Shanghai Daily News

After three months of voluntary medical service in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Wang Yanxiong was so moved by the experience that he donated 20 sets of bedding to the hospital in which he served.

The retired Shanghai bone surgeon had initially come to Baicheng People's Hospital as a volunteer through the "Silver Hair Action" group.

The faculty and patients of the remote hospital were equally moved by the visiting surgeon's presence that they gave him an elaborate send off when he departed for Akesu Airport. The president of the hospital even traveled with him to the airport 110 kilometers away.

Wang, who previously served at Zhabei District Central Hospital, called the program a "love bridge" connecting people in Shanghai and Xinjiang. Recognizing its importance, he volunteered his medical services to help the hospital in the country's remote far west.

Wang said he learned from a newspaper that the "Silver Hair Action" group was looking for retired doctors to provide aid in Xinjiang. Supported by his wife and daughter, he volunteered without hesitation. Two days later he was in Baicheng People's Hospital.

The unusually dry climate of southern Xinjiang resulted in cuts to Wang's feet. In spite of that, the 65-year-old devoted his experience to the poor Xinjiang patients.

From July to October 2003, he worked in the remote area for three months. After enjoying the experience so much, the following year he returned for four months giving itinerant medical treatment to local herdsmen.

With his fellow medics, he walked for nearly two days over the desolate Gobi desert to treat herdsmen living in remote grasslands. With limited facilities, he was very conservative in his treatments. Once he even rushed into an operating theater and stopped a bone operation before it started. Later, he cured the patient without surgery.

"I'm very happy when I see patients get cured with minimal pain," Wang said. "I just did what is duty-bound for a Chinese citizen."

During his two Silver Hair tours of duty, Wang treated more than 1,000 local patients and conducted more than 20 difficult bone surgeries. He also trained more than 100 local medical workers. For their gratitude, the locals sent him a set of Mongolian clothing, considered a supreme honor in Xinjiang.

"The gap between East and West is obvious in China," Wang said. "Everybody should devote his energy to the development of the West, no matter how big or small. The Western regions are in need of us."

For Wang, Xinjiang was not the first time that he had used his expertise outside of his native Shanghai.

In 1992, he was part of an 11-man medical aid team that travelled to Morocco to provide medicine and medical services to the North African country. During his time there, he began to realize the true importance of his unique skills and that he needed to give something back to cure patients in poor remote areas where medical facilities were most lacking.

During his two years in Morocco, he didn't go home once. All that mattered to him was the health condition of his patients. As he was representing China, he and his fellow medics left a great impression on the Moroccans.

Wang initially started to study medicine in 1961 when he entered the Fourth Military Medical University of the People's Liberation Army. After six years of hard work, he become a doctor in a hospital of PLA and later at Zhabei District Central Hospital.

"The happiest moments about being a doctor are when I meet with stubborn cases, conquer their difficulties one after another, and finally, cure the patients," said Wang, excited by such memories.

Although it has been one year since he was last in Xinjiang, Wang still receives calls and letters from his former patients out west. Without pursuing fame or money, his devotion to medical services in remote areas has provided a true example of the love Shanghai people have for those less fortunate.