Liu Xiaoxi poses with residents on her trip to Peru.[LIU XIAOXI/CHINA DAILY]

"The years in which I worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs broadened my horizons and opened the world up for me," Liu said. "But I also got to realize that there are many other possibilities in life that are worth trying."

The seeds for Liu's photographic passion were implanted in her mind much earlier－when she was an exchange student in Cuba during her senior year at college.

She was deeply impressed by Cuba and the Caribbean island nation's cheerful people, which motivated her to photograph them.