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)

Visitors pose for pictures under blooming cherry blossoms at a botanical garden in Nanjing, capital of China’s eastern Jiangsu province on March 15, 2019. (Photo by Reuters/China Stringer Network)

Filipinos wade through floodwaters along a road in Manila, Philippines, 22 August 2025. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on 22 August raised its alert level and warned residents of flooding in low-lying areas and landslides in mountainous communities brought by a storm. The government weather bureau said a Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal Number 01 is raised over 17 areas due to Tropical Depression “Isang”, which made landfall over the Aurora province. (Photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA)

A Filipino teacher checks a picture of a student shown on a tablet that is attached to robot during a graduation ceremony at a school in Taguig City, Philippines, 22 May 2020. At least 179 high school students received their diploma during an online graduation ceremony that was beamed live on Facebook as a measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and COVID-19 disease. (Photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA/EFE)

A jet ski is seen in Praia do Norte, Nazare, Portugal on January 9, 2023. (Photo by Pedro Nunes/Reuters)

People hold umbrellas as they walk past a flooded street in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China, July 19, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

Barber Herman Mulyana (R) gives a haircut to a customer while wearing protective attire made from plastic garbage bags at a barbershop in Bogor, Indonesia, 06 April 2020. The Trade Ministry of Indonesia issued a regulation temporarily recinding all requirements for the import of protective gear and medical equipment, to counter shortages of many items used to treat COVID-19 patients and prevent the further spread of the disease. (Photo by Adi Weda/EPA/EFE)

An Afghan vendor selling birds to be kept as pets wait for customers in his shop in Kabul on December 11, 2021. (Photo by Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP Photo)