Xinjiang man climbs mountains to help Hubei

A man in Yining county, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, climbed several mountains to get cellphone signals to donate money to Hubei province - the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Bagni Hurmanbag, 62, said that he must do something for the Hubei people after learning about the virus outbreak.

"My wife also said that we live a better life thanks to the government," he said. "We now raise sheep, cattle and horses at the ranch. We both decided to donate 10,000 yuan ($1,429) to Hubei."

However, their home is about 100 kilometers to the nearest village. He woke up early, carried cellphone charger and rode a strong horse to climb the mountains on the snowy day of Feb 1 to find a place that had cellphone signals.

After spending hours to find the signal, he also waited for nearly an hour for Kaisar Dawut, head of Toxun village, to call him back. Dawut missed his call as he was in a meeting.

"I'm moved that he had done so much to donate the money," said Dawut. "Thanks for his trust. I've transmitted the money he gave me by WeChat to the Red Cross of Yining county. It will transfer the money to Wuhan later."