From Canada to China, millions around the world are preparing for the fateful day of December 21, 2012, which many believe marks the end of a 5,125-year cycle known as the Long Count on the Mayan calendar. As doomsday "preppers" rush to stock their homes with bottled water, food rations, gas masks and weapons for an impending apocalypse, nobody is preparing for the end of the world in Mexico or Guatemala; instead, they're bracing for a tsunami of spiritual visitors.
Mayan doomsday 2012
Photos: Doomsday preparations... and celebrations
20 Dec 2012
Inspired by Hollywood doomsday film ‘2012’ and the 2004 Asian tsunami, Chinese furniture maker Liu Qiyuan has constructed spherical emergency shelters in a village in Langfang, Hebei. Liu believes his structures could save his family from big floods, earthquakes or solar storms. Photo: AFP
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Photo Galleries
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![]( "A girl cries in memory of the ferry disaster as Kowloon Tong Government Primary School marks three minutes of silence on Thursday. Photo: SCMP")
News4 Oct 2012 -
![]( "Chris Bandrowsky, 20, of Denver, dressed in red, white and blue, gives the thumbs up while having his picture taken at DebateFest at the University of Denver on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012, before the first presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Photo: AP")
Photos4 Oct 2012 -
![]( "2012: Daniel Craig as James Bond in the latest James Bond film, \"Skyfall\". Photo: AP")
James Bond4 Oct 2012 -
![]( "A model holds the historical \"Archduke Joseph\" diamond on October 3, 2012 during a Christie's auction preview in Geneva. Photo: AFP/Fabrice Coffrini")
Photos4 Oct 2012 -
![]( "Police and firefighters observe a minute of silence before a press conference in Sheung Wan. Photo: Sam Tsang")
Photos3 Oct 2012 -
![]( "Relatives perform a Taoist ritual for the dead on a boat in waters off Lamma Island after two boats collided and killed at least 38 on October 1, 2012. Photo: SCMP/Sam Tsang")
Photos3 Oct 2012 -
![]( "Relatives of the victims throw paper money into the sea on October 2 after a fatal boat collision near Lamma Island, Hong Kong. Photo: AP")
Photos2 Oct 2012 -
![]( "A tourist bus, seen through the window of another vehicle, catches fire after crashing with a truck on the Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu Expressway in Tianjin October 1, 2012. Photo: Reuters")
Photos1 Oct 2012 -
![]( "October 31, 2012")
Comment1 Oct 2012
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