With financial support from China Railway Pearl Investment Group, Xue Yu founded Pearl Humanitarian Rescue in 2015.

The 28-year-old entrepreneur, who was born in Rizhao, Shandong province, spent 10 years in Australia and the United States before resettling in China with his family to pursue a career as an investor.

His rescue team was the first to reach the epicenter of the earthquake in Nepal last year. To date, PHR is the only international NGO rescue entity in China, with about 40 management staff and more than 700 contracted hospitals.