Qinghai-Tibet Plateau hails a doctor's legendary stride

From Shanghai, a booming coastal metropolis, to Maqu, a remote county on the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Wang Wanqing, a medical graduate, has made a legendary stride through his unremitting devotion of more than four decades to the cause of health care on the plateau.

Dressed in an indigo cotton-padded overcoat, Wang, 77, was reading medical literature in a shabby cottage built in the 1990s. "My time is running out. But I still can do some sorting and collections for the reference of other doctors," he said.

When Wang first came to the county in 1969, little did he know that he would stay there for more than 50 years, let alone winning national recognition for his service to the grassroots people.

Back then, many rural areas had inadequate medical services and supplies. To alter the situation, the Chinese government attached great importance to medical undertakings in rural areas, and encouraged medical personnel to work in remote rural areas.

Shanghai-born Wang was among the first batch of medical graduates from prestigious universities who volunteered to work in rural China. "I would go wherever my country needed me," he said.

After days of bumpy rides on train, coach and even carriage, Wang reached Awancang Township in Maqu County, northwest Gansu Province. At that time, most of the residents were herders, living sparsely in the 1,500-square-kilometer township.

When Wang stepped into the health center, the only medical establishment in the township, he was astonished to see the poor working conditions. Two adobe rooms – one for receiving patients and another a dormitory – a blood pressure gauge, and an echometer were all that it had.

The first night at Awancang was tough. Being at an average altitude of about 3,700 meters, and the strong wind howling outside the dormitory affected his health. He suffered from altitude sickness and could not fall asleep.

Xinhua

Being a doctor in the countryside was also not easy. "I had to handle all kinds of diseases. What I had learned at the university was far from enough," he said.

One day, a 10-year-old Tibetan boy named Nam was brought to the health center with his belly punctured by an ox. Wang sensed it was a difficult and risky operation. He stayed calm and decided to try his best to save the boy.

With two desks as an operating table, and a flashlight and a lamp bulb as an astral lamp, Wang performed the operation in that shabby adobe room. After two grueling hours, Wang finished the operation; he was soaking wet.

The news of how a doctor from Shanghai had saved Nam spread across the township, and Wang won the trust of local herders.

In 1971, Wang married a local Tibetan girl, another tireless health-care worker in Awancang.

To 49-year-old Wang Tuansheng, Wang's eldest son, his father is quite complex. "Sometimes, I feel very close to him. He taught me everything, and I was influenced by his personality. But other times, I feel distanced from him, since he used to be busy and did not spend much time with us."

When graduating from a medical university in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, Wang Tuansheng faced the same choice as his father: being a doctor in a big city, or returning to his hometown Maqu.

Wang Tuansheng decided to walk in his father's footsteps. After serving in his hometown for 20 years, he is now the director of Maqu County Hospital.

Wang Wanqing sometimes misses Shanghai. Seeing the Yellow River, China's second-longest river, flowing through the quiet county, he fondly reminisces about the sound of waves and steam whistles in his hometown.

"If I had a second life, I would make the same decision without any hesitation," he said.