Zhong Nanshan (first from right), China's leading respiratory disease expert and recipient of the Medal of the Republic, and Wang Chen (center), president of Peking Union Medical College, pose for a photo holding a calligraphy scroll they personally wrote at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Annual Congress of Chinese Thoracic Society in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, on Oct 23, 2020. The three-day event to mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Thoracic Society officially opened on Friday evening. Top medical experts and scholars across the country in the field of respiratory diseases attended the meeting via online and offline platforms. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhong Nanshan (left), China's leading respiratory disease expert and recipient of the Medal of the Republic, and Wang Chen, president of Peking Union Medical College, chat with each other during the opening ceremony of the 2020 Annual Congress of Chinese Thoracic Society in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, on Oct 23, 2020. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhong Nanshan (first from left), China's leading respiratory disease expert and recipient of the Medal of the Republic, and Wang Chen (first from right), president of Peking Union Medical College, attend the opening ceremony of the 2020 Annual Congress of Chinese Thoracic Society in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, on Oct 23, 2020. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhong Nanshan (center), China's leading respiratory disease expert and recipient of the Medal of the Republic, attends the opening ceremony of the 2020 Annual Congress of Chinese Thoracic Society with top medical experts and scholars across the country in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, on Oct 23, 2020. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhong Nanshan, China's leading respiratory disease expert and recipient of the Medal of the Republic, attends the opening ceremony of the 2020 Annual Congress of the Chinese Thoracic Society in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, on Oct 23, 2020. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Wang Chen (third from left), president of Peking Union Medical College, gets his photo taken with guests at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Annual Congress of Chinese Thoracic Society in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, on Oct 23, 2020. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/chinadaily.com.cn]