Life after Zanzibar

During her three years in Tanzania, African hospitality impressed Sun continuously. People in Zanzibar who ran into her and her colleagues on the street would greet them in Chinese. Their patient care was also widely praised, and many people came to Zanzibar explicitly to see the doctors. "When we were about to leave, many people came to see us off," Sun says. "One of the African nurses gave me a big water ladle made from coconut shell as a souvenir to symbolize our friendship."

The medical team returned to China on January 15, 1972. Sun went back to Jingjiang People's Hospital and worked as the head nurse in its internal medicine department. With the skills she gained in Tanzania, she led her team to win various awards. Later, Sun learned how to run electrocardiograms and ultrasonography procedures, cementing her value in the hospital. She was ultimately appointed as Jingjiang's vice president.

Today, Sun is retired – except she still insists on working in Jingjiang's outpatient clinic. It's common to see her, now an elderly 80 years old, treating patients with ultrasonography. "My sense of responsibility has not changed," she says. "My pursuit, my belief in and my love for my patients has not changed. I have to work for the patients."

Sun is just happy to know her granddaughter is working in Africa, and that her affection for the continent has been passed down to another generation.