6 | DISCOVER SHANXI Friday, April 3, 2020 CHINA DAILY Medical workers on duty at Taiyuan Wusu International Airport. SHI XIAOBO / FOR CHINA DAILY Airport becomes line of defence against disease By ZHANG DANDAN over by different cities to designated [email protected] quarantine facilities, Wang added. In addition, a special rest area for North China’s Shanxi province international passengers has been set has been pulling out all the stops to up at the airport, providing them with curb the spread of imported COVID­ real­time information and services. 19 cases, as the pandemic continues Taiyuan Customs has established to grow globally. a team at the airport to help with Since March 21, Taiyuan, capital nucleic acid tests. The team consists The last 323 of the 1,516 medical workers assigned to rescue missions in Hubei province celebrate their return to Shanxi on March 31. city of Shanxi, has become a first of 100 staff members with education SHI XIAOBO / FOR CHINA DAILY entry port for international flights backgrounds in medicine and for­ due to arrive in Beijing, according to eign languages, and work experi­ local officials. All passengers must ence in travel inspection. be tested for the virus, with those Responding to the emergency, an cleared of the pathogen allowed to overwhelming proportion of return­ re­board the aircraft to Beijing. ees are offering truthful information Shanxi medical workers back As the front line for Shanxi’s con­ registration and cooperation for trol of imported cases of COVID­19 testing and quarantine. infections, Taiyuan Wusu Interna­ Su Shan, a student studying busi­ tional Airport is “fully armed” to ness administration in the United fight back, said local officials. Kingdom, returned to Taiyuan on home from Hubei aid mission Led by Shanxi Governor Lin Wu, March 28, as the pandemic outbreak an emergency work group has been in the UK left her classes suspended. Medics receive heroes’ send­off and welcome from the public after fighting virus outbreak established at the airport. Involving “I am waiting for the test results. customs, immigration inspection, If it is negative, I will go to a desig­ health and public security depart­ nated hotel for 14­day quarantine. By YUAN SHENGGAO With the news of the Shanxi displayed at the Qianjiang Muse­ ments, the work group is responsi­ Only when I confirm I am without medics’ departure, residents in var­ um, showing the respect and grati­ ble for taking turns on duty at the the virus can I ask my family to take Two airplanes carrying 323 med­ ious cities lined the roads from tude of the locals. airport around the clock. me home. I am sure to cooperate ical workers from Shanxi landed at their hotels to Wuhan Tianhe Inter­ In the lines sending off the med­ “For international flights, the with domestic epidemic prevention Taiyuan Wusu International Air­ national Airport, to send off the ics, were people from all walks of emergency operation center of the and control authorities,” Su said. port on March 31, after completing heroes who had safeguarded their life and age groups, including local Taiyuan airport will obtain detailed Liang Shujuan, deputy director of their mission to Hubei province to lives and health for more than two medical workers, senior citizens, information of each flight from the the Foreign Affairs Office of the treat those affected by the novel months. school children, construction Civil Aviation Administration of Shanxi provincial government, said coronavirus epidemic. 3,527 patients, with a recovery rate In Qianjiang, Li Xuanyi, a first­ workers and company employees. China and airlines three hours in when considering whether to return The returnees were welcomed by of more than 95 percent, according grade student sent a painting to the They waved posters with grateful advance. The information includes home from abroad, expats should Lou Yangsheng, Party secretary of to reports in Shanxi’s media. medical workers. words and sang songs of gratitude. the aircraft type, crew, passenger keep an eye on the latest prevention Shanxi, Governor Lin Wu and other They also carried out 18,000 In the painting, the medics were Those who were required to stay information and the physical condi­ and control measures taken in officials and local residents. nuleic acid tests and 3,377 CT scans, depicted as “angels in white”. at home waved from their balco­ tion of the crew and passengers dur­ Shanxi and abide by local rules and All 1,516 Shanxi medical workers and trained more than 6,200 local “Farewell, my angels. Thank you nies and windows. ing the flight,” said Wang regulations. who had worked in Hubei for about medical workers. During the two for your painstaking efforts to save Liu Chuange, head of the publici­ Xiangdong, chairman of the airport. As long­distance travel does have two months have