the sacred Meoto Iwa off the coast of Futami, Japan
JapanSunset paints the sacred Meoto Iwa (“wedded rocks”) in pastel hues. Bound by heavy rice-straw ropes, the two stacks off the coast of Futami—Izanagi (left) and Izanami—symbolize the Shinto deities said to have created Japan.
PHOTO: DAVIDE LENA
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Visions

Phenomenal photos of the world’s wonders

Published March 1, 2016
2 min read
a blooming tree in Hami, China, covered in ice from an April cold snap
ChinaFrigid meets florid in a garden in Hami, where a blooming tree, watered the night before, dangles ice during a two-day cold snap in April. This cold-tolerant species will survive to bloom next year, but the plunge damaged many crops in the area.
PHOTO: STR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
North Korean students in Sinuiju performing a dance routine for Chinese tourists
North KoreaYoung pupils in Sinuiju perform a dance routine for a group of Chinese tourists. The border town—separated from Dandong, China, by the Yalu River—has long been open to its neighbors. It began admitting some Western tourists in 2013.
PHOTO: WANG ZHAO, AFP/GETTY IMAGES
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