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 large Pacific sideband snail slowly crosses a rain wet road in rural Douglas County, Oregon near Elkton on Sunday, December 2, 2012. The moisture loving snail should be very content with the recent heavy rains in southwestern Oregon and northern California. (Photo by Robin Loznak)

In this October 29, 2013 photo, Daniel smokes marijuana inside his apartment where he uses a hydroponics system to grow his weed in Mexico City. “I'm not a narco, dude. I just like to smoke”, said Daniel, who spoke on condition that his last name not be used because, he said, his home-grow operation is "super-illegal" despite being for personal use only. (Photo by Eduardo Verdugo/AP Photo)

Iranians flash the victory sign from their car while celebrating on a street in northern Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 2, 2015, after Iran's nuclear agreement with world powers in Lausanne, Switzerland. The United States, Iran and five other world powers on Thursday announced an understanding outlining limits on Iran's nuclear program so it cannot lead to atomic weapons, directing negotiators toward achieving a comprehensive agreement within three months. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

Rani rides home with her father on the back of his bicycle on March 6, 2017 in Khulna division, Bangladesh. Rani, who is now 16, was under pressure to marry a boy when she was 14-years-old despite the reluctance of Rani and her father, Abdul. (Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty Images)

An Orchid Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus) is perched on the head of a frog hanging from a tree branch on March 15, 2017 in Padang, Indonesia. (Photo by Riau Images/Barcroft Images)

Warriors from the Suri tribe in Ethiopia still stage the savage “Donga” battles – even after many fighters have been died from their injuries. Donga stick fights take place after the harvests, the Surmas count days owing to knots on a long stem of grass or jags on the trunk of a tree dedicated to that specific use. Here: A tribeswoman sporting a huge lip plate and wearing a skinned animal carcass on her head. (Photo by Eric Lafforgue/Exclusivepix Media)

French bulldog Watson is wheeled to a ring for judging at the 2016 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in the Manhattan borough of New York City, February 15, 2016. (Photo by Mike Segar/Reuters)