The Ring of Life is a 515-foot (approximately 157 meters) landmark built in the city of Fushun, China. The landmark is built with an observation deck accessible by elevator, as well as 12,000 LED lights. Having abandoned local entertainment projects due to the small local population, urban planners settled on building a sightseeing landmark instead in order to attract a tourist industry to the region. The structure uses approximately 3,000 tons of steel and cost an estimated $16M U.S. dollars.

“Old Mursi woman”. Old woman by the huts of her village. Location: Marenke, Omo valley, Ethiopia. (Photo and caption by Jorge Fernandez/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

“Sokolica”. Sokolica, Poland. (Photo and caption by Marcin Kęsek/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

“Say cheese”. Cheetahs jumped on the vehicle of tourists in Masai Mara national park, Kenya. (Photo and caption by Yanai Bonneh/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

“Cub”. In the colony of penguins in South Georgia. (Photo and caption by Ondrej Zaruba/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

“Alice in Waterland” is a beautiful series of photographs re-imagining the Lewis Carroll classic underwater. It’s a creation of photographer Elena Kalis, who lives on a small island in The Bahamas, surrounded, she says, “by pristine clear warm water. Underwater is where I spend a lot of time; snorkeling, diving, photographing. It is fascinating how the world changes down below: light, sound, gravity and proportions are different from what we are used to”. (Photo by Elena Kalis)

Bouboule, an English bulldog rests in its hotel room at Actuel Dogs on April 19, 2011 in Vincennes, France. Opened in November 2010 by Devi and Stan Burun, Actuel Dogs is a five-star luxury hotel for dogs with four single rooms and two suites. With the aim of meeting the dogs' needs, the hotel offers activities including doggy walks, doggy rando (hiking), doggy jogs, doggy velo (running next to a bike) and other services such as dog massage. The hotel also caters to the needs of people living in small appartments or who don't have the time to walk their dogs. (Photo by Franck Prevel/Getty Images)

Jane Howorth from national charity the British Hen Welfare Trust holds Liberty the last ex-battery hen to be rehomed on December 29, 2011 in Chulmleigh, England. The rehoming of Liberty signifies the end of the small battery hen cage, which has been phased out and replaced by enriched cages in preparation of the European Union directive banning the smaller cages from January 1, 2012. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)