"In my view, there are no blind children, only children. Blind children are no different to any other, except for their way of seeing the world: we use our eyes, and they use their ears and hands," said Zhang Long, Guo Bin's teacher.

After working as a music teacher at a regular school for 18 years, the 41-year-old volunteered to teach at Wuhan City School for the Blind in 2011, despite opposition from friends and relatives.

"It takes 10 times the effort to teach at a school for the blind," she said. "The children can't see the music score, so you have to teach them one section after another, and help them learn where to press on the instrument, key by key."