Rural Veterinarian Maintains Dual Role as Vet and Internet Celebrity in NW China's Ningxia

Veterinarian Bai Hua looks for medicines from the trunk of her car in Guyuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, April 18, 2023. 

The 27-year-old, a skilled rural veterinarian maintains a dual role as vet and internet celebrity who has gained a total of three million followers on multiple video sharing and streaming platforms, like Kuaishou, Bilibili and Douyin.

In her short videos, Bai can be seen in dirty cowsheds, but she remains beautiful and fashionable while calmly taking care of bloated sick cattle, delivering baby cows, and giving injections. The stark contrast won her fans' affection.

The young woman veterinarian, a relative rarity in a dirty, smelly and somewhat risky profession, knew it was not an easy choice for her to embark on such a career.

Despite having been splashed in the face with cow manure while pulling a cow's tail, and being kicked by cows multiple times, the image-conscious woman has never entertained the thought of changing careers. Instead, she remains determined to dive deeply into veterinary science, and dreams of becoming a leading veterinarian.

Bai made no bones about her desire for fame, which inspired her to carve out a second career. "I want to help more young people get a close-up view of this profession through my example. I want them to know that veterinarians can also dress in a clean and stylish manner every day, and that the work can be interesting. This will encourage more young people to join me."

Riding on the wave of short videos, Bai has become famous as she wished, and she is occasionally recognized when traveling to other places. But what makes her happiest is that more and more young people are asking her online about how to become a good veterinarian.

Even so, Bai still strives for perfection and often spends tens of thousands of yuan out of her own pocket for further study. "I must continue to learn, I can't let my reputation exceed my ability," she quipped. [Xinhua/Feng Kaihua]