Just before China's annual Two Sessions, CGTN reporters Jen Copestake and Hu Chao traveled to Xiaocheng Village in Lyuliang, north China's Shanxi Province, to meet Ma Jinlian, an inspiring deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) who transformed her own yaodong, a traditional cave dwelling, into the village's first privately run nursing home.

After working as a caregiver in the city and witnessing the stark gap in healthcare and eldercare between urban and rural China, she decided to return home and care for the elderly in her village.

As an NPC deputy, she regularly conducts field research and listens to seniors in rural communities, turning their concerns into proposals submitted to the government. Each year, she calls for stronger support for elderly people in rural areas. Now that the Two Sessions has concluded, Ma returns to her village, still holding on to a bigger dream: to build nursing homes in villages across China.