There are just about 2,000 snub-nosed monkeys left in the wild. They live in a tiny part of a forest in China's Yunnan Province - one of the last unspoiled regions left in a country where wilderness is fast disappearing.

In 1993 Xi Zhinong was a photographer for the forestry bureau who'd been assigned to record wildlife for government documentaries. Xi captured the first photographs ever taken of the snub-nosed monkey.

These monkeys live at a higher elevation than any other primate on Earth.

Most Chinese had never seen a snub-nosed monkey, and the photos became a sensation.

Logging interests in China's Yunnan province were destroying the limited habitat of the rare snub-nosed monkey. Xi Zhinong's photos of the rare animal helped sound the alarm.

"No one knew there was a kind of monkey who has red lips and pink face like us humans," Xi Zhinong told CBS News' Seth Doane. "When they first saw these pictures, they were like, 'Wow, how can we sit and watch these cute animals go extinct?'"

After the photos were published and gained international attention, Xi told Seth Doane, "Their fate was changed."

There was a public outcry, and the government listened. The snub-nosed monkey became a species as protected as the panda.

It was a victory that many say signaled a turning point: The birth of the conservation movement in China.

During his career Xi Zhinong has not only photographed endangered species and threatened habitats, but also documented wide-scale poaching of animals, spreading the word about environmental and species protection.

He has also inspired a new generation of wildlife photographers and videographers.

25-year-old wildlife photographer Jacky Poon was born in Hong Kong and studied in England. His parents wanted him to focus on math, physics, or business. But his focus changed when he came across the work of Xi Zhinong.

"His passion of filming these monkeys is incredible," said Poon. "He went out and lived in the mountains for three years, and saw the monkeys twice! That is some passion there!"

Trying to spot a rare snub-nosed monkey often means enduring grueling conditions and subzero temperatures, only to be disappointed.

"This is a long hike to get up here not to see anything," said Poon.

These female snub-nosed monkeys huddle to keep warm as the temperature drops in the first snowfall, photographed by Jacky Poon at Tacheng Snub-Nosed Monkey National Park, China.

With the effort of the National Park their numbers are more stable than in previous years.