A doctor couple in a remote village

Zhai Dalong and Wang Cuihong, a doctor couple, have spent about half of their lives in a remote village in north China's Hebei Province.

Treating at least 30 patients every day, the two 35-year old young doctors open their clinic from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m, and sometimes till 2am.

"We have even treated more than 100 patients in one day," Wang said.

Home visits at night is also a common occurrence. "Sometimes six times a night," she said.

The couple is responsible for medical work in the Shuangweicheng Village and two other surrounding villages, serving more than 1,000 residents, but they are not locals.

In 2003, the two gave up their opportunities working in big cities after graduation and came to Shuangweicheng to be the village doctors.

Remote and sparsely populated, the village had no doctor before the couple came here.

"It was tough at first, but as doctors, we should go wherever we are most needed," Zhai said.

For the past 16 years, they have lent more than 200,000 yuan (US$28,405) of medical fees to elderly and children.

"We don't work for money. One's value should not be measured by money. The villagers' trust and encouragement make me feel that my life is meaningful," Zhai said.

The couple not only treats patients but they have also set up a volunteer team to offer free treatment and medicine as well as provide health knowledge to impoverished villagers. So far, the team has helped tens of thousands of residents.

"We want to raise the villagers' health awareness to help them prevent diseases in advance," Wang said.

The young couple are members of the 1.38 million village doctor team in China, who take care of hundreds of millions of rural residents.

"Village doctors are an important part of the country's medical and health system. We need to overcome tonnes of difficulties when treating patients, including the severe environment and limited medical conditions," Zhang said.

Some doctors have to walk more than a dozen kilometers to deliver medicine to scattered residents. Day and night, we are always on call in case the patients need us, he added.

In recent years, China has stepped up efforts to improve medical conditions in rural areas.

The National Health Commission said in July that the country would ensure all of its rural areas have medical doctors and healthcare institutions by the end of this year.

According to the commission, around 14.35 million poor patients with serious and chronic diseases had received basic treatment and health management services as of the end of June, and the underprivileged patients only needed to pay about 10 percent of their total medical fees on average.

"There are so many people with health needs in China's vast rural areas, calling for more rural doctors," Zhang said. "Doctors don't have to work in big hospitals to realize their value in life."