What is Lifeline Express China?

This is an organisation that runs custom-built trains providing free eye operations to people in China. It's China's first mobile charity eye hospital, and has helped hundreds of thousands of people since it was set up in 1997.

Where have you heard about Lifeline Express China?

It doesn't have a high profile in the UK, but the scheme was designed to replicate the success of the Lifeline Express created in India by the Impact India Foundation.

What you need to know about Lifeline Express China.

The trains provide cataract operations for people in poor rural areas. The idea came about when the Impact India Foundation visited China in an effort to gain funding in 1996. A group of philanthropists raised the money to set up the first eye train, which began its journey in the summer of 2007. There are now four trains running, which treat 13,000 patients per year. Their operating costs are funded by public donations. In 2006, Lifeline Express also started a new project to build solar hot water systems in rural schools.