"The level of medical care in Tibet was obviously lower than the average at Shanghai's hospitals, mainly because of the lack of timely updating of medical science and technology," said Long Ziwen, a doctor at Fudan University's Shanghai Cancer Center.

 

"For example, doctors at Shigatse People's Hospital were still using open surgery in the urological department when I was there in 2016. But in Shanghai, we already have minimally invasive and endoscopic surgery equipment.

 

"It is therefore imperative that local doctors learn new medical technology and introduce it more widely in remote areas."

 

Shen Hui, former deputy secretary of the Communist Party Committee of Zhongshan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University, was a member of the first 12-doctor team dispatched to Shigatse People's Hospital in 2015.

 

Shigatse is the second-largest city in Tibet, with a population of 750,000, and located 4,000 meters above sea level.

 

"The hospital only had 250 ward beds, with rather outdated facilities and a serious medical staff inadequacy," Shen said.