Premier Li pays surprise visit to cramped village clinic

Premeir Li Keqiang talked to Meng Qinghu (left) and Meng Xiansen (right) in the clinic at Taipingzhuang village, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on Thursday afternoon. Photo by Huang Jingwen/Xinhua

Meng Qinghu, who has sat in his small village clinic waiting for patients every day for more than 10 years, ushered in an unexpected visitor on Thursday.

Premier Li Keqiang paid a surprise visit to the remote clinic in Taipingzhuang village of Ongniud Banner during his trip to the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The dimly-lit room instantly looked crowded when the premier walked in.

"Do you charge extra fees when selling medicines to villagers? Does the government subsidy provide enough for you to support the clinic?" Li asked as he looked around the place of about 35 square meters.

The clinic is run by Meng and his father, Meng Xiansen. The father set up the small clinic in 1991, and his son joined him after graduating from a local hygiene school.

The younger Meng, an authorized village doctor, said his clinic receives government funding of about 20,000 yuan ($3,200) a year.

He is also able to procure medicines by making phone calls, and local government will deliver the medicines to him in one or two days, saving both time and money so he can commute between downtown Chifeng to the village — a distance of almost 80 kilometers.