A rural doctor from Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, has earned much praise from the public after offering medical assistance to impoverished locals for over a decade.
Zhong Jing, 36, left Guiyang, the capital city of the province in 2008 to open a clinic in the backward Longhe Village, Zhenfeng County, after she took a trip to her husband's workplace and saw local residents having many difficulties getting treatment there.
The remote and impoverished village lacked in basic medical equipment and practitioners, resulting in locals having to travel to far-off County Hospital for basic treatment.
Diseases such as rheumatism, pediatric diseases, and even colds posed a serious threat to their health.
"In 2008, I witnessed a family break up after the wife suffered infertility due to a gynecologic inflammation," said Zhong. "This incident affected me a great deal and prompted me to open a clinic in the village."
Her idea was rejected by her own family members at first.
In a move to persuade them to support her, Zhong said: "People in the village lead a tough life now, so I want to do something to help them."
She then entrusted her daughter to her mother-in-law in Chongqing, and opened a clinic in Longhe with her savings of some 20,000 yuan.
At the beginning, patients doubted her ability to treat them, so they often refused to buy medicines after her consultation.
To win more trust, Zhong gave small amounts of medicine to them for free, promising that she would not charge them if the drugs proved ineffective.
She also took special trips to the homes of locals to publicize medical knowledge.
Soon afterwards, Zhong became popular among the villagers, and many patients came to her for medical assistance.
In 2009, Zhong's husband was dispatched to work in another city, which put her in a dilemma: Should she stay longer or leave with her husband?
On hearing the news, many villagers went to Zhong's home, begging her to stay. Seeing their eagerness, Zhong decided not to leave.
Zhong often treats patients' illnesses starting from 7:20 a.m., and sometimes received well over 100 patients in a single day.
"Zhong is good at everything," said Long Changyun, who has been suffering from rheumatism for many years. "I spent thousands of yuan for treatment in bigger hospitals, but the symptoms remain. After taking medicines prescribed by Zhong, I feel much better."
To ease patients' financial burden, Zhong tries every means to reduce their expenses on medicine and eliminates part of the fees for so-called "empty-nest seniors".
Villagers often chat with her and send her vegetables, glutinous rice cakes, and steamed rice as gifts. Children in the village regularly address her as "aunty" to show her respect.
"I sometimes feel sorry for my family, because I nearly have no time to look after them now," said Zhong.
"However, I still decided to stay in the village and cure diseases for patients, as I view this as the way to realize my value," she added.
Over the past several years, Zhong has also rallied support from all circles of the society to help villagers to alleviate poverty and set up their own businesses.
Zhong was awarded the Chinese Physician Prize on August 19, China's first Medical Workers' Day.
"I am proud of being a rural doctor. Protecting people from diseases is my responsibility," she said in the interview.