However, he hopes to endow the students with the ability to express themselves - and also give them self-confidence and social recognition.

An MBA graduate of Shanghai Jiaotong University with a marketing degree, he had foreseen an ambitious future in business and management. But his encounter with people challenged by autism changed his life. He is now running his NGO full time.

He worked for more than two years as a volunteer helping the special-needs group - people with autism, Down syndrome and other mental disorders and illnesses. Last August, Guo and eight friends working in the field established the NGO to provide art classes to special-needs people.

By February, the organization was offering free weekly painting lessons to 245 people in 14 communities in Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou, with more than 600 paintings being produced each month.

Guo believes that people can express their inner selves through art, and says painting is the easiest art form that special-needs people can master.

"The art class does not focus on painting skills, and there is not any limitation on the colors or content. Instead, the students are encouraged to bravely express themselves," he says.

A crucial part of the art class is sharing. Students are invited to show their work, explain the paintings and answer other students' questions.