The families had generated gender equality, domestic peace, neighborhood unity, and extolled traditional Chinese virtues of respecting their elders and taking good care of the young. They also showed how to manage a household budget soundly.

Standing on the podium in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Yao Guorong, director of the People's Hospital in a remote mountainous county of Wannian in Jiangxi Province, exuded pride at being one of those honored.

Although he and wife Liu An'e, also a doctor with the hospital, believed they were just doing their jobs, it was a mark of their respect among the hundreds of farmers in the mountainous area of the county, who would otherwise have had to trudge miles to see doctors had they lived elsewhere.

The couple could not say how many times they had traveled into the mountains regardless of the time of day or weather to give farmers physical examinations, to take care of the ill and handle emergency cases.

But they did know they had eventually equipped almost all villages in the area with trained health care staff after 30 years of hard work. And while ensuring their hospital developed successfully, they managed to save more than 3 million yuan (US$362,318.8) from their daily work.

"We know the importance of money, but we also know that money is not always necessary for the effective operation of a unit, or the happiness of a family," said Yao.

"The person I have to thank most is my wife because without her assiduous work taking good care of my 93-year-old mother and our two young sons, as well as accompanying me all the way along, I could not have come where I am today."

Yao has become a doctor with outstanding skills, widely respected among local people and enjoys a special government allowance issued by the State Council.

"Family is the very foundation of individual success, as well as the country's prosperity," said Gu Xiulian, vice-president of the All-China Women's Federation.

(Chinadaily 10/01/2001)