A century-old bond between an American family and China's Qinghai Province

On September 10, inside his home in Springfield, Missouri, 95-year-old David Victor Plymire carefully opened Imprints, a cherished photo album. One image, captured in 1942, depicted a sweeping vista of Dangar Ancient Town in Huangyuan county, Qinghai Province in Northwest China, with six children standing on a hillside.

David Victor Plymire speaks with Huang Jiong, director of Huangyuan County People's Hospital, via video call. (Photo courtesy of the Huangyuan County Media Center)

"That's me," David recalled during a video call, effortlessly switching into the local Huangyuan dialect. "I was just a teenager then. No matter where life takes me, I'll always consider myself a son of Huangyuan."

On the other end of the screen was Huangyuan. Wang Shikang, former president of Huangyuan County People's Hospital, greeted him warmly in the local dialect: "Brother David, the hand-grabbed mutton is waiting for your return."

David's eyes softened, and his voice caught. "Whenever I have a quiet moment, I miss everyone there deeply."

In Huangyuan, David is a beloved local figure, affectionately known as "Mr. Big-Nose"—a nickname that lives on in a local children's rhyme still sung today.

Behind the lighthearted moniker lies a profound reality: a cross-cultural friendship spanning more than a century and two generations of an American family.

The story began in 1932, when one-year-old David crossed the Pacific with his father, Victor Plymire, and arrived in Huangyuan. Victor had first come to China in 1908. After years of traveling across Gansu and Qinghai provinces, he ultimately made Huangyuan his permanent home.

To Huangyuan residents, Victor was never an outsider. Modest and genuine, he embraced local customs, diligently learned both Mandarin and Tibetan language, and applied his training in Western medicine to offer free healthcare to people of all ethnic backgrounds.

David spent his formative youth in Huangyuan. Its landscapes, flora, streets and hills were etched into his memory.

Decades later, he moved away with his family, living in Hong Kong and other parts of China for over 30 years before finally settling in Missouri.

Yet for David, the eastern foothills of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau—where the Huangshui River originates—remained home. The farther he moved, the stronger his nostalgia grew.

In 1987, after 38 years away, David returned to Huangyuan. Walking familiar streets and reuniting with old neighbors and friends, he felt an immediate urge to give back to the place that had raised him.

"He toured several facilities and quickly focused on hospitals in desperate need of modern medical equipment," recalled Li Lin, former head of the Huangyuan Health Bureau.

In March 1989, David and his sister, Mary Ann, purchased an ultrasound machine in Hong Kong for HK$150,000 (about $19,100)—filling a critical gap for the county hospital. With commercial shipping unavailable at the time, David personally transported the unit, flying it from Hong Kong to Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, and then carrying it on to Huangyuan.

Over the next three decades, David crossed the Pacific more than 20 times. Whenever he saved up funds, his thoughts invariably turned to supporting the hospital.

"Contrary to what some might assume, David was never wealthy," Wang noted. "Every dollar he donated was raised through personal networks, charitable foundations and private contributions."

Wang Shikang (right), former president of Huangyuan County People's Hospital, shows David Victor Plymire the CT scanner he donated to the hospital. (Photo: People's Daily Online)

In 1999, David funded a $350,000 CT scanner for the county hospital—a major milestone for a facility of its level at the time.

"We urgently needed one, but the cost was so prohibitive that we hesitated even to ask," Li admitted. Once aware of the hospital's needs, David launched a fundraising campaign. By June 2000, the CT scanner had arrived in Huangyuan, making the facility one of only a handful of county-level hospitals in Qinghai equipped with such technology.

Li also recalls accompanying David on visits to several township clinics.

"Clinic conditions were rudimentary," Li explained. "Residents with even minor ailments had to travel to the county seat—or even the provincial capital—for basic exams. It was time-consuming and expensive. David was visibly moved by what he witnessed."

Rather than dwelling on the problem, David quietly raised $10,000 and donated four ultrasound machines to four separate township clinics.

Through these efforts—and with contributions from family and friends—David helped donate over 6 million yuan (about $895,836) worth of medical equipment to Huangyuan county. The shipments included ultrasound units, endoscopes, ECG monitors, automated hematology analyzers and anesthesia machines.

During a recent video call, Huang Jiong, the current director of Huangyuan County People's Hospital, shared a telling statistic: the facility now handles 300,000 outpatient visits annually, despite serving a county population of just over 100,000.

"That capacity exists because of your decade-spanning dedication and generosity," Huang told David.

When a reporter asked what had sustained his commitment through the decades, David offered a simple explanation. "It's a quiet conviction in my heart—I have to keep doing this because these people are my family," he said. "Some call my work a great contribution to my hometown. I don't see it that way. It's not charity; it's a duty. It's simply what family does."

Today, David's legacy is formally enshrined in the hospital's history.

According to Huang, learning his story is the first lesson new staff members receive during orientation.

The hospital is also planning a dedicated museum chronicling its history, where David's donated equipment, decades of correspondence, and vintage photographs will be permanently displayed.

Yet David's impact extends far beyond medical infrastructure.

Recognizing the transformative power of education for children on the plateau, he helped arrange partnerships with foreign teachers to run English-language training programs for local primary and secondary school teachers.

His father, Victor, was also a skilled photographer who documented daily life, culture, and landscapes across Gansu, Qinghai, and the Xizang Autonomous Region.

David eventually donated hundreds of these historically significant photographs to Huangyuan county. They formed the basis of Imprints, a published photo album now archived in China's national documentary collections. Through Victor's lens, the visual history of a small western Chinese county has been preserved across a century.

The family's connection to the land is deep and poignant. In 1927, Victor's first wife and their young son, John, died of smallpox in Huangyuan and were laid to rest on a northern hillside.

In 2016, David's sister Mary Ann passed away in Canada. Her final wish was to have her ashes returned to Huangyuan—a request her family honored.

During the call, the reporter said residents have maintained the family gravesite over the years, and a tree planted beside the resting place has grown tall and strong.

"That tree stands as a living symbol of grassroots friendship between China and the United States," the reporter remarked. "It reflects the enduring bond between the people of Huangyuan and your family. May it continue to thrive, just as your connection has."

David’s voice caught as he was overcome with emotion. "Thank you to the people of Huangyuan for taking such good care of the cemetery. I'm deeply grateful," he said.

Now 95, David can no longer travel to Huangyuan due to his health. But whenever he speaks by phone with his old friends there, his fluent local dialect instantly brings back the unmistakable warmth of home.

From Victor's arrival on Chinese soil in 1908 to David's virtual "return" to Huangyuan today in 2026, two generations and more than a century have passed—yet a longing for home across the Pacific has never faded.