Doctor Li Suzhi leads a medical team visiting the SOS children's village in Lhasa on Children's Day in 2014. Provided to China Daily

A life dedicated to treating the people of rural Tibet stems from patient's gift 30 years ago

Most Chinese people regard Lunar New Year as a time of family reunion, but Li Suzhi spent his time treating patients in rural areas of the Tibet autonomous region.

"Doing one good thing is easy, but to keep doing good things throughout one's whole life is difficult," said Li, the president of the General Hospital of the Tibetan Military Area Command.

"Instead of spending my spare time with hobbies such as fishing or photography, as other people do, I find treating patients in rural areas a more meaningful pursuit," he said.

Li was born in 1954 in Shandong province and graduated from Shanghai's Second Military Medical University in 1976.

His classmates and family advised him against working in a remote area. A popular saying at the time he was studying at university was, "We can go anywhere but not Xin Xi Lan".

"Xin Xi Lan refers to the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, and China's northwest city of Lanzhou," he said.

Li chose Tibet and, after working in the region for 38 years, now considers it as home. To people in the rural areas, he is regarded as a highly skilled doctor. His colleagues think he is a workaholic.

Li, on the other hand, considers himself just a simple doctor and good Party member.

On the first day of Lunar New Year, Li traveled to Shannan prefecture in a convoy of seven vehicles carrying equipment and 35 medical workers from his mobile hospital team.

He spent the next 12 days working in hospitals in the prefecture's two counties. It was the 124th such visit since the mobile hospital project started in 2006.