This 2014 series Shanghai Tian Wa saw Chinese photographer Liu Tao train his lens on two distinct districts in Shanghai. Here: “Shanghai Tian Wai №26, 2014”. (Photo by Liu Tao/The Guardian)

It’s a tradition that dates back hundreds of years, where two stallions fight over a female to ring the Chinese new year. And when it’s the Year of the Horse, the fights are considered to be even more significant. They’re held in small villages across southern China and have been condemned by animal rights groups, including Hong-Kong based Animals Asia. But those who participate in the events defend the fights and insist they take care of the animals.

A member of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) or the National Volunteers Association keeps watch from the top of a tree as others sit on the ground during their daylong camp on the outskirts of Pune, Maharashtra state, India, Sunday, January 3, 2016. Hindus, make up more than 80 percent of India's population of 1.25 billion. (Photo by Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo)

Residents carry a slaughtered pig with a bamboo pole as they walk home on a street, which was shut to traffic due to ice, in Leishan county, Guizhou province January 31, 2015. Blizzards and icy rain that lasted for several days at the end of January have disrupted traffic, collapsed houses and decimated crops in central Chinese provinces, Xinhua News Agency reported. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

People pass a suitcase as they line up to enter a railway station in Beijing, February 15, 2015. Chinese Ministry of Transport said a total of 2.807 billion trips are expected to be made during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, which started on February 4 and will last until March 16, Xinhua News Agency reported. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

This picture taken on January 26, 2016 shows a monkey sitting on a bench during rehearsal at a monkey training school in a zoo in Dongying, eastern China's Shandong province. Shows featuring performing simians, popular in China and throughout Asia, are expecting a boost in the Lunar New Year of the monkey, which begins on February 8. But they are facing a growing backlash from Chinese people concerned about animal welfare. (Photo by Wang Zhao/AFP Photo)

A woman wearing a mask walk in a street in a Yonghegong Lama temple compound seen shrouded in smog in Beijing, China, 30 November 2015. Beijing issued an orange alert for heavy smog 30 November, the highest level this year. Authorities in the Chinese capital warned of 'severe pollution' and advised the capital's 20 million inhabitants to stay indoors. (Photo by How Hwee Young/EPA)

A flight attendant wearing a Brazil soccer team jersey demonstrates the emergency mask on an airplane travelling from Kunming to Hangzhou June 23, 2014. A Chinese airline company renovated the cabin of one of its flights then dressed the flight attendants with soccer jerseys as a way to celebrate the 2014 Brazil World Cup and hoping to attract more customers, local media reported. (Photo by Wong Campion/Reuters)