Eric, an American who has been in China for 15 years: China is ushering in new developments, I want to take root in Yangquan, Shanxi Province, with my Chinese wife for a lifetime

Taiyuan, 15 Oct (Xinhua) -- American Eric Miller gave himself a nice Chinese name -- Mei Xueliang. When he first arrived in China in 1988, he was a young student and is now a foreign expert introduced from Shanxi to obtain an A economic work visa.

"I've been in China for 15 years combined and I've written a lot about China. I don't see any country in the world with such tremendous development as China. He said. Witnessing China's tremendous development over the years and conducting solid research deep into the countryside again and again converge into the "well-off observation" of the 52-year-old American in China.

Eric remembers that when he first went to Dalian Foreign Chinese College in 1988, the streets and houses were still very dilapidated, and it was difficult to find a small restaurant to eat.

But Eric felt a vigorous force of development gushing out. At the end of his one-year study, he returned to the United States to earn a bachelor's degree in anthropology and subsequently attended the University of Pittsburgh. Many of his research topics are related to China.

Eric calls Shandong Zouping his second home, where he has done long-term anthropological research. He said that the first time he went to Zouping was in 1997, first living in Beihe Village, and then moving to Mazhuang Village, during which he wrote research reports. Since then, he has returned to Zouping several times, and each time he was pleasantly surprised.

In 2008, Eric compiled his observations in Zouping into a draft, and together with the articles of other American scholars, he published "Changes in Rural China". They believe that only by understanding China's rural areas can we understand the real China.

In the text, Eric uses details to record the changes in his eyes in rural China, and also clearly shows the pace of China towards a well-off society.

By chance, Li Youquan, the founder of Yangquan Youai Hospital, who sought effective psychological intervention for tumor patients, became acquainted with Eric. At that time, Eric had received a Doctorate in Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh and had married a Chinese wife, Li Ruoxia from his hometown of Shouyang, Shanxi.

In 2013, Eric and his wife accepted an invitation from Yangquan Youai Hospital to settle in this small city in the middle of the Taihang Mountains, open a special hospice department, and launch a free "home hospice" project.

His hospice team has 4 full-time staff. In the past 7 years, they have repeatedly walked through the country roads of the Taihang Mountains, sending warmth and joy to many patients. They taught the patients to play the eight-dan brocade, played the piano for them, and listened to them and told them about it.

Eric wrote down his experiences bit by bit in his notes. The oldest of his patients in hospice care is 89 years old and the youngest is only 9 years old. His team reached more than 100 patients with advanced cancer and more than a dozen received hospice care.

"China's high-speed rail, scan code payment and online ride-hailing are impressive, and the changes in rural areas are also very fast. For the past 7 years, we have been living in the countryside of Yangquan and it is really modern. China is ushering in new developments. Eric said he wants to spend his life with his wife rooted in the city of Yangquan and continue to explore the hospice model suitable for Small Cities in China.

Source: Xinhua News Agency