For many Chinese people, Africa is not only far away, but also strange and wild. He Wang, however, has spent most of the past decade living on the continent.

She has just left her 92-year-old mother for the eighth time to visit Africa, where she stays for more than 10 months at a time.

While He was busy packing at home in Changsha, Hunan province, her mother repeatedly came into her room. It seemed the older woman had something to say, but she didn't speak, He recalled.