The tiger is one of Zhan Dongsheng's favorite subjects in his artistic exploration. [Photo by Xiang Mingchao/China Daily]

In order to make Chinese traditional arts known overseas, Zhan and other Chinese artists showed their skills in the Austrian capital, Vienna, in October.

Born to a poor family, Zhan had a hard life as a child.

"It is self-esteem and persistence that made me become much stronger after being a sufferer of poliomyelitis," he says.

Due to the bad conditions, he did not receive treatment in time, and one of his legs went lame.

In order to support his family, he dropped out of school and became a house painter at the age of 13.

"It is a dark period for me," Zhan says, recalling that he had to get up at 4 am and work all day without rest. He felt a different kind of pain earlier in school, when his lameness was laughed at by other students.

Lacking formal study, Zhan today usually takes photos to observe and record the tigers' poses in the zoo, and he watches the TV show Animal World when tigers are featured.

"Nothing is impossible for a willing mind," he says. "Especially for the disabled, we are also eager to be respected."