Xie's journey into the impoverished countryside of China was not without obstacles. He had to fund his travels and buy his own equipment himself. And though he had his boss's support, his colleagues thought his idea was ridiculous and dangerous. Some even warned him that the government may not want people to see the "dark side" of the country.

"Big Eyes" - the iconic image of Project Hope [CPA]

But Xie was used to this kind of discouragement. As a factory worker, he had to save up for two months and sell his wife's coats and watch to buy an ordinary camera. At one point, he even donated blood for 75 yuan so he could develop his pictures. His colleagues ridiculed him for taking pictures in his spare time, even as they enjoyed the pictures he took of them. It was a journalist's work to take pictures, not a worker's, they said. This only inspired him to try to become a photojournalist.

He had already won many awards as an amateur photographer, but in 1984 a quarrel with his boss changed his life. An exhibit featuring works of groundbreaking American photographer Robert Adams was in town, and Xie asked for a day off from work to see it. His boss refused him, saying a worker like him needn't pay attention to such cultural things. But Xie realized that his talents could not progress if he was forbidden to practice his love. He ignored his boss and went. Soon after, he became a lecturer at the Culture Publicity Office and quit his factory job.

Xie continued to win awards for his photography but began to find little meaning to his work. His early subjects were those around him: colleagues, friends, his son and wife. But he knew that he would remain an amateur photographer if he only took pictures of his family. If he wanted to become a professional photographer, he still had a long way to go.

"The utilitarianism of winning awards only made my works cater to the taste of visitors," Xie says. "I couldn't find any style that was particular to me." It was then he started photographing rural schools. By March 1991, he had visited and photographed schools in three provinces: Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shaanxi. But there was still a major problem: he lacked a platform to show people what he saw.

A fateful stroll down Wang Fujing Street in 1991 led Xie to Project Hope and catapulted the charity into the public eye - and Xie, as well. Upon seeing a poster for the charity, he knew he had found a place for his work. Project Hope only had slogans at that point and needed something visual, Xie recalls. He soon signed a contract with the CYDF that ensured all of his pictures could be used under the name of Project Hope. Over the next year, he would travel to 28 counties in 12 provinces, visit thousands of students and teachers in mountainous areas, and record what he saw with his camera. His most famous photograph, known as "Big Eyes," became the iconic image of the charity.

As part of the agreement, the CYDF sponsored a solo exhibition for Xie's work from his travels after he returned. Before Xie had finished explaining the story behind each picture in the 40-piece exhibit, donations had started to pour in.

"The donated money was laid on the floor and heaped up like a small hillock," Xie recalls. By the end of that year, Project Hope had raised 120 million yuan - eight times what they received from 1990 to 1991.