Journey with a purpose

It's easy to spot hiker Xiao Yue on the road, with the small white board proclaiming "feminist hiker - from Beijing to Guangzhou" on her backpack. Without any transportation, she has been on her feet since she started this excursion in September, a campaign against sexual assault in schools in China.

"Women should have freedom, the freedom not to be sexually violated and to do what we want to do. We should strive for that on our own. I want to change the society with my action, even if only for a bit," says 24-year-old Xiao, who is better known as Xiao Meili, her online name.

With an art design degree from a university in Beijing, she has been drawing media attention in recent years with activities to promote gender equality. On Valentine's Day in 2012, she wore a bloody wedding dress with two other young women and walked around Beijing's tourist street at Qianmen to raise awareness against domestic violence.