Thorsten Mowes has a more intimate knowledge of the worlds most famous monuments than perhaps anyone else on the planet – because hes spent his entire career cleaning them. As a cultural cleaning expert with nearly 25 years experience, he has been commissioned to make wonders all over the world shine like new – from the London Eye to Christ the Redeemer. The places he has been to, stood on top of, or even hung halfway down include Mount Rushmore and the Space Needle in America, the London Eye, the Statue of Christ in Brazil and the Forbidden City in China. Here: A man cleans a part of Mount Rushmore. (Photo by Caters News Agency)

Fireworks from Japan light up the sky at the start of the 6th Pyro musical competition Saturday, February 7, 2015 at the Mall of Asia shopping complex at suburban Pasay city south of Manila, Philippines. The fireworks competition, which runs for six consecutive weekends, features entries from 11 countries as host country the Philippines, Canada, United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Brazil, Portugal, China, Mexico, Italy, The Netherlands and Sweden, with Canada winning the championship last year. (Photo by Bullit Marquez/AP Photo)

People run away as a building is toppled during a controlled demolition as part of an urban transformation in Ankara, Turkey, February 3, 2014. (Photo by Serap Doganyigit/Reuters)

In this June 12, 2017 photo, a woman stands in front of a mural on the slope in Central district, Hong Kong. Once known as Victoria after the British queen, Hong Kong island's waterfront formed the core of the British settlement after Hong Kong island was handed over as a colony in 1842. Today as Hong Kong approaches the 20th anniversary of its return to China, it remains a bustling commercial and financial center as well as the location of the main government offices. However, along the streets that angle sharply upward toward the mountains above, a more relaxed pace of life endures. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

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)

A model stands in a light backstage after presenting the collection by Russian designer Alena Akhmadullina at The Russian State Library, one of the three national libraries of Russia, the largest library in the country, largest in Europe, in Moscow, Russia, on Wednesday, November 29, 2023. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

Wang Jiayun, born June 18 1993. Wang’s height is 164cm, her weight 42kg. Wang Jiayun says she was born in Kowloon of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and presently lives in Shenzhen City of Guangdong province in China. Identity: High school student. Wang's large eyes, pale face, perfectly structured nose and extremely slim figure resemble a brand of human-sized blow-up doll popular with Korean men. This cute and s*xy barbie doll look a like is hot property. She recently became the No.1 searched name in the country's top search engine, Naver.com. Photo: Wang Jia Yun (王嘉韻 or 왕지아인). (Photo by Wang Jia Yun)

“The 2008 Sichuan earthquake or the Great Sichuan Earthquake was a deadly earthquake that measured at 8.0 Ms and 7.9 Mw occurred at 14:28:01 CST (06:28 UTC) on Monday, May 12, 2008 in Sichuan province of China, killing an estimated 68,000 people”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A woman cries as she cannot find her 4-year-old daughter and husband on the top of the ruins of a destroyed school in earthquake-hit Beichuan county, Sichuan province, May 17, 2008. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)