'Panda Knight' leaves his mark over 8 years

When President Xi Jinping made a speech at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan, in September 2013, he mentioned a young Kazakh man who was famous for donating blood in China.

Tulenov Ruslan, a postgraduate student at Beijing Science and Technology University, was praised by the president as "part of a Sino-Kazakhstan Friendship Epic".

In the past eight years, he donated more than 5,000 milliliters of blood in China, an amount that exceeds the average adult's blood volume.

Born and raised in Atyrau, an oil town in western Kazakhstan, Ruslan has been obsessed with Chinese culture since his childhood.

"I often watched Chinese movies and cartoons on TV then, and my favorite is Xi-youji (or Journey to the West)," he recalled.

In 2009, Ruslan came to Hainan University and started his studies in China. "I chose Hainan because I was originally attracted by its beautiful seaside scenery, and it turns out to be a paradise."

When he first saw his classmates donating blood on a blood donation vehicle, Ruslan recalled his mother's words. "Mom told me to be a helpful person, a good person." Without hesitation, he decided to join his classmates in donating blood.

Knowing that he has Type O, Rh negative blood - only three in every 1,000 Chinese have such a blood type and Rh factor - Ruslan decided to set up blood donations as a routine, and he has donated blood twice a year ever since.

"I regard it as one of my hobbies," he laughed.

Ruslan's O-negative blood, in the words of an old phrase, is "as rare as a panda". Thus it is called "panda blood" in China.

His legendary deeds have earned him the title of the "Panda Knight".

Ruslan does not know the beneficiaries of his blood donations due to privacy issues, but he still enjoys the sense of fulfillment from blood donations. "I feel happy because I am making contributions to society," he said.

Last month, working as an intern at Hainan Airline Group, he joined the blood donation event organized by the company.

"I did not donate blood then because I had done it in February," Ruslan said, revealing a sense of regret at first, but soon smiled with pride, "but as a messenger for China-Kazakhstan friendship, just as President Xi has put it, I worked to instruct my colleagues to donate blood".

During his study in China, Ruslan also met and fell in love with his wife, Gerel Ganzorig, who came from Mongolia. Their daughter, Sophia, was born in Beijing last year.

Now, with the added support from his new family members, Ruslan continues to compose new paragraphs in the China-Kazakhstan Friendship Epic.

"Wherever I go," he said, "I will keep making efforts to promote China-Kazakhstan Friendship."

When Ruslan was asked what he expected from Xi's visit to Kazakhstan starting from Wednesday, he became talkative again. "President Xi's visit will convey the goodwill of the Chinese people."

Liu Siyang contributed to this story.

anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn