346 Teams of Angels in White, 346 Teams Reluctant to Part2020.06.22

You arrived in Wuhan in the most difficult times. It was sleeting, and it was a time when the coronavirus was more rampant than the freezing wind. Now when the Battle of Wuhan is on the verge of triumph and spring has come, you will say goodbye bringing back with you the deep friendship cherished in the hearts of Wuhan people.

Thank you, all the members of the 346 medical teams to Hubei!

To bid farewell in songs

Starting from the New Year’s Eve on January 24, 2020, medical teams from different provinces, centrally-administered municipalities, and autonomous regions have successively rushed to aid Wuhan. Over the following two months, 40,000 medical workers from 346 medical teams to Hubei would come to fight side by side with the local medical workers, forging a profound fraternal friendship. In the moment of parting, words and emotions are expressed in songs.

“The waves rising and falling are like a sea of crowd. How much I’m missing you! I’m so sad that I can’t say goodbye!” On March 20, 2020, when Guangdong medical team bid farewell to Wuhan, the team members were singing Alan Tam’s “I Can’t Say Goodbye” while waving the national flag. Their homesickness and a feeling of reluctance to leave were merged into the song.

“I will take your face to heart and cherish the feelings you brought me. These days will always be stored in my heart.” As they said goodbye to Xianning, Yunnan medical team held up a streamer which read, “Xianning, I love you,” and sang Chang Chenyue’s “Farewell.” Before the bus started, their eyes were filled with tears.

“Let our smiles be filled with the pride of youth; let us look forward to a better future.” As they bid farewell, the seventh batch of medical teams from Anhui Province sang “Tomorrow Will Be Better” together with the volunteers from Wuhan. The song best conveyed their blessings to the heroic city and the heroic people: With your protection, Wuhan will be better tomorrow!

“I can’t be separated from my motherland for a moment. Wherever I go, I will sing a song of praise.” Before their departure, the third batch of medical teams from Shanghai sang passionately “My Motherland and I” at Tianhe Airport. Shanghai and Hubei are nourished by the same river and they would stand together in sharing joys and sorrows.

“The five-star red flag fluttering in the wind, how sonorous the song of victory is.” As they left, the fifth batch of Henan medical team sang “Ode to Our Motherland.” With sweat and tears, we have finally won today’s victory.

These songs will always resonate in the hearts of Wuhan people.

To express sorrows of parting in tears

Even at the moment of departure, many medics may not have expected that they would not be able to hold back their tears and that they’d feel so reluctant to part.

“Thank you for lending a helping hand in the most difficult times. You’re the heroes who saved the world. You’re all super heroes!” said Zhang Dingyu, president of Jinyintan Hospital in tears as he saw off the Fujian medical team. When Jinyintan Hospital was overwhelmed with patients, medical workers from more than ten provinces and cities across the country fought side by side and brought the number of patients in serious condition down to zero.

“We’re leaving now and you will shoulder more burdens, so you must take good care of yourselves!” When Shanghai medical team was about to leave and saw the colleagues of Wuhan Third Hospital who came to send them off, they could not hold back their tears and embraced each other. They exchanged protective suits with signatures of all the medical staff of the two hospitals.

Yesterday, when the last medical team from Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) departed, Zhang Shuyang, secretary of the Party Committee of PUMCH, and Wu Jing, secretary of the Party Committee of Wuhan Tongji Hospital, embraced tightly with tears in their eyes. Wu Jing said, “You have played a crucial role in helping treat the patients and you are the backbone of the medical teams. For more than two months, you have fully demonstrated that your hospital was one of the best hospitals in China. You came up with many ideas and methods to treat the patients and save their lives. You have turned impossible into possible.”

To express thanks in gifts

Small gifts, great appreciation. When they set off on their way home, the medical teams have received many special gifts.

Gifts such as Hankow Er Chang Soda, Wuhan University Cherry Blossom Bookmarks, and instant hot and dry noodles, were presented by a volunteer association named “Moon Alliance for Killing the Virus” to the Health 100 Medical Team. This association, with more than 50 motorcades and over 1,000 members, was established at the end of January, 2020, undertaking such tasks as meal delivery, personnel transportation, material handling and targeted donations. At the parting moment, they hoped to present these Wuhan-featured gifts to remind them of the unforgettable time in Wuhan.

When leaving Wuhan, Qiu Xiaolin of the Fifth People’s Hospital of Hainan Province brought a cherry blossom painting, a gift from Yang Qian, a volunteer and also professional painter in Wuhan. The two met on the first day when Hainan medical team arrived in Wuhan. They stayed in the same hotel and helped each other. When the cherry blossoms were in bloom in Wuhan, Hainan medical team was not able to see the beautiful scene. Before they left, Yang Qian went to the Cherry Blossom Park at the East Lake in the rain to finish the painting and hurried to the hotel to give it to them, thanking them for protecting Wuhan regardless of the risks.

In order to catch the plane, Shandong medical team in Huanggang set off at around 8 o’clock on the morning of March 21, 2020. To their surprise, before they got on the bus, the volunteers brought them boiled eggs, still warm in their hands. Wang Li from the Second People’s Hospital of Dezhou City, Shandong Province was touched and said, “They say it’s a local custom to eat boiled eggs for good luck and to drive the disaster away.” People in Huanggang, the old revolutionary base, were treating them in the same way as they had seen off the Red Army.

To send off in emotions

“I was there when the first batch of medical teams arrived, and now I am sending off the last ones. It feels good to witness both the beginning and the ending.” At the farewell ceremony of the seventh batch of medical teams from Jiangsu Province, Tu Wenbing stood on a large stone pier and took a selfie with all the team members. Tu Wenbing is a bus driver of the 8th Transportation Company of Hubei Passenger Transport Group. He had been picking up personnel since the first medical teams arrived in Wuhan. Every time he bid farewell to the medical teams, he would take a group photo with them. The photos in his cell phone are mostly about the medical teams.

On March 17, 2020, when the first medical teams departed from Wuhan, a volunteer dressed as Pikachu, the famous Japanese cartoon character, showed up. He wouldn’t tell his name to us, “Just call me Wuhan citizen.” In later days, there were more and more cosplay figures, such as Baymax, Doraemon, and SpongeBob appearing. They expressed their gratitude to the medical teams through various images.

At Tianhe Airport, every time the medical team departed, the airport SWAT police team would line up to send them off. Among them, the most popular member is the trained police dog, who has become the star and appeared most frequently in the pictures.

Our country is safe and sound, so we’ll definitely meet each other again.

Thank you for fighting for Wuhan!

Translation: Qing Run, Special Focus

Text by Chen Qian & Liu Dingwei Photos by Qu Yan & Liu Zhongcan