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)

Monastic dormitories stand on the hillside at the Serthar Wuming Buddhist Study Institute on November 4, 2006 in Serthar County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China. The Wuming Buddhist Study Institute is located in Larung Gar Monastery on an altitude of 3,700 meters (about 12,136 feet). The institute has the largest conglomeration of monks and nuns in Tibetan Areas, with over 40,000 monastics from the Tibet Buddhism Nyingma School, Gelug School, Sakya School and Kagyu School, including more than 10,000 nuns. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

Members of the Gremlins Carnival Club, open the doors to their workshop to unveil for the first time their cart, Jungle Drums, which is their entry to this year's Bridgwater Carnival, on November 4, 2011 in Bridgwater, England. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

A person stands near the “Untitled” installation of miniature elevators by Maurizio Cattelan at a preview of the Postwar and Contemporary Art Evening Sale at Christie's auction house on November 4, 2011 in New York City. The 33-inch functioning elevator installation is expected to realize $400,000-$600,000 at the November 8 auction. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Rob Maitland of Australia collects a ball from the ocean during warm-up for the Water Polo by the Sea match between Australia and the United States of America at at Bondi Icebergs on Bondi Beach on January 4, 2012 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Demonstrators march on a Slutwalk on June 4, 2011 in Glasgow, Scotland. Glasgow's first ever sl*t walk made its way through the town center streets in a bid to raise awareness about commonly-held attitudes towards rape and sexual assault. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

The sun shines on Weston-super-Mare's Sand Sculpture Festival and the sand art currently being displayed on July 4, 2011 in Weston-Super-Mare, England. Now in its fourth year and with a Amazon Jungle theme for 2011, the seaside resort's event attracts top sand sculptors from across the world and runs throughout the summer months. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

A fan lies passed out on the first day of the Wacken Open Air heavy metal music fest on August 4, 2011 in Wacken, Germany. Approximately 75,000 heavy metal fans from all over the world have descended on the north German village of 1,800 residents for the annual three-day fest. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)