Gan Ruyi, a 24-year-old doctor at the Jiangxia District of Wuhan, central China’s Hubei province, travelled about 300 km from her home in Jingzhou to Wuhan to fight the pneumonia outbreak.

(Photo/People's Daily Online)

With heavy traffic controls in place to curb the spread of the epidemic, Gan decided to ride a bike to work using a temporary pass from the local government.

She left home on Jan. 31, carrying food such as cookies, instant noodles and fruits. After four days of cycling, walking and then hitching a ride with the help of police, she finally arrived at the hospital. Her knees were swollen from the long journey and she found herself in great pain.

Although she ran into problems such as rainy weather and had difficulty finding taxis and hotels, she never backed down. “If I quit, I will never reach my destination. But if I don’t give up, I will always find a way there,” Gan said.

According to Gan, the other doctor in her department, aged 58, has worked for more than 10 days without a decent rest. Gan said that she wants to get back to work to ease the pressure on her colleague.

(Photo/People's Daily Online)

“I’m not surprised that she actually made it,” said Chen Zongyong, director of the hospital, adding that Gan has always been responsible and diligent in her work.

According to Gan, her job isn’t very different from what it was before. Because of the epidemic, she needs to test over 20 blood samples every day and will also assist other doctors in combating the coronavirus.