Nine years ago, Tom Carter traveled from San Francisco to China, responding to a job posting that turned out to be a scam. He managed to find another job as a teacher, and saved enough money to embark on a 56,000 km trip through all of China's 33 provinces that lasted two years. Carrying a camera – just a a 4-megapixel point-and-shoot – Carter captured some amazing images of the widely varying landscape, people, and architecture across the nation. Photo: Buddhist pilgrim family from Sichuan. (Photo by Tom Carter via The Atlantic)

A helicopter flies close to a volcanic eruption which has begun in Fagradalsfjall near the capital Reykjavik on March 20, 2021 in Fagradalsfjall, Iceland. On Friday the Icelandic meteorological office announced a volcano, referring to a mountain located south-west of the Capital Reykjavik has erupted after thousands of small earthquakes in the area over the recent weeks. A no-fly zone has been established in the area. (Photo by Vilhelm Gunnarsson/Getty Images)

A woman wearing a gown hands out campaign leaflets to a coconut juice vendor during a Santacruzan-themed house-to-house campaign for Philippine Vice President and presidential candidate Leni Robredo, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, May 5, 2022. (Photo by Lisa Marie David/Reuters)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the Pavegen stand, a company that converts footsteps into energy, at the Innovation Zone during the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London, Britain on January 20, 2020. (Photo by Leon Neal/Pool via Reuters)

Young girls perform in front of the monument to Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin during the City Day celebrations in Yekaterinburg, Russia on August 19, 2017. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Giving out with a yell, Elke Sommer is tossed on the trampoline as she trains for her movie role as an athlete, on the playing field of the University of California at Los Angeles, June 8, 1967. (Photo by AP Photo)

Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker perform during the short dance program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro, N.C., Friday, Jan. 23, 2015. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

A belly dancer dances on the bar at Georgian restaurant Nanuchka in Tel Aviv, Israel July 15, 2015. Nana Shrier, owner of Nanuchka, shocked Israel's culinary world when she removed all animal-based products from the menu. Nanuchka is part of a growing trend that has transformed Israel's financial center into a haven for meatless cuisine. (Photo by Baz Ratner/Reuters)