Medicine for the masses

Village doctor and NPC deputy devotes her life to helping improve the health of people in remote rural areas, Wang Ru in Beijing and Li Yingqing in Kunming report.

Having worked as a village doctor for nearly two decades, Yang Lianying, a 44-year-old deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, stands out as a voice for her profession.

As one of the doctors in Henan village in the Honghe Hani and Yi autonomous prefecture in Yunnan province, Yang is responsible for 1,950 permanent residents, and checks their health regularly, registers their conditions, and informs them of issues like preventive injections and pregnancy examinations.

"My biggest hope is that villagers are healthy," says Yang, who has been an NPC deputy since 2018 and who has won praise from her community for her hard work and perseverance.

Born in Mengzi, Yunnan, in 1980, Yang was a farmer for many years before she began to receive medical training in 2005 in the hopes of making a better living.