Strangers and railway staff help Chinese couple bring quintuplets home by train
When a couple from Xinjiang took their quintuplets home on a 36-hour train journey, the babies became favourites of both the train crew and fellow passengers, who took turns caring for them. The five babies were born on February 26 at a major hospital in Wuhan, in central China’s Hubei province. Their father, known as Abu, and their mother, Dili, are both from Hotan in northwestern China’s…
A Chinese couple from Xinjiang welcomed quintuplets on February 26 and embarked on a 36-hour train journey home, with strangers and railway staff helping them throughout the trip. The mother, Dili, and father, known as Abu, both from Hotan, gave birth to one boy and four girls in a major Wuhan hospital despite Dili's pre-existing polycystic ovary syndrome diagnosis.
Upon arriving at the train station, railway staff assisted the family in carrying their numerous belongings onto the train, including five strollers, bottles of formula, diapers, and clothes. A staff member even helped them relocate from a middle berth to a lower one to make caring for the babies more manageable. Train staff and fellow passengers took turns feeding, holding, and soothing the babies, giving the parents much-needed rest.
As news of the quintuplets spread, curious passengers lined up to see and photograph them, with some even attempting to feed them. A young woman in the carriage was so engrossed that she claimed she couldn't move without waking them. Another passenger, surnamed Zhao, who was in the upper berth above the family, offered her assistance, climbing down from her berth to help whenever the babies cried.
When Abu and Dili repeatedly expressed their gratitude, Zhao simply stated, "When we're away from home, helping each other is what we should do." Abu primarily cared for the infants during the night, while his wife and sister took over during the day. The family disembarked at a Urumqi station after a 3,500-kilometre journey that took 36 hours.
They planned to continue their journey to Hotan, where they would hold a 100-day celebration for the babies, a traditional event wishing for health and longevity. Unfortunately, Abu had to postpone the event due to the challenges of the long journey from Wuhan to Hotan. The family intends to return to Wuhan a month later for the baby boy's eye condition treatment.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
