Darkness fell in Sri Lanka's capital city Colombo. Kalutara General Hospital stood quietly in the cool winds after a monsoon season.
The lights in the hospital's two operating rooms remained on. Several Chinese doctors and nurses were still busy carrying out cataract surgeries for local patients.
During their one-month stay in Sri Lanka, the Chinese medical team, from the Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH), has successfully completed 503 cataract surgeries, as part of their first overseas charitable mission.
"It is not so easy to carry out surgery to a group of local patients in an exotic hospital and a country we are not familiar with. We need to overcome many difficulties such as hot weather, language communication barriers, and the most terrible thing -- power cut during surgery," the youngest doctor of the delegation, 35-year-old Dr. Zhao Chan told Xinhua.
Not only that, the humid air also made the equipment and machines from China not function well in the hospital.
The Chinese team provided consultations to more than 500 patients on their second day in the hospital, when a doctor-strike took place across the whole island, Zhao said.
The program was titled "Brightness Action," under which the Chinese doctors helped low-income Sri Lankans to successfully recover their eyesight.
According to Zhao, the majority of patients could regain normal vision, even up to 1.0 degree only one week after surgery.
"Patients queued to shake hands and pray for us, to express their thankfulness to our team," Zhao added.
"All the staff ... put a lot of manpower as the workload in both the out-patient clinic and the operating room greatly increased ," Zhao said.
The delegation is part of 'Lifeline Express', China's only mobile eye hospital specializing in charitable medical activities.
The medical team, which consists of eminent eye physicians from PUMCH with modern medical equipment and instruments, also offered a technical training and exchange program introducing advanced ophthalmology surgical techniques to local doctors and nurses.
All medical services provided by Lifeline Express were free of charge.
In daily communication and exchanges, the China-Sri Lanka relations are the main topic.
"Almost all Sri Lankan doctors and nurses are aware of China's help to Sri Lanka. The driver who is with us every day, also knows a lot about the donation projects from China to Sri Lanka, such as ports, roads and airports," Zhao said.
Cui Li, deputy director of the China National Health and Family Planning Commission, said at the opening ceremony of 'Brightness Action' that, the Chinese medical team is undoubtedly contributing to the development of China-Sri Lanka relations.
"The medical treatment carried out by Chinese Lifeline Express in Sri Lanka for the local people, not only benefits local people, also makes something meaningful for the bilateral relations between two countries," Cui said.
In July 1997, in order to celebrate the return of Hong Kong to China, Hong Kong compatriots proposed an initiative to build and donate the first China Lifeline Express to provide sight rehabilitating operations for patients with cataract.
