While many companies are reluctant to recruit the disabled, Xie Yunliang opens the doors of his companies to them.

"They are not an encumbrance, they are a treasure," said Xie, chairman of the Yizhang Jixing Paper and the Hunan Baijieli Packaging and Printing. "As long as they are placed in the right positions, the disabled can live with dignity and rely on themselves."

Among the first 43 employees Xie recruited, 27 had disabilities. The 58-year-old native of Yizhang county in Central China's Hunan province has recruited more than 1,200 disabled people over the past 20 years. They now make up more than 55 percent of his workforce. The two companies earn more than 200 million yuan ($31 million) a year and pay tax valued at more than 10 million yuan.

Xie, who publicly promised to hire the disabled in 2001, said he believes they have greatly contributed to the development of his companies.

In December, he purchased an additional six-story factory building with floor space of more than 6,000 square meters.

"The new building will not only meet the companies' expansion needs, but also accommodate more disabled employees and provide them with a better working environment," said Xie, who has also set up a training center to teach the disabled work skills.

Xie, a deputy of the Hunan Provincial People's Congress, treats his disabled workers like family members.

Many call him "big brother", or "Brother Xie", instead of "boss".

And employees who insult or discriminate against the disabled workers lose their jobs.

Factory facilities are barrier free, and Xie tries to arrange for employees with mobility difficulties to work on the ground floor.

Zhang Guancai, a disabled employee from Hubei province, arrived in Hunan with only 200 yuan in his pocket after he heard that Xie recruited disabled people.

Unable to find work for four years, Zhang said he had only 26 yuan left when he landed the job. He said that his employer is even kinder to him than his parents and he felt good working in the company.

Deng Zijun, another employee, echoed Zhang's sentiments.

"I could not have found such a good job without Xie," said the 46-year-old, who was injured in an accident in Guangdong province that led to a disability in his left hand in 2016. "When I got home after the accident, I could not find a job," he said.

Deng started working at Baijieli after he was introduced to Xie by a friend in 2017. He has since become a captain of a paperboard production line, earning more than 6,000 yuan a month, allowing him to properly support his family.

With three school-age children, Deng said his family would not have been able to escape poverty without Xie's help.

Born into a poor farming family in a village in Yizhang, Xie was orphaned as a child.

When he graduated from senior high school at 18, he left home to find work outside his hometown, eventually landing jobs as a porter, a construction worker and a salesperson.

After he made his first fortune, he returned to Yizhang. He set up Jixing in 1998 and then Baijieli in 2014. He said his goal was to help local residents escape poverty.

In recognition of his charitable work and the help he has given to the disabled, Xie has been awarded a series of honors and titles, including "Chinese Good Samaritan", "Top Ten Hunan Persons Who Touch the Heart of China" and "National Integrity Star".

Xie has vowed to continue helping the disabled for the rest of his life and hopes that in the future, more people will help and care for the needy.