The reluctant departure

"If possible, I want to skip the two days of parting," says Xu Xiaochan. Xu expressed her feelings about ending her work in the village on her WeChat, as she muttered, her voice faltering.

Zhang Jianming and Xu are doctors at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In 2019, the couple signed up for the "Health Alleviation of Poverty, Hundred Doctors in Villages" campaign in Anhui province, and brought their 7-year-old daughter to Huangjian township, Xiuning county, Huangshan city. In two years, they undertook medical care and public health services for about 1,400 permanent residents in two remote mountain villages. They established personal health files for the villagers, conducted chronic disease screening and used what they learned to protect the villagers. The couple also cultivated follow-up successors for the village clinic. "I have made my home here, and I belong here. Even if I am not by their side, as long as they need me, I will always be there," Xu says.