Cutting through harsh geographical conditions at lofty elevations, the 2,115-kilometer-long State Highway No 318 is considered the most beautiful yet most dangerous road in China for travelers driving to Tibet, as it winds around 21 mountains and crosses 14 major rivers.

 

Yet the doctors and nurses at a military clinic in Zhamo, Bome county, have made a difference and won hearts along the highway that reaches altitudes of 4,000 meters.

 

"Although we make everyone count in dealing with sickness here, we have to admit that medical conditions are very poor here in Tibet," said the 54-year-old head of the clinic, Cui Shuhua, who has worked in Zhamo for 10 years. "The most we can do in the clinic is carry out appendicitis operations. There is no blood bank in the whole of Nyingchi prefecture."

 

Established in 1983, the military clinic belongs to a transport regiment of the Chengdu Military Area Command. With 13 doctors and four nurses, the rather small clinic has eight departments, including internal medicine, surgery, gynecology and urology.

 

"Before the clinic was founded, people could only go to mountebanks or resign themselves to their fate when they got sick," said Wan Yonggang, an official from the local civil affairs bureau.

 

Currently, 46 people live in the nursing home in Bome county, with hypertension and heart disease among the most common diseases.

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