Help that is 'more spiritual than material'

Donating to charity is not a novelty in China. Some 2,300 years ago, Chinese philosopher Mencius said that a man should contribute to society when he is well off and able to do so.

The tradition was lost in the pursuit of personal wealth in the newly introduced market economy. The increasing income disparity woke up many of the newly wealthy beneficiaries of China's reform and open economic policies.

It is against this backdrop that Xu Yongguang's Project Hope came to the fore. Since 1989, the initiative under China Youth Development Foundation has raised more than 5.7 billion yuan ($838 million), built more than 15,000 Hope primary schools and assisted at least 3 million children with their schooling.