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)

Pilgrims lift up their dresses as they cross the Quema river during the annual El Rocio pilgrimage in Villamanrique, near Sevilla on June 1, 2017. El Rocio pilgrimage is the largest in Spain with hundreds of thousands of devotees wearing traditional outfits converging in a burst of colour as they make their way on horseback and decorated carriages across the Andalusian countryside. (Photo by Cristina Quicler/AFP Photo)

A vendor decorates a sacrificial camel ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival, in Karachi, Pakistan, 23 August 2016. Eid al-Adha is the holiest of the two Muslims holidays celebrated each year, with this year will be celebrated on 02nd September. Eid al-Adha marks the yearly Muslim pilgrimage (Hajj) to visit Mecca, the holiest place in Islam. Muslims slaughter a sacrificial animal and split the meat into three parts, one for the family, one for friends and relatives, and one for the poor and needy. (Photo by Rehan Khan/EPA)

A child stands next to sacrificial camels at the camel market ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha in the Birqash district, Giza, Egypt, 30 May 2025. Eid al-Adha is one of the holiest Muslim holidays, marking the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. (Photo by Mohamed Hossam/EPA/EFE)

Naga Sadhus or Hindu holy men, smeared with ash, drink tea inside their makeshift camps near the confluence of river Ganges and the Bay of Bengal, ahead of Makar Sankranti festival at Sagar Island, south of Kolkata January 13, 2015. Hindu monks and pilgrims are making their annual trip to Sagar Island for the one-day festival of “Makar Sankranti” on Wednesday. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

A Muslim woman prays at the Al Meroz hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, August 29, 2016. Predominately Buddhist Thailand has opened its first halal hotel as hopes to attract more Muslim visitors and boost one of the few bright spots in its economy. (Photo by Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)

Models perform during a Muslim fashion show an airport train in Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday, May 2, 2019. The fashion show was held to great to upcoming fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in Muslim calendar. (Photo by Tatan Syuflana/AP Photo)

A Kashmiri Shiite Muslim mourns as he flagellates himself during a Muharram procession in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, July 27, 2023. Muharram is a month of mourning for Shiite Muslims in remembrance of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. (Photo by Dar Yasin/AP Photo)