Foreign doctor spends 3 decades in Sichuan practicing Chinese medicine

A foreign doctor named Diarra Boubacar has studied and practiced Chinese medicine for 30 years in Chengdu, Sichuan province. Diarra is fluent in many languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese and even Sichuan dialect, the cover.cn reported.

Diarra grew up in Mali, where many of his relatives also practiced medicine. He came to China for the first time in 1984 to participate in a one-year Chinese language program in Beijing. After the program ended, he went to Guangzhou, Guangdong province to study Chinese medicine.

After a great deal of hard work, Diarra was finally capable of reading and even reciting some of the classics of ancient Chinese prose. He then earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Chengdu, concluding with a medical degree after three more years of study.

Alhough Diarra encountered doubts from many of his patients at the beginning, he gradually won their trust with his exceptional skills. Now he is married to a local woman, with whom he has two children. He enjoys eating hotpot, drinking tea and even haggling with vendors in Sichuan dialect, living in almost every way like other Sichuan citizens.