Written by: Xiong Congru Pan Ying
Posted on: April 24, 2018 | 
| 中文
Dr. Li Binran and Abuduweli working on Emad
In a white building near Urumqi International Airport, soft music is playing, green indoor ornamental plants are placed near doors, books are lying around, aromatic coffee can be smelt in the air, and two foreign friends are talking in a low voice. This is not a hotel, but a clinic.
Emad, a Saudi Arabian student who has been studying in Xinjiang for the last five years, is visiting his dentist. He remembers how once he went to a hospital for his sore throat, and the doctor there couldn’t understand what he was saying. Even though he changed his language from Arabic to English, and then tried to explain his problem through his body language, he was unsuccessful. When he is at this clinic, all his troubles go away.
The clinic became operational three years ago. Li Bingran, a South Korean dentist who graduated from Department of Prosthodontics in CHOSUN University, started his medical career in Xinjiang in 2011. Together with doctors from USA and Singapore, he serves foreign patients. Small as the clinic is, it receives more than 700 patients every year. Dr. Li skillfully uses the imported dental facilities, and he is very proud of the dental camera, which has undergone several modifications carried out by him. The photos from the camera can be conveniently displayed on the screen of the oral disease therapy instrument.
Since China has stepped up “opening westward,” more and more international cooperation projects have settled in Xinjiang. Dr. Li’s clinic offers health services for more than ten German employees and their family members. The Germans work at Shanghai Volkswagen (Xinjiang) Co. Ltd, which is about 10kms from the clinic, located in the Urumqi Economic and Technological Development Zone.
“Our clinical operations and ways of treatment are similar to those in foreign countries, and there is no language obstacle here. Foreign patients feel much more at ease and it’s convenient for them,” said Qiu Shihong, an American general practitioner, who has a medical degree from Brown University.
Dressed in a white shirt and a tie, Qiu Shihong says, “The white clinic gown can make patients feel nervous, and thus I think it is unnecessary to wear it.” When there are no patients for treatment here at the clinic, he usually discusses his cases with doctors in Xinjiang or other areas.
Last year, Mike, who was working in Xining of Qinghai province, suffered from a finger fracture in a car accident. Local doctors advised a longer operation time at a cost of 20,000 Yuan. Qiu Shihong, after being requested, contacted professional doctors online, and proposed a new treatment plan with a doctor from People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, who had studied in Holland. The physicians in Xining accepted his advice, and shortened the operation time, reducing the cost to only 6000 Yuan.
For the past six years, foreign doctors from the clinic have not only learnt to offer medical services in English, but also learnt minority languages from their Xinjiang friends. There are two photos on the book shelf of Li Bingran’s office. One is of his family members sitting in a Kazakh yurt, wearing Kazakh hats. Another photo is of a handsome young man wearing a cap and a gown, and this young man is his assistant Abuduwaili.
Three years ago, after graduating from Department of Stomatology in Xinjiang Medical University, Abuduwaili came to the clinic as an assistant to Li Bingran. “Here I can learn internationally advanced prosthodontics techniques, while working with foreign doctors. I hope I can independently offer my services to patients, after I finish my internship this year.”
Hu Yidi, a medical graduate from the same university, is also an assistant of Dr. Li Bingran. Last year, he came to this international clinic from Zhejiang, and he hopes to, “learn advanced foreign medical concepts through the experiences of foreign patients here.” He is planning on opening his own dentistry, in his hometown.
The people at the small international clinic are like a big family. Together, they celebrate Christmas and Thanksgiving here, as well as traditional Chinese festivals such as Spring Festival and Dragon Boat Festival. On the occasion of Corban, the ethnic minority members will invite others to visit their family, and celebrate the festival together.
Huang Weidong, the founder of this international clinic says that not only are they meeting the demands of foreigners, but they also act as a platform for medical cooperation along the “One Belt and One Road.”
As the “One Belt and One Road” initiative continues to be implemented, there are more than 30 hospitals offering international medical service in Urumqi. In addition to this, over 10 hospitals have established cross-border telemedicine cooperative relations, with more than 20 hospitals in Central Asia.
All photography by Wang Fei.
Translated by Xin Yuan
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