Putting his life on the line

On May 2, 2019, Liu seemed to have forgotten all his health troubles when overseeing the formal launch of the Jiashi county's urban and rural drinking water safety project, with 1.75 billion yuan ($271.43 million) investment from the State.

"The faster we finish the project, the earlier people can drink healthy water, and one day earlier is also one step closer to winning the battle against poverty," Liu would say in a bid to encouraging himself and others.

To ensure that pipelines were laid properly, he often had to walk 20 to 30 km a day. While finding pipeline problems at Yoltograk village, he ordered that the whole line be re-laid.

At that time, the whole country roared ahead with its poverty alleviation effort. It turned out that Jiashi and Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province were home to the nation's remaining groups of people-25,000 in all-still troubled by substandard drinking water. Among them, Jiashi county had 4,044 households and around 15,300 people.

In early 2020, when he should have been heading to hospital, Liu made camp inside the main water plant instead.

However, the COVID-19 outbreak prevented construction crew from returning and resuming work on Feb 10 as scheduled. Liu patiently called the construction teams and workers one by one. But most of the answers were: "Sorry, I am in home isolation."

"No matter how daunting the difficulties are, we need to find a way to adjust the plan to ensure that the project is completed on schedule," Liu would say.

"He kept in touch with technicians in Kashgar," recalls Osman Rahman, a former driver for Liu. "We welcomed people from one community after another and kept sending them to the site." Liu's diligence and persistence paid off as construction resumed in March.

But he had to skip proper treatment time and again, and even "suspended chemotherapy for five months," says Rahman. However, one after another, problems with the project were solved.

One day in April 2020, when fixing some equipment at a main water plant, his mobile phone rang. "Hu, when are you coming home?" His father asked with some hesitation.

"I've been busy lately, and I'll be home when the expected water arrives," he told his father before hanging up.

Three days later, his mother called and said his father missed him, and Liu promised to visit them after the glacier water arrived. His wife Song Guirong also called and asked him to visit his sick father.