As it can take up to six or seven hours by car to go to a village, when Li and his colleagues go on these trips, they usually spend a week or two in the village and offer medical services to the locals despite the limited medical infrastructure and accommodation.

Among Zogang's total 144 healthcare facilities, the vast majority are village clinics, and there is only one county-level hospital and 10 health centers.

Even the county-level hospital lacks medical workers and specialized departments, so, although Li specializes in pulmonary and critical care medicine, he often has to work as a general practitioner with limited equipment.

In one recent case, the patient suffered from a severe pneumothorax, and might have needed to be transferred to a hospital in another province for surgical treatment.

However, to relieve the patient's pain and prevent urgent complications from developing, Li crafted a makeshift apparatus using an intravenous injection bottle, tubes and a balloon, to remove the excess air. To their delight, the patient's condition significantly improved after four days of careful treatment.

"I chose to come here because I want to contribute to the best of my ability. This is of course within the constraints of available facilities, but we can still teach the local medical practitioners through practical demonstrations. Whenever they can conduct a treatment independently, I feel a sense of reassurance," Li adds.