In this Week in Photos, China’s cinemas reopen as virus-control restrictions ease; heavy floods damage thousands of homes in Anhui province; and China launches its first independent Mars exploration mission.

People watch the launch of China’s Tianwen-1 Mars mission at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, July 23, 2020. Yu Jun for Sixth Tone

Tourists enjoy a night at a water park in Tianjin, July 23, 2020. Tong Yu/CNS/People Visual

Audience members watch a film on the first day movie theaters were permitted to reopen nationwide since the coronavirus outbreak, Beijing, July 24, 2020. People Visual

A woman stands in her flooded kitchen, Lu’an, Anhui province, July 22, 2020. People Visual

A man calls family members to tell them he’s safe as rescuers transfer him from a flooded area in Chaohu, Anhui province, July 23, 2020. People Visual

A pod of short-finned pilot whales in the South China Sea, July 20, 2020. Xinhua