Provided to China Daily

Zhang, 56, established the cardiothoracic surgery department after he was assigned to the General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command of the People's Liberation Army in June, 2006.

"I was surprised to discover that there are over ten thousand children suffering congenital heart disease each year in Guangdong. And most children are from families with low incomes," Zhang says.

According to the Guangdong health and family planning authority, about 8 percent of newborn babies are diagnosed with the disease each year in Guangdong.

After visiting a remote mountainous area of Guangdong, Zhang found that many children with the disease do not receive surgery due to the high cost of the treatment,

In Puning county of Jieyang, in eastern Guangdong, only 3 percent of children diagnosed with the disease received surgery, according to Zhang.

"I was very sad. They (children with congenital heart disease) would have a better life if they received surgery," Zhang says.

The free surgery was possible thanks to a charity program, which was jointly launched by the Guangdong Civil Affairs Department and Guangdong Charity Federation in April, 2007.

The program first targeted people under 18 years old in Guangdong and later expanded nationwide, according to Zhang.

As a veteran doctor specializing in congenital heart disease surgery, Zhang has visited more places outside Tibet - including the Xinjiang Urgur autonomous region, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong and Hunan provinces to offer free surgery to more than 7,000 children diagnosed with the disease over the past seven years.

"Most children suffering from continental heart disease are living in poverty stricken areas and their families cannot afford the high cost of medical treatment. Free surgeries are of great importance when giving a new life to the family," Zhang says.