China's Shang Chunsong prepares to compete in the uneven bars event of the women's individual all-around final artistic gymnastics competition at the Namdong Gymnasium Club during the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, in this September 23, 2014 file photo. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)

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)

A man is silhouetted as he stands on a walkway in the sky lobby at the Chancellery, the seat of German Chancellor Angela Merkel (not pictured) in Berlin, May 7, 2014. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

A landmark lion statue of a department store placed a protective mask is seen Wednesday, August 12, 2020, in Tokyo. The Japanese capital confirmed more than 200 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)

A tourist is seen at the Caka Salt Lake in Wulan County, northwest China's Qinghai Province, September 4, 2020. (Photo by Zhang Long/Xinhua News Agency)

Gentoo penguins watching Christmas films at the Sea Life London aquarium on November 30, 2020. The attraction has installed two TVs, showing festive films, outside the penguin enclosure to prepare them for the stimulation of guests returning on Wednesday after the UK’s lockdown is lifted. (Photo by Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images)

People play with toy guns outside a bar at night, almost a year after the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei province, China on December 11, 2020. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

Vogue dancer Xiong Daiki, 22, takes a video of his team to promote vogue dancing, almost a year after the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei province, China on December 15, 2020. During lockdown, Daiki, his students and friends practiced at home in their bedrooms, staying in touch by sharing videos of new dance routines. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)