[Photo provided to China Daily]

I met him in Milan, at a hotel along the Navigli canals. Shy, passionate and reflective, McCurry presented as an accomplished and insightful artist.

The conversation shifted from his fascination with Asia to his interest in Buddhism. He especially spoke about his enchantment with China and Africa.

"I find the regions of Asia so visually rich," he says.

Born in Philadelphia in 1950, he studied cinematography and theater at Penn State University. When and why did he decide to make photography his career?

"I was 22. Photography was the kind of work that I wanted to do," he says, recalling the exact moment he made that decision.

"I was walking around on a street in Philadelphia, and photographing life and kind of relaxing, kind of meditating and doing something I thought was pleasurable ... photographing some bicycles, children and side-walkers."

He launched his international career in 1978.

"The year I quit my job as a staff photographer at a newspaper in my hometown, Philadelphia, to buy a couple of hundred rolls of film and a one-way plane ticket to India."

A member of Magnum Photos, he is a regular contributor to many international journals, including National Geographic, whose June 1985 issue was graced by McCurry's iconic cover shot, Afghan girl, the portrait of young Sharbat Gula taken in a refugee camp in Pakistan.