The President of the Comoros Ikililou Dhoinine received Zhong on Feb 13, 2014. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The medical team fulfilled their mission in 2006.

His second Africa mission was six years later in 2012. He went to the Comoros islands off the coast of Africa where 600,000 people shared just one anesthetist.

He delivered lectures once a week to train nurses and doctors and also helped to set up operation regulations.

"Knowing how to fish is better than having a fish. The mission of Chinese doctors is to impart knowledge and our humanitarian spirit," he said.

He put his experience in Africa on paper and his book Chinese Doctors in Africa won a prize.

"In 1963 the Chinese government sent the first medical team to Africa. As a result, 180 million people from 47 African countries and regions have benefited from China's aid," Zhong recounted proudly. "I am telling a truth that generations of Chinese doctors have sacrificed their youth or even lives for their career, a truth that people should know but few do."