Blind farmer faces life head on with a smile

Zhang was born in 1964 in the village of Mawang, Chang'an district of Xi'an city, Shaanxi province. He was diagnosed with congenital glaucoma at birth and darkness accompanied him his entire life.

"Ever since I started to understand my circumstances, I have always been thinking about what I can do to lighten the burden of my family," said Zhang.

From doing manual labor on construction sites to gathering sand at the bottom of river beds, Zhang recounted that he had already done many jobs before he turned ten.

"My father passed away early and it was hard for my mother to raise me by herself. I wanted to make big money so that my mother could live comfortably, but my disability affects my options," said Zhang.