An island treasure

"She is truly amazing. Over the years, with her excellent skills, she has offered a great deal of help to us-the elderly and the children particularly. We appreciate her a lot," Song says, who also gifted Wang a silk banner to show his gratitude.

"Wang Hui has been here for more than 10 years, serving the locals of Xiaoqin Island since she was just a young adult. Now everyone in the village treats her as their own daughter," says Wu Chunping, another villager.

"She knows everything about everyone's health, what medicines the elderly are regularly taking. She is always on call, and often goes on home visits, especially for those very old people. We all think very highly of her."

Wang's dedication has won her honors at a national level. In 2019, she was awarded the title of "outstanding college graduate" for her work at the grassroots level, and was granted the honor of "China's doctor of the month" in December 2020.

She says she was surprised upon first hearing about these awards, as she was simply doing her job.

Now, the health center has employed a nurse to help her. She has more equipment at her disposal and patients requiring emergency care can be transported to bigger hospitals by helicopter.

But, for the time being, Wang's life goes on pretty much unchanged. She plans to stay on the island and she hopes that she will be joined occasionally by more experienced doctors, who will come and provide their expertise in the service of the local residents.