A winter swimmer jumps into a pool in the frozen Songhua River during an activity for welcoming the Chinese New Year on January 30, 2022 in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province of China. (Photo by Liu Yang/VCG via Getty Images)

Aerial view of villagers drying chili peppers at a rural cooperative on August 21, 2024 in Bozhou, Anhui Province of China. (Photo by Yang Zhongqin/VCG via Getty Images)

Hunched at his desk and staring intently at the blackboard, Hu Yang looks like any other industrious schoolboy. But this ordinary eight-year-old finds himself in a unique position. He is the only pupil to attend his elementary school in, Fujian Province, China.

A man walks with his dog riding on a scooter across a square on August 9, 2022 in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province of China. (Photo by Yang Bo/China News Service via Getty Images)

Revelers participate in J'Ouvert, an overnight celebration the night before the West Indies Day Parade in Brooklyn, NY on September 3, 2018. Violence in past years led NYPD to shut down the parade route until 2am. (Photo by Stephen Yang)

A woman sits next to a dog during the fifth edition of the “Mi Mascota” (My Pet) fair in Malaga, southern Spain, November 27, 2016. (Photo by Jon Nazca/Reuters)

A traffic police officer directs traffic in Mohe City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, December 29, 2019. Temperatures in Mohe, “north pole” of China, often stand at below minus 40 degrees Celsius in winter mornings. Photo by Yang Siqi/Xinhua News Agency/Alamy Live News)

Folk artists perform intangible culture heritage items during a celebration at a park in Chengshan Town to welcome Chinese new year, on Janaury 18, 2022 in Rongcheng, Shandong Province of China. (Photo by Yang Zhili/VCG via Getty Images)