Saulebek Kabylbekov (left) examines the eyes of a patient at Daqing Ophthalmology Hospital in Daqing city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, July 16, 2025. ZHANG TAO/XINHUA

Saulebek Kabylbekov is a 66-year-old Kazakh ophthalmologist at Daqing Ophthalmology Hospital who can communicate fluently with patients in a northeastern Chinese dialect.

In the 1990s, as an outstanding young ophthalmologist of Kazakhstan, Saulebek visited China multiple times for work and academic exchanges. In 1998, when Daqing Ophthalmology Hospital was established, he came to provide technical assistance, introducing advanced ophthalmic technologies of the time.

Having worked at the hospital for 27 years, Saulebek has trained dozens of outstanding young doctors and treated more than 200,000 patients with eye diseases. In 2024, Saulebek was awarded the Chinese Government Friendship Award at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

This year, Saulebek was granted a Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card issued by the National Immigration Administration of China. "When I first arrived in China, my hair and beard were thick and black. Now they have turned white," he said. Determined to uphold his patients' trust, he added, "I will continue to work here as long as I can."

Xinhua

Saulebek Kabylbekov (second from the right) greets a patient at Daqing Ophthalmology Hospital in Daqing city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, July 17, 2025. ZHANG TAO/XINHUA

Saulebek Kabylbekov (centre) talks with patients at Daqing Ophthalmology Hospital in Daqing city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, July 16, 2025. ZHANG TAO/XINHUA

Saulebek Kabylbekov waters green plants at his apartment in Daqing city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, July 16, 2025. ZHANG TAO/XINHUA

Saulebek Kabylbekov (right) personally escorts a patient at Daqing Ophthalmology Hospital in Daqing city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, Aug 8, 2025. ZHANG QIMING/XINHUA

Saulebek Kabylbekov (left) eats dumplings with a companion when celebrating the Spring Festival in China in 2002. XINHUA

Saulebek Kabylbekov pictured at Daqing Ophthalmology Hospital in Daqing city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, July 16, 2025. ZHANG TAO/XINHUA

Saulebek Kabylbekov works out at a gym of Daqing Ophthalmology Hospital in Daqing city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, July 17,2025. ZHANG TAO/XINHUA

Saulebek Kabylbekov shops for potatoes at a supermarket in Daqing city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, July 16, 2025. ZHANG TAO/XINHUA

Saulebek Kabylbekov (left) serves Kazakh dishes he cooked to colleagues at the canteen of Daqing Ophthalmology Hospital in Daqing city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, July 16, 2025. ZHANG TAO/XINHUA