The State Council, China's Cabinet, recently approved Aug 19 being designated as Chinese Doctors' Day. The National Health and Family Planning Commission and related departments will be in charge of this, with the first Chinese Doctors' Day to be observed next year.

Chinese Doctors' Day is the fourth statutory professional holiday in China, after national Nurses' Day, Teachers' Day and Journalists' Day, which marks the significance of doctors in safeguarding people's health.

Chinese Doctors' Day will be observed on Aug 19 because the first National Hygiene and Health Conference in the new century was held in Beijing on Aug 19, 2016. The conference was a milestone for the health cause in China.

At the conference President Xi Jinping clarified the important position of hygiene and health work in the whole picture of the Party and the country's cause, as well as presenting guidelines for the country's hygiene and health work in the new era.

The establishment of Doctors' Day is conducive to enhancing the status of doctors in the eyes of the public, and will help promote harmonious relations between doctors and patients.