A hospital train left Beijing on Tuesday to offer free cataract treatment to thousands of poor farmers in remote areas of China.

Vice Premier Wu Yi and Tung Chee-hwa, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference attended the departure ceremony at the Beijing West Railway Station.

The "Health Express" is sponsored by Hong Kong donors, who funded three such trains in 1997, 1999 and 2002, and have helped more than 64,000 cataract patients regain their sight since 1997.

This year, medical workers on three trains will go to nine provinces in central and western China to conduct free surgery on 9,000 cataract patients.

Remote areas, especially those at high altitudes, have a high incidence of cataracts, a condition in which the lens of the eye becomes cloudy and can lead to blindness, due to cold air, low oxygen levels and strong ultraviolet light.

(Xinhua News Agency March 7, 2007)