A driverless vehicle runs at Vanke's Building Research Centre testing area in Dongguan, south China's Guangdong province November 2, 2015. The country's largest property developer, China Vanke, is investing in its own robots to do certain jobs in the face of a labor shortage in the world's most populated country. This driverless car is among the robots that Vanke is aiming to bring in. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

“Misty Rainbow”. A rainbow appears over tea fields in Tangerang Selatan, Indonesia. (Photo by Dani Agus Purnomo/Royal Meteorological Society’s Weather Photographer of the Year Awards)

A picture made with a tilt-shift lens shows “Dwarf Empire” cast member 19-year-old Han Zhen Yan posing in her fairy costume backstage outside one of the fairy tale-like houses at the Dwarf Empire theme park outside Kunming, China's Yunnan province, 04 April 2013. The Dwarf Empire theme park opened in mid-2009, employing a number of dwarves to create the show. Depending on what type of job they do at the park, employees earn between 800-2,000 CNY (100-250 Euros) per month, most of which goes towards their savings as lodging is provided, and their living quarters are equipped with kitchens where they prepare their own meals. (Photo by Diego Azubel/EPA)

Japanese Yuuka Hasumi, 17, and Ibuki Ito, 17, also from Japan, who want to become K-pop stars, perform during their street performance in Hongdae area of Seoul, South Korea, March 21, 2019. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)

A Chinese woman wears traditional dress, or hanfu, as she has her picture taken by friends next to the first blossoms of spring at a park on March 21, 2021 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Who Left The Tap Running by artist Simon McGrath is seen as part of the Sculpture by the Sea outdoor exhibition along the Bondi to Bronte coastal walk on November 4, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

A glass is checked at the table for China's top leaders before the start of a reception to celebrate National Day at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China September 30, 2016. China celebrates its National Day on October 1. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

A dramatic rise in owning exotic pets in China is fuelling global demand for threatened species. The growing trade in alligators, snakes, monkeys, crocodiles and spiders is directly linked to species loss in some of the world’s most threatened ecosystems. Here: A fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) is groomed in a pet store in central Beijing. Native to the Sahara in North Africa, the species became a popular pet after being depicted as a character in Disney’s 2016 animated movie Zootopia. Individuals can cost between $2,000–$3,000. (Photo by Sean Gallagher/The Guardian)