Doctor wants improved countryside healthcare

Village doctor Zhou Songbo treasures a pile of medical records almost two meters high in his clinic in a village in Zhuozhou, Hebei province, where he has worked for more than 32 years.

The 59-year-old has gained fame for his charity, as he allows patients unable to pay their medical fees to write IOUs. He said he has accumulated 2,100 IOUs totaling over 231,000 yuan ($34,370) over the years.

"Some of them have now become symbolic," said Zhou, a Hebei deputy to the National People's Congress. "I never thought of cashing them."