Frontier soldiers run as a storm surge hits the coastline under the influence of Typhoon Fitow in Wenling, Zhejiang province, October 6, 2013. China issued a red alert ahead of Typhoon Fitow, which is expected to lash east of the country on Sunday evening. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

“The Nine Emperor Gods Festival is a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of 9th lunar month of the Chinese calendar, which is observed primarily in Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and also the Riau Islands. In Thailand, this festival is called Tesagan Gin Je, the Vegetarian Festival. It is celebrated throughout the entire country, but the festivities are at their height in Phuket, where about 35% of the population is Chinese. It attracts crowds of spectators because of many of the unusual religious rituals that are performed”. – Wikipedia. Photo: A devotee gest pierced at the Bang Neow shrine in Phuket. (Photo by Paula Bronstein)

Dutch artist Maxim Gazendam works on his sand sculpture during the third edition of the European Championship Sand Sculpting 2014 in Zandvoort aan Zee, The Netherlands, 08 August 2014. Eight sculptors from different European countries will each create an impressive sculpture on the main theme “Music and Dance”. (Photo by Remko De Waal/EPA)

A female soldier takes part in a training for women at the Tolemaida Military Air Base in Tolemaida, Colombia, on May 16, 2023. The last time the Colombian Army enlisted women in their ranks was in 1993. Now, 30 years on, more than 1,200 women voluntarily joined the military service in the country. (Photo by Raúl Arboleda/AFP Photo)

Daniel Sanders competes during the fourth stage of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge — a cross-country motorcycle rally — in Al Quaa, United Arab Emirates on February 26, 2025. (Photo by Red Bull Media/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Attendants wait for visitors to the the exhibition entitled “Forging Ahead in the New Era”, showing the country's achievements during his past two terms, at the Beijing Exhibition Center in Beijing on October 12, 2022, ahead of the 20th Communist Party Congress meeting. (Photo by Noel Celis/AFP Photo)

A few revellers brave the cold and rain in Leeds, United Kingdom for the friday night out on December 30, 2022. Brits have kicked off their New Year’s Eve celebrations early with wild nights out up and down the country. (Photo by Nb press ltd)

Meirav Stardinner receives a snake massage from Ada Barak at Barak's snake spa on September 11, 2008 in Talmei Elazar, Israel. Barack's income comes mostly from exhibiting her plants which eat everything from insects to small mammals. She discovered snakes' therapeutic value after letting people hold them after her act “Some people said that holding the snakes made them feel better, relaxed”, she says. “One old lady said it was soothing, like a cold compress”. Now she uses a combination of big snakes for deep massage and little ones for light massage, though all are non-venemous. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)