I Left Two Cameras with Children in the Hospital. A Month Later, Their Photos Left Me Speechless...

Summary: Beijing GoBroad Boren Hospital, the Sunshine Charity Ward School, and photographer and content creator Yang from the social media account “Yibu Che Shenghu” jointly organized a photography exhibition for children undergoing long-term treatment for blood disorders. After attending a photography class in February, the children were given two cameras to document light and shadow, family members, and small moments from everyday life. The article shares the stories of several young photographers, including 15-year-old Nini, Nuo Nuo, who is nearly 10 years post-transplant, and 12-year-old Han Han. Their photographs capture sunlight on an orange leaf, an art stall during Chinese New Year, the national flag beneath Zhengyang Gate, and a mother making a heart gesture for the camera. A camera was also donated to the Ward School so that the children could keep recording their lives, while the event called greater attention to the educational and companionship needs of children facing long hospital stays.

A little after 8:00 a.m. on March 25, a surprise was quietly taking shape in the first-floor lobby of the outpatient building at Beijing GoBroad Boren Hospital (the “Hospital”). Yang, who runs the social media account “Yibu Che Shenghu,” had joined the Sunshine Charity Ward School and the Hospital to prepare a photography exhibition for the children.

The photographers behind the images were children undergoing long-term treatment for blood disorders. In February, Yang had visited the Ward School to teach them a photography class. He left two cameras behind and encouraged the children to take whatever caught their eye, promising that they would look through the photos together after Chinese New Year.

A month later, the children’s photographs amazed everyone.

Yang unveils the photography exhibition.

Hospital rooms may be white, but through the children’s lenses, the world is full of color -

Leaves and sunlight, paint and brushes at a street stall, buildings and lanterns seen on outings, the family members they love most, and the warm everyday moments they share at the nearby “patient family home.”

At 10:00 a.m., the young photographers began arriving in the outpatient lobby with their families. All of them had completed stem cell transplantation and were living near the Hospital while returning regularly for follow-up visits or treatment for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).

For the children, simply being able to come out and join the exhibition was a joyful occasion.

Nini, a 15-year-old girl from Sichuan, still speaks with a warm Sichuan accent. Four months after her transplant, she was looking well and already thinking about home. “Once it’s been six months since my transplant, I can go home,” she said with anticipation. Her photographs “Verdant Glow” and “Spring” drew praise from Yang and everyone at the exhibition. Explaining one image, she said, “It’s an orange leaf that was lying on the table. Light happened to be refracted through a water bottle onto it, and I thought it looked beautiful.” An ordinary leaf and an unexpected beam of light became a landscape through her eyes.

Nini’s photograph, “Verdant Glow”

Nini’s photograph, “Spring”

Nuo Nuo, 20, is nearly 10 years post-transplant and continues to receive treatment for GVHD and other treatment-related effects. Her body may still be tied to the hospital for now, but she has never lost her eye for beauty. During Chinese New Year, she went for a walk through the hutongs and noticed someone painting at a small street stall. She photographed the casually scattered brushes, along with glowing lanterns, a bright lion dance, and sparrows perched on tree branches - small moments of life outside the hospital, carefully collected through her lens.

Nuo Nuo’s photograph, “A Carnival of Paint”

Nuo Nuo’s photograph, “A Curtain of Lantern Light”

Han Han, 12, is something of a class favorite at the Ward School. Dressed in a red jacket and red cap, he was full of energy, nearly two years after his transplant. He was unable to go home for Chinese New Year, so his family took him to Qianmen Street, where he photographed Zhengyang Gate and the red national flag in the sunlight. “I still can’t eat the food there...” he said, sounding a little disappointed. “Keep getting stronger, and you’ll be able to one day,” someone told him. He nodded and smiled.

Han Han’s photograph, “Beneath Zhengyang Gate”

Han Han poses with his photograph.

Through 18-year-old Shan Shan’s camera, family love and the warmth of their temporary home take center stage. While staying at the “patient family home” over Chinese New Year, he photographed his family making dumplings and celebrating with the traditional Chinese character for “fortune.” On a recent outing, his mother sat on a bench among rose bushes, holding a bouquet and making a heart gesture toward the camera. Shan Shan called the photo “Rose Princess.”

Shan Shan’s photograph, “Rose Princess”

Shan Shan with his family

Yan Yan sat in a wheelchair wearing a beautiful Chinese-style jacket, her hair carefully braided - a small detail that made her mother’s love easy to see. She and her mother live nearby. Her mother said their family had received a great deal of help from kind-hearted people during Yan Yan’s treatment, and she now volunteers part-time as a way of giving something back. Several years ago, treatment side effects led to muscle wasting in Yan Yan’s legs, and she has needed a wheelchair since then. Even so, she remains in good spirits. “As long as she’s happy,” her mother said. Recently, her mother took her to Zhuozhou to see a lantern festival, where Yan Yan photographed this Jade Rabbit display.

Yan Yan’s photograph, “Jade Rabbit”

Yan Yan beams as she receives her certificate.

Chen Chen, 11, arrived dressed all in black and looking effortlessly cool. Nearly two years after his transplant, he appeared to be recovering well, laughing and joking with the other children - the kind of carefree moments every child deserves. For his photograph “Fortune at the Table,” he casually arranged sunflower seeds and fruit during Chinese New Year, turning an ordinary scene into a picture filled with festive warmth.

Chen Chen’s photograph, “Fortune at the Table”

As the exhibition came to a close, Yang presented each young photographer with a certificate and a picture book. He also donated a camera to the Ward School so the children could continue taking pictures whenever inspiration struck and keep documenting the good moments in their lives. Yang said he hopes to return for more activities in the future. On behalf of the Ward School, teacher Xin Xin gave Yang a gift from the children and their parents: two large bags of oranges.

Group photo at the end of the event

Hospital rooms may be white, but the world in a child’s eyes has never been colorless.

The Sunshine Charity Ward School exists for exactly this reason. The program provides companion-based education for children aged 3-14 who are hospitalized long-term with serious illnesses, helping bring learning, connection, and color back into their lives. We believe illness may limit where a child can go, but it cannot take away curiosity about the world, the ability to see beauty, or the desire to enjoy life. Give them a little light, and their world can shine.

Our thanks to Yang, creator of “Yibu Che Shenghu,” for opening a window for the children through photography and adding another touch of color to the Ward School with his kindness.

And thank you to every young photographer. The beautiful moments you captured remind us that even in a hospital, spring can still be found.