Zhong Zhaohui (2nd L) and Qu Haiwang (3rd L) listen to the story of a copter crew headed by Senior Colonel Qiu Guanghua while visiting a quake memorial hall in Yingxiu Town, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 8, 2023. Zhong Zhaohui and Qu Haiwang are medical staff from the affiliated hospitals of Peking University. In 2008, they came to Sichuan and participated in the treatment and transfer of the wounded as members of the first batch of medics who rushed to the disaster area after the Wenchuan earthquake.
Fifteen years after the 8-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan, Zhong Zhaohui and Qu Haiwang came back to Wenchuan County at the invitation of local government, paid tributes to earthquake ruins and visited earthquake memorial halls. They also communicated with local primary-level medical workers and jointly provided free clinical treatments for local residents. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)
CHENGDU, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Fifteen years after the 8-magnitude earthquake hit southwest China's Sichuan Province in 2008, Qu Haiwang, one of the medics who rushed to the disaster area, returned to the then epicenter Wenchuan County to meet with the boy she had rescued.
On Tuesday, without much grief and lamentation, Qu, the 54-year-old nurse of Peking University First Hospital in Beijing, was glad to see Bai Lexiao, the then 13-year-old quake survivor, has grown into a sturdy adult who is now even taller than she is.
But their memory on the deadly disaster was still vivid.
It was May 12, 2008 when the fatal quake hit Wenchuan, killing nearly 70,000 people and leaving nearly 18,000 missing. Bai, who was a junior school freshmen in Muyu Middle School, Qingchuan County, Guangyuan City of Sichuan, lost his left arm in the disaster.
On Bai's way to a hospital in Chengdu, the provincial capital, Qu was the nurse in charge of his transfer. "Xiaoxiao (a friendly way of addressing of Bai) was almost the same age as my own child. Despite losing his left arm at such a young age, he was so tough and optimistic. His spirit has continued to encourage me even till today," Qu recalled.
Qu offered the heavily injured boy an ice cream bar on the ambulance as it was a blistering hot day. Having been lying on the bed for days, Bai felt relieved thanks to the icy gift. Qu left her name and working unit in the boy's palm, so that Bai may be able to find her one day -- a likely reunion became their secret promise.
After Bai graduated from high school, his father once took him to Qu's hospital for medical treatment. But that encounter by chance can hardly be called a reunion.
This time, Qu revisited Wenchuan County for an on-site clinic trip, providing voluntary medical service for locals in Shuimo Township of Wenchuan. The trip made their formal reunion possible, 15 years after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake.
After a warm hug, the two old friends strolled leisurely along the streets of Shuimo ancient town, chatting about their changes in work and hobbies over the years.
"Now, my dear Xiaoxiao is working in the cross-border e-commerce sector. He has a girlfriend now and he is still very cheerful and optimistic. I feel so relieved," said Qu.
She is about to retire next year, but the medic will not forget about the warm welcome she received in Wenchuan during the trip and vows to come back after retirement.
"The same kind of Bai's spirit can be spotted everywhere in Sichuan -- Toughness, optimism and passion. All the people, no matter acquaintances or strangers, greeted us with great thankfulness," she said.
"They have never forgotten their gratitude to the medics who had helped them in the disaster. Though for me, all I had done was my duty," Qu added. ■
Zhong Zhaohui takes pictures of the scenery in Shuimo Town of Wenchuan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 9, 2023. Zhong Zhaohui and Qu Haiwang are medical staff from the affiliated hospitals of Peking University. In 2008, they came to Sichuan and participated in the treatment and transfer of the wounded as members of the first batch of medics who rushed to the disaster area after the Wenchuan earthquake.
Fifteen years after the 8-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan, Zhong Zhaohui and Qu Haiwang came back to Wenchuan County at the invitation of local government, paid tributes to earthquake ruins and visited earthquake memorial halls. They also communicated with local primary-level medical workers and jointly provided free clinical treatments for local residents. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)
Qu Haiwang (R) and Zhong Zhaohui take pictures of the scenery in Yingxiu Town of Wenchuan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 8, 2023. Zhong Zhaohui and Qu Haiwang are medical staff from the affiliated hospitals of Peking University. In 2008, they came to Sichuan and participated in the treatment and transfer of the wounded as members of the first batch of medics who rushed to the disaster area after the Wenchuan earthquake.
