Xie Guanfu is not a typical craftsman. He had a leg amputated in his 20s after suffering from bone inflammation. Undeterred, the now 35-year-old Xie from east China’s Jiangxi Province is now earning a living making bamboo crafts. /VCG Photo

Treating Xie’s disease left his impoverished family in debt. However, the iron-willed man started his bamboo business to ease their financial burden after being equipped with an artificial leg. /VCG Photo

Xie occasionally used his hands to make bamboo baskets and cages. From collecting the raw material in person and carrying it back, Xie initially earned 30 yuan (4 US dollars) a day by making two of these bamboo handicrafts. /VCG Photo

As Xie’s business grew, he was honored as a model this March for lifting his family out of poverty in his county. China lifted 12.89 million rural people out of poverty in 2017 as it progresses toward its target of eradicating poverty, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. /VCG Photo