World Press Photo Awards 2017 – Daily Life – Third Prize, Singles – Matthieu Paley, for National Geographic Magazine: China’s Wild West

An Uyghur woman carries money in her stockings, a common practice. Uygur women, while Muslim, typically do not adhere to the conservative dress code that women in neighboring countries follow. On this train from Kashgar, you see a lesser known side of China. Most of the passengers are Uygur, a Chinese minority who live mostly in the west. One of the longest train journeys in the world – 2,910 miles (4,683 kilometers) – runs across China from Hong Kong to Urumqi, made up of 18 wagons, traveling over 160 kilometers per hour, and taking over five hours to complete its journey. China is transformed with every mile, from verdant jungle and arid steppe to the Taklamakan desert, the second largest shifting-sand desert in the world in the Southern branch of the Silk Road, China. Matthieu Paley, for National Geographic Magazine/Courtesy of World Press Photo Foundation/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ON WORLD PRESS PHOTO ONLY. NO RESALES. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO CROPPING