Premier Li Keqiang inquired about medicine prices and government subsidies as he visited the village clinic in Taipingzhuang village, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on Thursday afternoon. Photo by Liu Zhen / China News Service

"I can spend the saved time to visit patients. Some of them cannot come all the way to me, because they live too far away," he said.

The elder Meng, 62, still visits patients in the village by traveling from door to door, as he did when he was an amateur doctor.

The Mengs' clinic sits in the center of Taipingzhuang village of Ongniud Banner in the eastern Inner Mongolian autonomous region, which is known for vast territory but sparse population.

Facing a stretch of bare land with neither grass nor buildings, the clinic is divided into four areas: outpatient services, intravenous infusion, gynecology checkups and pharmacy.

The clinic is still the only medical service provider in the village, which has more than 2,300 residents living in six scattered neighborhoods.

"Although your clinic is cramped, you are working on a huge project that concerns the health of the people," Li said. "You are the loyal guard of people's health."