Three Chinese nurses, Wu Jinghua, Wang Yaping and Li Qiujie, received Florence Nightingale Medals for exemplary nursing yesterday from President Jiang Zemin, honourary chairman of the Red Cross Society of China.

Vice-Premier Li Lanqing praised the trio at a ceremony as examples for all nurses and Red Cross volunteers.

The winners are nursing veterans. Wu Jinghua, a 48-year nurse in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is vice-president of the Ningxia Nursing Society. Wang Yaping, a nurse for 40 years, is deputy director of the Emergency Centre of the Beijing Municipal Red Cross Society. And Li Qiujie is chief nurse at the No 2 Hospital affiliated with Harbin University of Medicine.

Twenty-eight Chinese nurses have won the medal since China took part in the event in 1983.

Xinhua