The Chinese hospital ship is winning friends across the world by providing a wave of free medical services. Ma Zhenhuan reports from Zhoushan, Zhejiang.

Crew members from Peace Ark carry out a rescue drill in the Gulf of Aden in 2010. (JU ZHENHUA / FOR CHINA DAILY)

Five-year-old Damien Maing, from Papua New Guinea, is able to stretch his fingers like any other child, thanks to surgery carried out in July last year by doctors from Peace Ark. The vessel, a floating hospital, is operated by the People's Liberation Army Navy.

It came as a huge relief for Damien's mother, Sharon Ali, who had witnessed her son's distress after his fingers were burned in a fire when he was 4.

"As his fingers were crooked, it worried me and I took him to the local clinic for dressing and treatment in the hope of seeing some improvement, but it didn't happen," she said.

"The burns cleared up, but his fingers were bent and crooked. I didn't want him to stay like that all his life. I felt so worried and hopeless. Now, I'm happy to see my boy move the fingers on his left hand. I'm very grateful to the Chinese medical team on the ship for Mission Harmony 2018. It was a lifetime experience for me and my son."

The hospital ship undertakes another mission in 2018. (JIANG SHAN / FOR CHINA DAILY)

Damien is just one of thousands of patients who have had their ailments cured and their lives put back on track thanks to the free surgeries and treatments provided by the doctors on Peace Ark.

The ship was built especially to provide maritime medical care, with much of its equipment of equal standard to that found in China's top hospitals.

The crew includes some of the country's leading medical experts and professionals: a 120-strong team with expertise in 21 fields, including neurology, gastroenterology, physiotherapy, traditional Chinese medicine, infectious diseases, reconstructive surgery and burns.

The vessel is equipped with 2,666 pieces of advanced medical equipment, such as CT scanners, X-ray machines and air purifiers, while the treatment area covers more than 4,000 square meters. The ship, which was designed domestically and joined the PLA Navy's fleet in 2008, has the capacity to perform eight surgeries at the same time.

A patient boards Peace Ark in Fiji for medical attention in 2014. (JU ZHENHUA / FOR CHINA DAILY)

Missions overseas

Since 2010, the ship has fulfilled nine missions overseas, covering more than 444,400 kilometers and visiting 43 countries and regions across the globe. It has provided free medical services for more than 230,000 people, performed over 1,400 surgeries and helped more than 500 cataract patients regain their sight.

By implementing President Xi Jinping and the Central Military Commission's naval strategy, Peace Ark has successfully completed many Mission Harmony tours, along with a number of joint disaster relief drills and joint military medical exercises, demonstrating the achievements of China's naval transformation and construction.

Peace Ark voyaged overseas for the first time between August and November 2010, sailing to the Gulf of Aden and five Asian and African countries－Djibouti, Kenya, Tanzania, the Seychelles and Bangladesh－to carry out the Mission Harmony 2010 medical service operation.

In Bangladesh, the doctors treated a pregnant woman who had a serious heart condition that local hospitals had not been able to treat effectively. The woman gave birth to a girl who she named Chin, meaning "China".

"She was such a cute girl, with clear skin and big eyes," recalled Liu Xiaomei, who was a translator on Peace Ark at the time.

Now 9 years old, the girl has become a symbol of the friendship between China and Bangladesh, and she always asks her parents to bring her along to visit Chinese naval ships whenever they dock at the port of Chattogram, aka Chittagong, to show her appreciation.

In August 2013 and May 2017, Chin met with her "Chinese moms", Wang Fang and Sheng Ruifang, the nurse and anesthesiologist when she was born, as Wang and Sheng visited Bangladesh with the PLA Navy.

A nurse cuddles a local girl in Bangladesh in 2013. The girl was named Chin, meaning "China", to commemorate her birth on the hospital ship. (JU ZHENHUA / FOR CHINA DAILY)

During Mission Harmony 2018, a team from Peace Ark provided free medical services to residents of Vatulele, a coral island in Fiji, about 100 km from the capital Suva, in August of that year.

During the eight-day goodwill visit, more than 6,500 patients were treated, with the Chinese medical professionals providing everything from basic consultations to surgical procedures.

"It was really unexpected when the Chinese military doctors landed from the sky," said Ratu, a tribal chief on Vatulele, recalling how the team landed in a naval helicopter on a school playground.

"When we learned that our government was arranging for the Chinese doctors to deliver medical services to the island, the villagers danced and sang like they were at a traditional festival."

The medical team used portable ultrasound and electrocardiogram equipment, and deployed specialists in ophthalmology, dentistry, orthopedics, internal medicine and surgery to provide the most-needed services.

Ratu said there are four villages on the island, but there is only one health center, which is manned by a doctor and a nurse.

After the Chinese doctors arrived, the health center became jammed with patients. Local doctor Filomena joined the medical team members to prepare the consultation and treatment site.

A dentist examines a child on the vessel in Jamaica in 2011. (DAI ZONGFENG / FOR CHINA DAILY)

Gratitude

Salote, a 57-year-old islander with long-term diabetes, had a problem with a tooth, which was painful and needed to be extracted. The local doctor had no way of dealing with it because of the patient's excessively high level of blood glucose.

When he learned that the Chinese doctors were offering free treatment, Salote came to the health center early in the morning. After an examination, Chen Tielou, a dentist from Peace Ark, used injections to regulate Salote's blood sugar levels, and then extracted the tooth.

"Thank God－this is the most precious gift," said Salote, who took his tooth home as a memento.

Vasenai, a 63-year-old farmer, walks with difficulty due to osteoarthritis, which severely affects his daily life.

"The Chinese military doctors are really good," he said, after collecting free medicine.

To express their appreciation, some islanders gave the doctors fruit and notes of thanks, while others embraced the medics－a traditional expression of gratitude－and took photos with them.

After the team left on the helicopter, Ratu said: "Peace Ark is really appreciated, and China is really appreciated. You are welcome on Vatulele forever."

Major General Guan Bolin, commander of Mission Harmony 2017, said that in the past nine years, the missions, joint drills and exercises with foreign counterparts have allowed Peace Ark to become the calling card for China's major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, spreading the ideology of peace, development, cooperation and win-win relations.

He added that the missions illustrate the goodwill of the Chinese government and people in working with many countries to build a community with a shared future.

Contact the writer at mazhenhuan@chinadaily.com.cn