Uhas Sulayman poses for a photo at his health service center in Karabura Town, Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 16, 2026. Uhas Sulayman is a household name among herders in Yumin County in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Now 71, he continues to provide free medical services to local residents, calling himself "a doctor who never retires."
Uhas began working in the pastoral area after graduating from a medical school in 1975 at the age of 20. Although he could have taken a position in a town with better living conditions, he volunteered to serve herders at the foot of the Barlik Mountain, where medical workers were in short supply.
For decades, Uhas traveled on horseback with a medical kit, making home calls to herders scattered across the mountain grasslands. He braved bitter winters, swarms of insects, blizzards and rugged mountain terrain, sometimes continuing on foot when even his horse could go no farther.
Over the years, he has recorded more than 100,000 patient visits, saved thousands of critically ill patients and delivered more than 3,200 babies.
After retiring from the hospital in 2015, Uhas rested for only a few days before returning to work. "I could not leave the herders behind," he said. He later opened a health service center.
In 2023, he launched a volunteer health program. The initiative now has 350 volunteers and has organized more than 1,500 health education sessions.
His lifelong commitment to rural healthcare has inspired a new generation of medical workers. Today, more than 20 medical workers from the local hospital in Yumin County regularly travel to remote communities to provide medicines and medical care, carrying forward the work Uhas began more than half a century ago. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
Uhas Sulayman (C) and Erjan Kukan (R) communicate with a herder at a summer pasture in the Barlik Mountain in Jiyek Town, Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 17, 2026. After Uhas retired, Erjan has continued working at a medical outpost in the mountain. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
Uhas Sulayman (R) provides a herder with a free medical consultation at a summer pasture in the Barlik Mountain in Jiyek Town, Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 17, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
Uhas Sulayman provides a resident with a free medical consultation at his health service center in Karabura Town, Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
Uhas Sulayman (L) and Erjan Kukan communicate at a summer pasture in the Barlik Mountain in Jiyek Town, Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 17, 2026. After Uhas retired, Erjan has continued working at a medical outpost in the mountain. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
Uhas Sulayman is pictured at a summer pasture in the Barlik Mountain in Jiyek Town, Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 17, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
This combo photo shows a portrait of Uhas Sulayman (L) at a summer pasture in the Barlik Mountain in Jiyek Town, Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on June 17, 2026, and Uhas at the beginning of his medical career (undated file photo copied on June 15, 2026). (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
Uhas Sulayman provides a patient with a free medical consultation at his health service center in Karabura Town, Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
Uhas Sulayman communicates with a herder he once treated at his health service center in Karabura Town, Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
This combo photo shows Uhas Sulayman leading a horse at a medical outpost in the Barlik Mountain, with a wooden building constructed in the 1970s for medical staff behind him (top, undated file photo copied on June 15, 2026), and an aerial view of the outpost equipped with additional facilities on June 18, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
Uhas Sulayman communicates with a herder at a summer pasture in the Barlik Mountain in Jiyek Town, Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 17, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
Uhas Sulayman provides a resident with a free medical consultation at a community in Karabura Town, Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
Uhas Sulayman is pictured with a horse at a summer pasture in the Barlik Mountain in Jiyek Town, Yumin County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 17, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
This photo taken on June 15, 2026 shows the medical kit and herding whip once used by Uhas Sulayman. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
