The 2012 Magic Art Special Exhibition Of China is now open at the Hangzhou Peace International Exhibition and Conference Centre of the Chinese city of Hangzhou.

Photo: Visitors poses with a 3D painting during a show featuring over 50 such works in China on July 20, 2012. (Photo by Associated Press)

A mahout removes the prosthetic from Motala, age 50, at the Friends of the Asian Elephant (FAE) elephant hospital in the Mae Yao National Reserve August 29, 2011 Lampang,Thailand. Motala lost a foot many years back after stepping on a land mine and now is on her third prosthetic, as they need to be changed according to the weight of the elephant. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

An young exhibitor chases his wayward pig during the Great Yorkshire Show on July 12, 2011 in Harrogate, England. The annual Great Yorkshire Show has attracted a record number of 12,700 livestock entries over the three day event. The show now in its 153rd year is Britain's leading agricultural gathering, where over 125,000 visitors come to celebrate the farming community and their way of life. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Poznań is now Poland's fifth largest city. It is sometimes claimed to be the first capital of the kingdom of Poland. Poznań has many historic buildings and sights. The European Football Championship will take place in Poznan 2012.

Photo by: tiseb ; Source: Flickr

“Izhevsk Machinebuilding Plant (Russian: Ижевский Mашиностроительный Завод) or IZHMASH (ИЖМАШ) is a weapons and motor vehicle manufacturer based in Izhevsk, founded in 1807 at the decree of Tsar Alexander I, and is now one of the largest corporations in its field. It manufactures the famous Kalashnikov series of assault rifle, along with a host of other Russian arms, including medium cannons, missiles, and guided shells”. – Wikipedia. (Photo by Pismoshnaya.ru, 2012)

Born in Russia where he was educated in fine arts from a young age, Rinat Shingareev took an early interest in the subject, for which he showed an affinity and talent. Later moving to Italy to attend the Fine Arts Academy he has been described by Italian Maxim as “one of the most talented artists in the world”. Now based in London Shingareev continues to paint vibrant and thought provoking pieces.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin, actually city tourism employee Michael Boyer, leads local children dressed as rats through a quiet street on November 19, 2012 in Hameln, Germany. The Pied Piper (in German: Der Rattenfaenger), is one of the many stories featured in the collection of fairy tales collected by the Grimm brothers, and the 200th anniversary of the first publication of the stories will take place this coming December 20th. Boyer, a U.S. citizen who has lived in Hameln for 15 years, and city children regularly perform a reenactment of the Pied Piper tale throughout the summer months. The Grimm brothers collected their stories from oral traditions in the region between Frankfurt and Bremen in the early 19th century, and the works include such global classics as Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel. (Photo by Sean Gallup)