to ride along with Aang on his journey, then sit back, crack open an ice-cold can of cactus juice, and take a look at these locations that inspired the world of Avatar.
Crescent Island Fire Temple: Yellow Crane Tower, Wuhan, China
Initially, Aang has no idea how to go about his avatar
duties. He learns that he can communicate with the spirit of his immediate
predecessor, Avatar Roku, but only if Aang can reach a temple behind enemy
lines in the Fire Nation before the end of the winter solstice. The temple
where our protagonist comes face-to-spectral-face with his mentor is based on
the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, China. Both structures are five-story pagodas
that sit atop hills and hold spiritual significance. Interestingly, Avatar Roku
destroys the temple after his meeting with Aang, which may reference the
multiple disasters throughout Yellow Crane Tower’s history that led to it being
destroyed and rebuilt at least 10 times.
Great Divide: Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
Even the greatest shows can’t help but have at least one half-baked episode, and “The Great Divide” fills Avatar’s quota for bland filler. The episode takes its name from a canyon that Aang and his friends need to cross despite the antics of two feuding tribes they encounter, and we’re told that this canyon is the largest in the world. In case that tip isn’t enough, then the majestic first shot of the canyon we see should make it clear that it’s based on America’s very own Grand Canyon, the largest canyon in our world.
Si Wong Desert and Rock Formation: Northern Territory and Uluru, Australia
Australia has such diverse geography that you’d be forgiven for mistaking it as a planet of its own. Much of the ink goes to spectacular landmarks like the Great Barrier Reef, but the country’s Northern Territory is world famous as well. With large deserts in the south, the Northern Territory is home to Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, a massive sandstone formation nearly 3,000-feet high. Uluru and adjacent deserts were one inspiration for the Si Wong Desert, a region Aang and Team Avatar—his friends Katara, Sokka, and Toph—visit in season two. A huge rock sits in the middle of the desert and towers over the flat sea of sand dunes surrounding it, which is a clear reference to Uluru; unlike Uluru, however, the Si Wong Rock features caverns infested with angry buzzard wasps that attack our heroes.
Ba Sing Se: Great Wall and Forbidden City, Beijing, China
What is there to Ba-Sing-say about the sprawling capital city of the Earth Kingdom? For starters, its most notable feature isn’t in the city itself, but rather around it. We learn that Ba Sing Se means “impenetrable city,” and the moniker no doubt comes from the massive series of concentric walls that surround it. It doesn’t take a historian or geographer to make the connection between Ba Sing Se’s impressive defenses and the Great Wall of China, particularly the city’s outer wall. Inside the city, residents live according to social class, with the poorest on the fringes and the privileged living closest to the Royal Palace, Ba Sing Se’s literal and figurative center. The Earth King’s Palace is another reference to China as it invokes the Forbidden City, a palace complex that served as the emperor’s residence and seat of government for more than 500 years. In fact, the Palace’s South Gate is practically a dead ringer for the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City.
Boiling Rock Prison: Alcatraz, California, USA
In season three, Aang’s friend and co-hero Sokka learns that his father is being held in a notorious Fire Nation prison called the Boiling Rock. The facility, equal parts jail and fortress, is built on an island in the middle of a volcanic lake that results in the water, you guessed it, boiling. Characters repeatedly point out that no one has successfully escaped in the prison’s history. These warnings don’t deter Sokka, however, perhaps because he’s read about Alcatraz. Officially known as Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary but referred to as “The Rock” (an obvious inspiration for Avatar’s prison), it was a maximum-security prison located on an island of the same name in San Francisco Bay. While many experts thought Alcatraz to be inescapable, four inmates took up that challenge in 1962 by attempting to tunnel out of the prison and use a makeshift raft to float to shore. Sokka devises a plan to free his father that mirrors the inmates’ strategy, as he proposes detaching a refrigeration unit that doubles as a cell from the Boiling Rock’s main building and floating it across the lake to freedom.