When Zhang Renjie visits a new city, the hotel is not his first destination. Instead, he looks for homeless people. He can remember the names of the homeless he has met in every city he has visited.

Zhang has provided food and bedding to more than 180,000 rough sleepers since 2006. Six years down the line, those he has helped are still extremely excited when they meet him again and say it's just like being reunited with a family member.

The 30-year-old operates a charity website "Owe China", soliciting donations for the needy. More than 16,000 poverty-stricken people, whose stories have been published online, have received financial support.

In 2011 alone, about 200 million yuan ($31 million) was collected.

The website acts as a bridge between donors and beneficiaries and Zhang earns nothing for his hard work.

His persistence and dedication have made him "almost homeless" too. He stays in cheap rooms, at friends' homes or even in the open air.

A backpack, containing a digital camera and his ID card, is all he carries.

In 2006, Zhang started the website from a shabby 3-square-meter room in Beijing's Haidian district. The room was divided by a wooden board, with Zhang living in one half and working in the other on a second-hand computer that cost 300 yuan.

Having sold everything he owned in Beijing, Zhang traveled to the provinces of Qinghai, Hubei and Sichuan to provide help for the homeless and penniless students.

He is currently in Qinghai, raising funds for Tibetan vagrants. The poor phone reception on the provincial plateau means he is rarely able to talk to family members or friends.

"He is always looking for ways to find people who are in need of financial support," said Bao Hongbei, 40, the website's only full-time volunteer.

Every day, Zhang walks roughly 20 km, seeking out the homeless. He writes up their stories and takes pictures to upload onto the website.

Last year, he was nominated for a national charity award, but declined the offer.

Instead he asked, "Can you reward me with another five years so that I can visit more places and help more homeless people and penniless students?"

huyongqi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/06/2012 page6)