An aerial view of paddy fields at Debao County on October 16, 2022 in Baise, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China. The paddy fields in Baise have entered harvest season. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

A folk artist performs a stunning fire-pot performance on October 18, 2024 in Guangzhou,Guangdong Province of China.Huohu (fire pot) is a traditional folk performance art.Performers put well-burned charcoal into iron meshes on both sides and shake the meshes up and down so that the charcoal will flare up and blazing sparks will burst out of the meshes and light up the sky just like fireworks. (Photo by John Ricky/Anadolu via Getty Images)

It’s a tradition that dates back hundreds of years, where two stallions fight over a female to ring the Chinese new year. And when it’s the Year of the Horse, the fights are considered to be even more significant. They’re held in small villages across southern China and have been condemned by animal rights groups, including Hong-Kong based Animals Asia. But those who participate in the events defend the fights and insist they take care of the animals.

Growing cities, overuse of fertilizers and factory wastewater have degraded China's water supplies to the extent that half the nation's rivers and lakes are severely polluted. China aims to spend $850 billion to improve filthy water supplies over the next decade, but even such huge outlays may do little to reverse damage caused by decades of pollution and overuse in Beijing's push for rapid economic growth. Photo: Fishermen row a boat in the algae-filled Chaohu Lake in Hefei, Anhui province, June 19, 2009. (Photo by Jianan Yu/Reuters)

“A girl arrives at the parking lot wearing tiny leather shorts and sits on the back of a bike with a horse power of more than 1,000 CC. Next to her a man gets ready to ride, wearing a skeleton mask. It’s more than a fashion show, it’s an extravaganza on two wheels along Chinese roads”. – Carlos Barria. Photo: A couple rides their motorcycle at the Qian Dao Lake rally, on May 11, 2013. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Chinese hostesses, who serve the delegates of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and National People's Congress, have souvenir photos taken in front of the Great Hall of the People during sessions of the CPPCC and NPC held in Beijing, China Tuesday, March 4, 2014. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP Photo)

Models promote a condom brand at the first Shenzhen s*x Culture Festival on September 21, 2007 in Shenzhen of Guangdong Province, China. The festival aims to increase awareness about reproductive health and popularise s*x education. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

Rescuers work at the accident scene on a bridge on July 24, 2011 in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. The train from Hangzhou to the city of Wenzhou derailed on a bridge that is 10 m above the field in Shuangyu Town of Wenzhou city at 8:34 p.m on Saturday. The first four coaches and the 15th and 16th coaches of the train went off the line killed 32 and injured 191 people. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)