returned to their months, no cases of infection were our lives,” Li said. ty department of Qiaokou district After landing, airport staff mem­ certain risks, travelers should make home province. reported among the medics. Hou Ruigang, leader of the medi­ in Wuhan, said the two­month bers will lead passengers to measure prudent decisions and protect Accompanying them were 11 “The facts and numbers demon­ cal team in Qianjiang, said the city experience had forged a “lifelong temperatures. Passengers with fever themselves from the risk of infec­ journalists from the province, who strate the sense of responsibility, has left an unforgettable impres­ friendship between the people of will be transferred by local disease tion, Liang added. had been reporting the fight the excellent skills, the effective sion on him. Shanxi and Wuhan”. control departments. Those with against the epidemic during the protective measures and the high “The 66 days in Qianjiang have “We hope you can visit Wuhan normal temperatures will be taken Guo Yanjie contributed to this story. past two months. morale of the medical workers made the city a home away from again in the future, not for medical Since Jan 26, Shanxi dispatched from Shanxi,” said a commentary in home for me. I’ll pay close attention work, but for the blossoming saku­ 13 medical teams, with members Shanxi Daily. to Qianjiang’s development in the ra flowers and the delicious hot dry from 189 medical institutions, to Local media also highlighted the years to come,” Hou said. noodles,” Liu said. Historical tragedy which Hubei province, the center of the “targeted treatment measures” Qianjiang’s authorities had “We welcome you to Wuhan epidemic. implemented by the Shanxi teams, asked the Shanxi medics to leave where everybody is your friend and They worked in 16 hospitals in featuring tailored therapies and their protective garments, with the relative,” the official said. sparked national festival the cities of Wuhan, Xiantao, Tian­ plans for patients in various condi­ signatures of all the team members. men and Qianjiang. They treated tions. The garments will be collected and Guo Yanjie contributed to this story. By YUAN SHENGGAO Jie, who preferred to be a hermit in the Mianshan Mountain in When Qingming Festival — or today’s Jiexiu city of Shanxi, had no Tomb Sweeping Day — is approach­ political ambitions and refused the ing, many people might not know duke’s invitation. Chong’er ordered the event is closely associated with the mountain to be burned down to another festival called Hanshi, or force Jie out of hiding. Unfortunate­ Cold Food Festival. ly, Jie did not give in and the fire Both festivals originated from a ended up killing him and his moth­ tragedy that happened in Shanxi er. more than 2,500 years ago. At that Filled with remorse, Chong’er time, during the Spring and ordered that during the three days Autumn Period (770­476 BC), the around this tragic anniversary the location was called the Jin Princi­ setting of fire be forbidden. This pality. meant all food was eaten cold. Cold Food Festival is a traditional Therefore the festival is thus named. Chinese holiday celebrated for The days following Cold Food Fes­ three consecutive days before Qing­ tival were dedicated to sweeping the ming Festival, which falls on April 4 tomb of Jie and later developed into From left: The 29th Dahuaishu Ancestor Worship Ceremony is held during Qingming Festival in 2019. Dahuaishu township is regarded and 5. a national holiday called Qingming. as an ancestral homeland by many Chinese people. CHI JIANPING / FOR CHINA DAILY Legend has it that Chong’er, a Mianshan Mountain, where the prince of Jin, endured many hard­ tragedy happened, is now a ships while he moved around the renowned tourist destination in warring states. Once, when the Shanxi province. Ancestral homeland where Chinese honor relatives prince was tormented by hunger, Jie In many areas of Shanxi, locals Zitui, one of his supporters, offered still remember this tradition. him food. Although cold food is not the only By YUAN SHENGGAO Chinese people across the world. The official said the ceremony immigrants further moved across Later, when Chong’er became the option for people during the cele­ Each year, thousands of Chi­ will not be short of any necessary the world in the six centuries that duke of Jin, he ordered a search for bration, the practices of making typ­ Qingming Festival — or Tomb nese return from afar during rituals, which will be performed by followed. Jie who had gone into hiding in the ical cold dishes for the event have Sweeping Day — celebrated in early Tomb Sweeping Day to pay hom­ staff members of the garden and A popular ballad in China remote mountains with his mother. been preserved. April is a time for Chinese people to age and show respect to their broadcast live.