Doctor Li Suzhi diagnoses a 90-year-old Tibetan, Tsering Lhamo, in the Tibet autonomous region's Shannan prefecture. Provided to China Daily

Li and his team treated more than 5,000 patients and carried out 33 operations at a cost of 200,000 yuan ($32,439).

"Lunar New Year is a good time for us to treat patients in rural areas because most villagers have returned home," he said.

Li is trying to change the attitude of Tibetan villagers that it is not good to see a doctor during festivals, even when they fall ill.

As a result of Li spending his holidays treating patients, he is held in high esteem by the villagers.

"Many Tibetans consider it a great honor to be treated by Li," said Zhang Lijun of the hospital's publicity department. "Li views helping people in rural areas as his mission in life."

When asked why he adopted such a dedicated approach to his work, Li responded with a story.

Three decades ago when he first came to Tibet to work as a doctor, he helped treat an elderly Tibetan woman called Dadron who had rheumatoid arthritis. Dadron had no family, and when he visited her the next year, Li discovered her condition greatly improved.

She presented Li with a khata, a piece of white silk that represents purity or gratitude, and an apple, which was an expensive gift in the 1980s. As Dadron made the presentation, tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Dadron's tears and the apple became the main driving force behind helping rural patients," he said. "Whenever I make trips to other provinces, I always miss Tibet, especially its people," he said.

Apart from saving thousands lives in Tibet with hands-on treatment, Li's medical research has resulted in overcoming two medical challenges - the prevention of acute plateau disease and treating youngsters born with heart disease.

The recovery time of acute plateau disease has been reduced from seven to 10 days to within 24 hours, and incidence of this disease has dropped from 60 percent in the 1980s to 2 percent. The rate of cure is 99 percent.

Li's free treatment has seen 3,400 Tibetan children recover from heart disease, according to the hospital.

In 2013 , he was awarded the title of "Good military doctor of the snow land" by the Central Military Commission.

Contact the writer at palden_nyima@chinadaily.com.cn.