Iranians wearing face masks against the Covid-19 coronavirus attends Laylat al-Qadr prayers, one of the holiest nights during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, outside a mosque in the Tehran, on May 13, 2020. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP Photo)

A jockey falls from his buffalos during Barapan Kebo or buffalo races as part of the Moyo festival on September 30, 2014 in Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The traditional Buffalo races, known as Barapan Kebo, are held by Samawa tribes in muddy rice fields to celebrate and provide entertainment ahead of the annual planting season. Jockeys secure themselves on a wooden structure attached to the buffalo, and maneuver across the mud in a race to the finish line. The jockeys weild long sticks, in a similar style to jousting, and direct them towards targets called “Saka”. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

Dancers perform during the closing ceremony of the 19th Asian Games at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium on October 8, 2023 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. (Photo by Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

The photo taken on September 17, 2024 shows a villager walking over burning charcoal to perform a traditional fire-walking ritual called “Lianhuo” at Shuangfeng village in Jinhua, in eastern China's Zhejiang province. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

A masquerader from the Paramin Blue Devils parades before judges during the traditional mas competition held by the National Carnival Commission at Victoria Square, in the capital Port-of-Spain, February 12, 2015. (Photo by Andrea De Silva/Reuters)

Yerevan residents celebrate Armenian Prime Minister's Serzh Sargsyan's resignation in Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, April 23, 2018. Sargsyan resigned unexpectedly on Monday, an apparent move to bring to an end massive anti-government protests. (Photo by Amos Chapple/RFE/RL)

An Afghan boy looks through the scope of a toy gun, as other children ride on swings during the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, in Kabul, Afghanistan June 25, 2017. (Photo by Omar Sobhani/Reuters)

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)