After driving for a whole day, Wu Xiusheng, a taxi driver in Laiwu, Shandong province, drives a severe uremia patient home.

"I'm on duty driving her home today. I am a member of the taxi volunteer team," Wu says.

The team is made up of more than a dozen taxi drivers. They're known as Love Taxi Team because they have been voluntarily driving patient Tian Jinrong to hospital over the past six years.

After driving for a whole day, Wu Xiusheng, a taxi driver in Laiwu, Shandong province, drives a severe uremia patient home.

"Their free ride means a lot to us," says Gao Mingsheng, Tian's husband.

Since Tian was diagnosed in March 2006, Gao has been the household's only breadwinner. He works at a construction site and farms at home but these jobs barely cover Tian's medical expenses.

"Their help has eased our financial pressure and we feel that we are being cared for by society," says Gao.

The taxi drivers are also active in fundraising, calling for Laiwu residents to donate money to the family. More than 80,000 yuan ($12,408) has been collected to date.

The Love Taxi Team have been praised by local authorities.

The taxi drivers' good deeds have been praised by local authorities.

"In our dialect, Laiwu sounds like love. Everyone should learn from them. We advocate universal love in Laiwu in the hope to build a love city," says Bi Yuhui, director of the Laiwu Publicity Department.

"In building a love city, we've carried out many projects," says Li Guanshan, director at the publicity department of the Gangcheng district in Laiwu.

The E Love Station, a non-profitable on-line and telephone consultancy set exclusively for minors with psychological problems, has helped 34 teenagers.

The Gangcheng district has also opened a microblog called Love Gangcheng. It has attracted more than 745,000 fans, becoming a main tool for spreading the message of love in Laiwu city.

By Ju Chuanjiang and Zhao Ruixue (China Daily Shandong Bureau)

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Tania Lee