Master with apprentice

Since Yang began working at the village's health center, she has been shadowing her medical master, 70-year-old village doctor Pei Guangxin.

Unlike Yang, Pei experienced more ups and downs while pursuing his career. He did not have the chance to receive professional medical training when he started his career about 50 years ago. Instead, he was a teacher at a local school.

Back then, sick people were miserable. Without medicine or doctors, patients with minor diseases tried to recover by themselves while those with serious symptoms waited to die, Pei recalled.

Having witnessed the plight of villagers when they got sick, he decided to take a three-month training course to become a barefoot doctor in 1969. The training was part of a nationwide campaign to train rural healthcare providers with basic medical and paramedical skills.

Practicing while learning, Pei took advantage of all opportunities to improve his medical skills, from participating in short-term training courses to seeking guidance from nearby doctors with good reputations.

He found that he was quite gifted and gradually gained a good reputation among the villagers.

In the 1980s, many village doctors quit because the meager pay was not enough to make a living or support a family. For a long time, Pei was the only doctor for five villages.

"It was a hard time then," he recalled. "There were no weekends, no holidays. Whenever patients needed me, I had to come. Disease never waits."

Pei had a few apprentices, but most of them left－some for financial reasons, and others because they could not stand the lonely lives they led in the village. Some joined big hospitals in the county while others changed their profession.

As he grew older, he was quite worried about having no successor.

Then Yang arrived.

Pei spoke highly of Yang, saying she was a "responsible and diligent pupil". He also recognized her professional knowledge.

"She received professional Western medical training, and I am good at traditional Chinese medicine," he explained. "The combination allows us to provide better healthcare services to villagers."

Yang respects Pei, calling him "master". Pei is experienced in making proper diagnoses and has a profound knowledge of TCM. He also knows the patients well.

Shadowing Pei, Yang learned how to talk to villagers without using professional language and just focusing on simple facts.

Zhang Yang, a fresh graduate from the village doctor program, said he sees Yang as a role model and envies her success.

Zhang, 23, joined the health center in the neighboring village of Baiyanping, his hometown, in the summer.

He said he has faced some questions from villagers because of his young age and relative inexperience. They see him as a boy in the neighborhood instead of a doctor they can trust.

"I will earn their trust. Time will tell," he said.

Zhang is sorting out the villagers' health archives and plans to visit their homes. He said it feels different from being at school.

"Real patients are very different from textbooks," he said.

Yang and Zhang are two of just a few young people working in the villages deep in the mountains. Many young villagers choose to relocate to cities as migrant workers.

Neither Yang nor Zhang have significant others. Asked whether they worry about finding a mate because their choices are limited in the village, both said they are focusing on their jobs now.

Yang's days are quite full. Besides her daily work, she is studying for her physician's certificate.

Meanwhile, Zhang has 2,600 villagers to visit and is busy earning their trust.

Though busy, both said they are happy with their lives now.

Zhou Lihua contributed to this story.