Pan Yuanxiang, an entrepreneur who can only walk on all fours, recently won an award in recognition of her successful entrepreneurship in "agriculture, farming and rural areas.” She led dozens of rural households to start their own business, and their beef cattle breeding business has now brought in 5 million RMB.

Life was never kind to Pan. She is disabled due to a disease she contracted when she was just 3 years old, and she spent most of her childhood locked in her room. A big fire almost took her life when she was 5; because of this accident, she learned how to walk with the aid of her hands, and started doing basic housework.

Although things started to look up when she turned 23, her first startup went belly up in 2006, and her husband left her just before their baby was born. Nevertheless, Pan seized the opportunity to start breeding cattle for beef in 2012.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, female entrepreneurs account for less than 2 percent of all successful entrepreneurs that emerged last year. As a woman with a disability, Pan faced even tougher odds.

At the awards ceremony, Pan moved the audience with her perseverance and optimism.