Guitars bring joy to children in hospital

"When the doctor told me the diagnosis, my world was shattered," he said. "Soon after putting away our sadness, my wife and I chose to be strong to face the difficulty."

To encourage his family members, Zhang often played the guitar, which drew the attention of head nurse Liu Xuehua.

"She asked me whether I could teach sick children to play the guitar, and I replied without any hesitation that I could," he said. "My daughter is growing up with my guitar music and she quite enjoys it. I hope music will bring happiness to the children here and make them feel a little less bored or troubled by their treatment."

To Liu's surprise, Zhang brought six guitars and some teaching aids to the hospital a few days after their conversation.

"His selfless donation touched all the doctors and nurses, so we immediately prepared the lounge for him to teach the class," she said. "It's a small space, but the classroom has become the room the children love most."

Zhang said: "The hospital is one of the best in the province, many young patients and their parents come here for better care. We are all in similar situations and we can clearly understand each other. The hospital seems like a big family in which family members of sick children can exchange information about treatments and find help."

Many parents have been discouraged after being unable to soothe their child's suffering caused by long-term treatments.

"Music is a good way to help children relax and shift their attention," Zhang said.

"Unlike the students I taught before, I have no requirements for their playing skills at all. I just hope my students can be happy during the one-hour lessons."