Emilio Gonzalez from Venezuela poses during the Cali Tattoo Festival in Cali, Colombia, September 12, 2015. (Photo by Jaime Saldarriaga/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)

Revellers perform during the “Salsodromo”, the kick-off of the music and cultural festival Feria de Cali (Cali Fair) in Cali, Colombia, on December 25, 2021. The “Salsodromo”, an event in which more than 2,500 revellers and salsa music dancers perform along a kilometre-long stripe, marks the start of the Feria de Cali festival every year. (Photo by Paola Mafla/AFP Photo)

A grey-bellied Night Monkey (Aotus Lemurinus) plays with a teddy bear at the veterinary clinic of the Cali Zoo in Cali, Colombia on January 27, 2020. They monkey is being raised by personnel of the Cali Zoo after a worker found it near the complex. Apparently it fall from a tree with his father who had health problems. (Photo by Luis Robayo/AFP Photo)

A woman in a wedding gown walks to a mass wedding ceremony, held 17 male inmates, in the Carcel Villa Hermosa prison in Cali, Colombia, August 19, 2016. (Photo by Jaime Saldarriaga/Reuters)

A salsa dancer performs in the “Salsodromo” parade, which marks the start of the Fair of Cali, Colombia, December 25, 2015. Picture taken December 25, 2015. (Photo by Jaime Saldarriaga/Reuters)

Ali Carter of England looks on during the match against Stuart Bingham of England during the 2011 China Open at Beijing University Students Gymnasium on March 30, 2011 in Beijing, China.

A grey-bellied Night Monkey (Aotus Lemurinus) plays with a teddy bear at the veterinary clinic of the Cali Zoo in Cali, Colombia on January 27, 2020. They monkey is being raised by personnel of the Cali Zoo after a worker found it near the complex. Apparently it fall from a tree with his father who had health problems. (Photo by Luis Robayo/AFP Photo)