Winner Petra Vlhova from Slovakia celebrates on the podium of the FIS women's World Cup slalom in Zagreb, the “Snow Queen Trophy 2022”, on January 4, 2022. (Photo by Antonio Bronic/Reuters)

A man poses as his acquaintance takes pictures on a street in the town of Vyborg, Russia on January 28, 2024. (Photo by Anton Vaganov/Reuters)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, his wife Ri Sol Ju and Song Tao, head of the International Department of Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, applaud with ballet dancers in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang April 17, 2018. (Photo by Reuters/KCNA)

A police officer wearing a Balinese traditional mask, called celuluk, performs as the new coronavirus during a campaign to wear masks as a precaution against the virus outbreak at a market in Bali, Indonesia, Thursday, May 14, 2020. (Photo by Firdia Lisnawati/AP Photo)

Iranian visitors practice shooting with shooting simulators made in Iran at a police shooting simulation booth at the 19th International Police Security and Safety Equipment Exhibition (IPAS 2022) at the grand Mosalla mosque in Tehran, Iran, on October 20, 2022. (Photo by Rouzbeh Fouladi/Avalon)

English actor Emma D’Arcy, English film and television director of Argentine origin, and former storyboard artist Miguel Sapochnik, and Australian actress Milly Alcock pose with the award for Best Television Series in Drama for “House of the Dragon” at the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., January 10, 2023. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

“«The Red Detachment of Women» (simplified Chinese: 红色娘子军) is a Chinese ballet which premiered in 1964. It is perhaps best known in the West as the ballet performed for U.S. President Richard Nixon on his visit to China in February 1972. Adapted from the earlier film of the same title under the personal direction of Zhou Enlai, which in turn adapted from the novel by Liang Xin, it depicts the liberation of a peasant girl in Hainan Island and her rise in the Chinese Communist Party”.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and these striking images of 2017 are no exception. The photo highlights include incredible snapshots of the natural world as well as some awesome animal and human encounters. The vibrant gallery also shows thrill-seekers pushing themselves to the limit with breathtaking stunts captured in perfect clarity. The pictures have been taken by a host of photographers from around the world. Here: The two lion cubs singing their hearts out at Antelope park in Zimbabwe. (Photo by David Jenkins/Caters News Agency)