How elderly, sickly farmers are quenching China's thirst for data

On a drizzly Saturday morning in rural Henan, a province in northern China, Mr Liu, 68, is in high spirits. The ruddy-skinned farmer has come to his village clinic for his second health examination of the year; he’s had his blood pressure checked, had an ECG, completed a urine test and given a blood sample.

“[With these check-ups] I know more about my health, and I feel more secure,” he says ”It’s very good.” Despite suffering from high blood pressure and chronic leg pain, he has never been to the bigger town hospital, which is a 30 minute drive away and at which he would have to pay a fee. The village check-ups, which started last year, are free.