On Saturday, one day before International Workers Day, netizens on Weibo discovered the story of anesthetist Wang Jiawan at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, who volunteers to play piano for two hours for patients whenever she finishes her night shift. 

Beijing Chaoyang Hospital is one of the top hundred hospitals in China and is ranked as the busiest hospital in Beijing, receiving over 3.5 million patients every year. Visiting a first class hospital in China can be overwhelming both for patients and their friends and families, so Wang’s story began trending, with her kind and selfless musical performances turning a crowded clinic into a healing haven.

Wang discovered the power of the piano back in 2011, when she went on an advanced vocational training course in the US. Her landlord at the time had cancer and was hospitalized. It was heartbreaking for Wang to see the bed-ridden woman losing her spirit, her condition worsening day by day.

One day, when Wang went to visit her landlord, she found a piano at the local hospital. Thinking that a soothing piano melody might cheer her up, Wang started playing every day for the patient. After a while, much to her delight and surprise, Wang found the lady regaining mental strength, and her condition stabilized.

It was also in 2011 when researchers from McGill University found that instrumental music triggers the release of dopamine in the brain, spurring the sensation of pleasure, according to BBC.

In 2015, Wang returned to China and began working as an anesthetist at Chaoyang Hospital. When she learned that the hospital also provided a piano for staff and patients to play, she immediately volunteered.

“It was very rewarding to see patients around me enjoying my music with even the slightest smile on their faces, so even if I’m worn out after a 24-hour shift, I want to carry on playing for them,” Wang told CCTV in an interview on Sunday.

Netizens on Weibo were touched by her story. “Her beautiful music gives patients confidence and soothes their anxious hearts. What impressed me the most is that she insists on playing piano for others, when she herself is exhausted after a long work shift,” @ixiliwutuaa commented.