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)

Tomomi Ota pushes a trolley loaded with her humanoid robot Pepper as she crosses a street in Omotesando shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, 24 March 2016. Telecommunications and mobile phone carrier SoftBank Corp. opened a robot-staffed store where 10 Pepper humanoid robots welcome customers looking to buy a mobile phone. The store will be opened until 30 March 2016. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA)

A fellow officer comes to the aid of injured patrolman C.V. Satt, who was pelted with rocks and beer bottles during a clash between police and relief demonstrators in Denver September 23, 1935. (Photo by Henry G. Eisenhand/AP Photo)

Afghan women and a boy make their way in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, November 15, 2015. (Photo by Rahmat Gul/AP Photo)

“Kilauea Rules”. The most extreme place we put ours kayakers to paddle till now. Photo location: Big Island, Hawaii. (Photo and caption by Alexandre Socci/National Geographic Photo Contest)

A pangolin carries its baby at a Bali zoo, Indonesia, Thursday, June 19, 2014. The pangolin baby was born on May 31. (Photo by Firdia Lisnawati/AP Photo)

Surfer Hannah Cornett attends The 2014 ESPYS at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on July 16, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

(L-R) Recording artists Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj perform onstage during the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)