Fur hats are seen on display at the 2015 China Fur and Leather Products Fair in Beijing, January 15, 2015. Hundreds of domestic and foreign fur product companies take part in the fair which runs from January 13 to 16 at the National Convention Centre. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

Military helicopters fly in formation above a billboard with a picture of China's late Chairman Mao Zedong during a training session for the upcoming parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two, on the outskirts of Beijing, July 2, 2015. Troops from Russia and Mongolia will march together with Chinese forces in a parade in Beijing in September to commemorate the end of World War Two, the government and state media said on Thursday, confirming the first two foreign participants. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

Pedestrians and vehicles make their way past the Potala Palace early on a rainy morning in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China, Saturday, September 19, 2015. Chinese officials have taken foreign journalists on a visit to the region, normally off-limits to them, weeks after Communist Party officials commemorated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region. (Photo by Aritz Parra/AP Photo)

Models painted in camouflage colours to blend in with the background pose for Chinese artist Liu Bolin's artwork “Dongji”, or Winter Solstice, on the second day after China's capital Beijing issued its second ever “red alert” for air pollution, in Beijing, China, December 20, 2015. In this artwork, Liu wants to express his concerns about China and its people, including air pollution problem, Liu told Reuters. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A woman rides her scooter as a dog chases her during heavy snowfall in Huai'an, in eastern China's Jiangsu province on February 4, 2024. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

Women take a selfie with a giant dragon lantern decorated near the frozen Houhai Lake in Beijing, Thursday, February 8, 2024. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP Photo)

Pausing for a selfie as plum blossoms burst into bloom in Dujiangyan City, in southwest China’s Sichuan province on February 20, 2024. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

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)