95-year-old American maintains lifelong bond with hometown in northwest China's Qinghai

David Victor Plymire, 95, was born in New York, the United States. But the place he calls home is Huangyuan, a county in northwest China's Qinghai Province, where he spent 17 years of his childhood and later devoted decades to improving local healthcare.

In September 2026, during an interview at his home in Missouri, Plymire was looking through a photo album when he came across a photograph of himself as a teenager in Huangyuan, taken in 1942. Pointing himself out in the picture, he spoke in fluent Huangyuan dialect: "That's me. I was in my teens then. I'll always be a boy from Huangyuan."

Plymire moved to Huangyuan with his parents in 1932, shortly after turning one. His father, Victor G. Plymire, first arrived in China in 1908 and later settled in Huangyuan, where he established a clinic to provide medical care to local residents.

Growing up, Plymire played with local children, learned the Huangyuan dialect and became familiar with the customs and rhythms of life in the county. In 1949, he left China with his family and eventually settled in Missouri. Even after decades away, he retained the dialect he had learned during his childhood in Huangyuan.

In 1987, 38 years after leaving China, Plymire returned to Huangyuan. He reunited with former neighbors and childhood friends and revisited the old house where he had once lived. That homecoming marked the beginning of his decades-long commitment to supporting local healthcare.

Bringing better healthcare to his hometown

During his return visit, Plymire learned that local medical facilities lacked adequate equipment and that many patients had to travel to Xining, Qinghai's provincial capital, for medical examinations.

In March 1989, Plymire and his sister purchased an ultrasound scanner in Hong Kong for 150,000 Hong Kong dollars. With transportation and logistics challenging at the time, he personally accompanied the equipment on its journey to Huangyuan, traveling via Xi'an in Shaanxi Province.

The scanner enabled doctors at local medical facilities to conduct basic examinations. Common conditions such as cholecystitis and gallstones could be detected locally, allowing patients to receive initial examinations closer to home and reducing the need for long-distance travel.

Since then, Plymire continued to raise funds for medical equipment for local healthcare facilities, helping bring in equipment such as gastroscopes, cardiac monitors and anesthesia machines.

Plymire has donated a total of 31 pieces of medical equipment to the Huangyuan People's Hospital, with a combined value of more than 6 million yuan (about $900,000), according to Xinhua News agency.

Over the past three decades, Plymire has traveled between the United States and China more than 20 times. At a donation ceremony, he once explained his commitment in simple terms: "I support the hospital because the people here are my own people. It is simply my duty."

Preserving a shared history for future generations

Having received his early education in Huangyuan, Plymire understood the challenges facing children in areas where educational resources were relatively limited. He helped connect local schools with foreign teachers and arrange English-language training for primary and secondary school teachers.

In 2011, two foreign teachers arrived at a local school, where they stayed for several years. Their teaching helped students overcome their initial reluctance to speak English and gradually build confidence in conversation, progressing from hesitant speech to greater fluency.

Beyond supporting education, Plymire also helped preserve an important part of Huangyuan's history.

His father, Victor G. Plymire, was an accomplished photographer who took hundreds of photographs documenting social life in what are now Gansu Province, Qinghai Province and Xizang Autonomous Region, preserving a valuable visual record of the region's past.

Plymire donated hundreds of his father's photographs to Huangyuan. Drawing on the collection, the county brought together experts and scholars to compile and publish a photo book, helping fill a gap in its historical photographic archives.

Remaining close to the people of Huangyuan

Having grown up in Huangyuan and spent decades giving back to the county, Plymire earned the affection and respect of local residents.

In 2013, Huangyuan held its first "Most Beautiful People of Huangyuan" selection, recognizing individuals who had made outstanding contributions to the community. Plymire was elected as the first international honoree.

Today, at 95, Plymire is no longer able to visit Huangyuan due to his age and health. But he remains in close contact with old friends in the town. Every Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival, he exchanges greetings with them over the phone or by video call.

Though Plymire has lived in the United States for decades, Huangyuan remains the place he calls home. He once said at an event, "A person only has one hometown in life, Huangyuan is my only and eternal hometown."