The volcanic island of Santorini, or Thera, is the most dramatic of the Cycladic Islands of the central Aegean Sea. Its towns cling to the steep caldera of an ancient volcano, still active today. ‘Santorini’ is an abbreviation for Saint Irini, though many people call it by an alternative name, Thera. This picture shows the cubistic jumble of shops, houses, and hotels spilling down the slope of Oia, a town on the north tip of the main island. All seems unstable and dizzying, but millions visit every year to see the stunning vistas. A few years ago, Chinese couples come started to come here in droves to get married and get their wedding pictures taken. Now thousands come. It’s all part of the new tourist economy. Often they bring along their own Chinese photographers to document every embrace, pose, nuzzle and kiss in front of the backdrops of Santorini’s picturesque whitewashed towns.