Fifteen years after the 8-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan, Zhong Zhaohui and Qu Haiwang came back to Wenchuan County at the invitation of local government, paid tributes to earthquake ruins and visited earthquake memorial halls. They also communicated with local primary-level medical workers and jointly provided free clinical treatments for local residents. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)
Qu Haiwang and Zhong Zhaohui (R) visit a quake memorial hall in Yingxiu Town of Wenchuan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 8, 2023. Zhong Zhaohui and Qu Haiwang are medical staff from the affiliated hospitals of Peking University. In 2008, they came to Sichuan and participated in the treatment and transfer of the wounded as members of the first batch of medics who rushed to the disaster area after the Wenchuan earthquake.
Fifteen years after the 8-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan, Zhong Zhaohui and Qu Haiwang came back to Wenchuan County at the invitation of local government, paid tributes to earthquake ruins and visited earthquake memorial halls. They also communicated with local primary-level medical workers and jointly provided free clinical treatments for local residents. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)
Qu Haiwang (1st L) and Zhong Zhaohui (2nd L) mourn for victims who died in Wenchuan earthquake at the remains of Xuankou Middle School in Yingxiu Town of Wenchuan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 8, 2023. Zhong Zhaohui and Qu Haiwang are medical staff from the affiliated hospitals of Peking University. In 2008, they came to Sichuan and participated in the treatment and transfer of the wounded as members of the first batch of medics who rushed to the disaster area after the Wenchuan earthquake.
Fifteen years after the 8-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan, Zhong Zhaohui and Qu Haiwang came back to Wenchuan County at the invitation of local government, paid tributes to earthquake ruins and visited earthquake memorial halls. They also communicated with local primary-level medical workers and jointly provided free clinical treatments for local residents. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)
This combo photo shows Qu Haiwang (L, front), a nurse of Peking University First Hospital in Beijing, takes care of a patient at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 30, 2008 and Qu Haiwang (1st R) communicates with a nurse at the Wenchuan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Wenchuan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 9, 2023. Zhong Zhaohui and Qu Haiwang are medical staff from the affiliated hospitals of Peking University. In 2008, they came to Sichuan and participated in the treatment and transfer of the wounded as members of the first batch of medics who rushed to the disaster area after the Wenchuan earthquake.
Fifteen years after the 8-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan, Zhong Zhaohui and Qu Haiwang came back to Wenchuan County at the invitation of local government, paid tributes to earthquake ruins and visited earthquake memorial halls. They also communicated with local primary-level medical workers and jointly provided free clinical treatments for local residents. (Xinhua)
This combo photo shows Zhong Zhaohui (R, upper) binds up a wound for a patient in Leigu Town of Beichuan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 20, 2008 and Zhong Zhaohui, a doctor of Peking University People's Hospital, checks the medical report of a patient during free clinical treatments at the Wenchuan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Wenchuan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 9, 2023. Zhong Zhaohui and Qu Haiwang are medical staff from the affiliated hospitals of Peking University. In 2008, they came to Sichuan and participated in the treatment and transfer of the wounded as members of the first batch of medics who rushed to the disaster area after the Wenchuan earthquake.
Fifteen years after the 8-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan, Zhong Zhaohui and Qu Haiwang came back to Wenchuan County at the invitation of local government, paid tributes to earthquake ruins and visited earthquake memorial halls. They also communicated with local primary-level medical workers and jointly provided free clinical treatments for local residents. (Xinhua)
Qu Haiwang (3rd R), a nurse of Peking University First Hospital in Beijing, checks emergency medicines at an emergency room of the Wenchuan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Wenchuan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)
A narrator sheds tears and holds hands with Qu Haiwang (R) after knowing Qu was one of the medics who rushed to the disaster area 15 years ago, in Yingxiu Town, Wenchuan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)
Bai Lexiao (R) wipes tears for Qu Haiwang in Shuimo Township of Wenchuan, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)
The upper part of this combo photo shows Bai Lexiao (front) eating an ice cream bar offered by Qu Haiwang (back) on the ambulance to Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. The lower part of this combo photo taken by Wang Xi shows Bai Lexiao and Qu Haiwang (R) posing for a group photo after their reunion in Shuimo Township of Wenchuan, southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 9, 2023. (Xinhua)
This aerial photo taken on May 9, 2023 shows the scenery of Shuimo Township in Wenchuan, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)
