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)

Claudionor Jose de Deus, wearing a Santa Claus costume, arrives at Santa Rosa community to distribute presents to children, on the shores of the Amazon River in rural Manaus, Brazil, December 19, 2015. Jose de Deus is part of a volunteer group that distributes toys to children from poor neighborhoods and riverside communities that are distant from the city. (Photo by Bruno Kelly/Reuters)

Nihon University professor and head of Nihon University Animal Medical Center Kazuya Edamura, 49, points to cat photos on a computer screen, which are used to train the AI of “CatsMe!”, an AI-driven smartphone application jointly developed by tech startup Carelogy and researchers at Nihon University that purports to tell when a cat is feeling pain, as he gives a lecture to students on diagnosing pain in cats, at the medical center in Fujisawa, south of Tokyo, Japan on June 11, 2024. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)

An Armed Police dog with vermillion on its forehead and marigold garland placed around its neck looks on during an event to mark the Hindu festival Tihar, at the Armed Police Dog Training School in Kathmandu on November 12, 2023. Dogs in Nepal were decked with marigold garlands and bright vermillion paint on November 12 to celebrate a day dedicated to them as part of a Hindu festival. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)

Brazilian singer Anitta performs during the “Ensaios de Anitta” show, an event that is part of a pre-carnival tour that makes its way through several Brazilian cities, paying tribute to a samba school in each performance at the Jockey Club of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 21 January 2024. Anitta only performs this time of year in her country and said that experiencing a carnival is the best way to get to know the Brazilian people because all the energy of its people is concentrated on a single topic. (Photo by Andre Coelho/EPA/EFE)

Yeshiva School students briefly dance on Grant Street after the menorah lighting outside of the City-County Building for the fifth night of Hanukkah, Thursday, December 26, 2019, in downtown Pittsburgh. (Photo by Alexandra Wimley/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP Photo)

A municipality worker in a protective suit feeds street cats at Sultanahmet Square, as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Istanbul, Turkey, April 9, 2020. (Photo by Umit Bektas/Reuters)

Santa Claus reacts as (L) Tami McEleney and (R) Patrice Conner whisper in his ear at the King of Prussia Mall, United States' largest retail shopping space, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, U.S., December 8, 2018. (Photo by Mark Makela/Reuters)