During the fight against COVID-19 last year, more than 40,000 medical workers rushed to Hubei Province from all over China. On March 8, 2020, Wuhan University opened an exclusive green channel, inviting medical workers and their families to visit WHU and enjoy the cherry blossoms. Han Jin, Secretary of the CPC Committee of WHU, and Dou Xiankang, President of WHU, promised the privilege for the next three years.
At 9:00 AM, March 13, 2021, a welcome ceremony themed as “romantic cherry blossoms welcome distinguished guests, hand in hand we fight against COVID-19” was held in front of Zall Stadium. Dou Xiankang, President of WHU, Wu Ping, Xu Yeqin, both vice presidents of WHU, and representatives from 54 medical teams that had assisted Hubei province attended the ceremony.
President Dou expressed gratitude to all the medical workers for their assistance to Hubei Province, which was hardest hit by COVID-19 in China. The special event, which was exclusively arranged for medical workers, offered sincere gratitude to these heroes. More importantly, students of WHU felt deeply affected by the great spirit of the fight against COVID-19, and encouraged to take responsibility for our country.
President Dou Xiankang giving a speech
Professor Shang Dong, Vice President of Leishenshan Hospital and Vice President of The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, used three words to describe his feeling of returning to Wuhan: I’m here today with mixed emotions, gratitude, and appreciation. He said, “All Chinese people worked together last year to fight against the epidemic, and now we get together in this beautiful university to appreciate the spring time cherry blossoms. I’m extremely grateful to all the medical workers, our country leaders, and our great country, without whom we would never resume our normal life quickly.” Professor Zhu Chouwen, Vice President of Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, said no one is a bystander in the pandemic, and everyone is a hero. As a doctor, he is proud of this profession. He said, “The valuable opportunity to appreciate the cherry blossoms in WHU is also a reward for this profession.” At the end of the ceremony, President Dou presented special commemorative badges to the representatives of medical teams.
President Dou Xiankang presenting medics with badges
Data shows that approximately 12,000 medical workers who assisted Hubei province during the pandemic have made an appointment to visit WHU over the weekend.
Huang Jianning, a doctor from The People’s Hospital of Liaoning Province, had worked in the ICU in Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University during the pandemic. What impressed her most was the first night shift in the hospital. She and her colleague were treating 16 severe cases that night. “After getting through the most difficult time, with the increasing number of medical workers and abundant medical supplies, we became more and more confident,” she said. Huang also expressed her thanks to WHU for offering this opportunity to them to appreciate the beautiful cherry blossoms. Bao Guoqing is a doctor from People’s Hospital of Xinjiang. He admitted that before arriving at Wuhan, he was afraid of this unprecedented virus as many people were. However, after wearing the protective clothing and stepping into the unit, he felt the patients’ strong desire for survival. Suddenly, he forgot all the worry and fear, and was completely absorbed in his work.
After the ceremony, medical workers started their “cherry blossom journey” in WHU in the company of volunteers. Around 1,500 students and faculty members volunteered for this special event to provide tour guide services. Volunteer service stations were dotted all around the campus.
Liang is a student from the School of Journalism and Communication of WHU. He took this precious opportunity to serve the medics in WHU. Recalling their faces with goggles under masks last year, what he wanted to do now was to “go along with fighters and serve the dedicators”, just as was printed on the back of the volunteer jacket.
Medics in front of cherry blossoms
WHU will fulfill the commitment in the next two years, and the green channel will be opened exclusively for medical workers during the cherry blossom season.
Photo by Tang Shiqing; Wuhan University News Center
Edited by Qian Wan, Wei Yena, ZhangYilin,
