Though he has no hands, that hasn't stopped Zheng Longhua from mastering the art of photography. Zheng, 49, manages his camera using his wrists. The native of Lin'an, Zhejiang province, lost his hands in an accident as an infant. He has been a photographer for about three decades.

Zheng has prepared a photo essay on the outstanding achievements of 100 disabled people. It is on exhibition at the National Library of China until Sept 8. The essay highlights the successes of people who have overcome physical difficulties, including the loss of their legs or hands. It took Zheng three years to complete the project.

Zheng Longhua, whose exhibition is perfectly timed during the Paralympic Games.

"I chose to portray the 'sunny side' of the disabled instead of articulating their physical deformity, though the latter is more sensational," Zheng says. "I want my work to be more encouraging."

He is familiar with each subject's personal story.

Tan Chuanhua is known as Tan Mujiang ("the carpenter") for the beautiful wooden combs he produces; his disability is less well known. He lost his right hand when he was 18.

He has suffered hardship and discrimination, in Zheng's words, as "a man without a hand who could not take care of himself, let alone others". He began producing wooden combs at age 31. Two decades later, his business produces 42 million wooden combs annually, with about 500 chain stores and 1,700 employees, of whom about 300 are disabled.

"Those who believe in miracles can create miracles. I was moved and inspired by them," Zheng says of his subjects.

Yang Hezheng is another individual featured in the photo essay. The 36-year-old was left unable to walk after a childhood ailment, but he has been funding a community reforestation project since 1998.

"Although people laughed at me, saying 'you can't even walk steadily on level ground, let alone climb hills to plant trees', I continue to care for nature. I believe in myself," Yang says.

He raised the money for the project by running an art workshop in Xi'an, Shaanxi province.

"When Zheng came to photograph me, I was shocked. Any photographer has difficulty in catching a fleeting image, let alone a man without hands. I understand the hardship as I'm suffering the same."

Zheng won instant trust from almost all those he interviewed.

"The disabled just understand each other," Zheng says. But that does not mean the path was always smooth. "It's like a pilgrimage full of adversities, but I'm used to the rule that I have to suffer to get anywhere."

Hardship is nothing new to Zheng. He lost his hands as a 1-year-old after he fell into an oven. He has to clasp a spoon between his wrists to eat, or clasp a pencil to write. He has been rejected by universities (despite earning high marks on the national entrance examination) and has been turned down by employers who did not believe a handless man could be useful - he experienced it all.

"It is just because of this that I treasure every job opportunity and devote myself fully to my work," Zheng says.

Zheng got a second-hand camera from a classmate. The then-22-year-old began to manipulate the "intricate machine" with his "bare" wrists and made a living by taking photos for local villagers. He won his first prize in Shanghai with a photo of rural life.

"Photography gave me self-confidence for the first time. I was introverted and cut myself off from the world because it was obvious that I was different," Zheng says. "When other photographers greet me and say 'Hey Zheng, great pictures,' I feel I am one of them, and I can produce good work, too."

Zheng finds the joys he lost to his disability through his photography.

"I'm handicapped, but I'm confident and happy, which could partially be attributed to photography. I get joy in a beautiful scene, and more joy when I capture the image in a photograph. There is a 'third joy' when I see it printed and a fourth when winning a prize."

Photography brought Zheng more than a living; it brought him love.

A young woman saw Zheng on TV in the late 1980s. "I was touched that such an outstanding man was living near me," Wang Caifang recalls.

They met through a friend. She was further attracted to Zheng for "his integrity and responsibility as a man to family and society".

Marrying Zheng, however, took courage, Wang says. She married him against opposition from family and friends.

"The most difficult to overcome is the look in the eyes. Many were wondering what happened to me, marrying a man without hands." For many years, she has worked hard to support her family and her husband's photography. She is the director of a local branch of an insurance company.

"Now the looks in their eyes have changed from looking down upon us to looking equally at us," she says. "His success proves my success."

Wang funded her husband's exhibition with 300,000 yuan ($43,000).

"I believe in what he is doing. Each time when I see him laughing, I know he is doing something right, something that really makes him happy," she says.

Zheng says a man should leave some work of value to the world. "I hope my work can be a mirror. The disabled can achieve so much. Looking into the mirror, we, the healthy included, should be more dedicated to our work and dreams."

His ability to inspire is obvious.

Ge Bin, 18, a deaf-mute student from Beijing's Fourth Deaf-Mute School, says in sign language: "I was very sad before I came to the exhibition, but the pictures touched me. I will treasure every minute in life and work hard."

Pointing to a disabled athlete's expression, he says: "I can feel she is going all out!"

Ge's classmate Liu Jianchao, 19, says in sign language: "My hometown is in Sichuan. After the earthquake in May, many people there became the same as us, disabled. The pictures can encourage them to stand up to the odds in life."

Zheng worked at the Disabled People's Federation in Lin'an, Zhejiang province, for several years and is familiar with the struggles and attitudes of the disabled.

Society is increasingly friendly to the disabled and efforts have been made to end discrimination at work and in educational environments.

"But there is still much to do. Much of China's population is having a better life, but many of the disabled are struggling for food and clothing.

"Some want a job instead of sitting idle, waiting for subsidies, but they can't get enough work opportunities," Zheng says.

"Most of the disabled are people like me who work hard with dignity and rely on themselves to make a living," he says.

"The disabled need spiritual support most. A fatal defeat for them is to lose self-confidence."

(China Daily 09/09/2008 page20)