A folk artist shakes iron nets with hot charcoals to create sparks during Huohu (fire pot) performance on December 28, 2024 in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province of China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

From Britain to China to Mali, new maps showing travel times to the nearest urban centre reveal huge differences between countries. Using Open Street Map and Google, a University of Oxford team have created a visual breakdown that suggests major inequalities when it comes to commuting. Here: China. The dataset used for China was unique as it relied solely on Open Street Map, due to restrictions on accessing Google data. The population is densely concentrated in the east and accessibility is increased, whereas rural provinces in the west remain remote. (Photo by Daniel Weiss/Jennifer Rozier/Malaria Atlas Project/University of Oxford)

In this March 15, 2012 file photo, a Chinese woman poses for photos near a sculpture depicting a Chinese yuan note at an art district in Beijing, China. China devalued its tightly controlled currency on Tuesday, August 11,2015, following a slump in trade, triggering the yuan's biggest one-day decline in a decade. The central bank said the yuan's 1.3 percent fall was due to a change aimed at making its exchange rate controls more market-oriented. But any change raises the risk of tensions with China's trading partners. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

A drone operated by paramilitary police flies over the site of last week's explosions at Binhai new district in Tianjin, China, August 17, 2015. Many operations have resumed at China's Tianjin port, trade sources said, after explosions last week that killed more than 100 people and disrupted business at what is an important oil, gas and bulk import harbor for Asia's biggest economy. The explosions on August 12 led to the disruption of all chemical and oil tanker discharges at the port, and imports of iron ore were also affected. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A giant panda cub is pictured in an incubator at the Ya'an Bifengxia Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center in Ya'an city, southwest China's Sichuan province, 21 August 2015. Ten tiny panda cubs made their first public appearance at China's Ya'an Bifengxia Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center in southwestern Sichuan province on Friday (21 August 2015). All of the ten giant pandas were born in 2015. The oldest of them is just two month old, while the youngest one was born a week ago. This marks the first time they were put together as a group since they were born. (Photo by Imaginechina/Splash News)

This picture taken on July 25, 2014 shows people cooling off in a waterpark in Suining, southwest China's Sichuan province. Meteorological departments issued an orange alert for high temperature as a heat wave embraces Sichuan province, with temperature of most area topped 37, local media reported. (Photo by AFP Photo)

Friends of Li Guojun drive a homemade tank-shaped vehicle in Kangping county, China. Li, a farmer who is a fan of tanks, spent six months with help from his friends to construct the almost 20-foot vehicle which weighs 2.5 tons. (Photo by Sheng Li/Reuters)

China's Shang Chunsong prepares to compete in the uneven bars event of the women's individual all-around final artistic gymnastics competition at the Namdong Gymnasium Club during the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, in this September 23, 2014 file photo. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)