Chinese son brings violinist into ICU for final goodbye to mother

A short video filmed inside a hospital intensive care unit (ICU) in southern China has gone viral after a son arranged a violin performance at his mother’s bedside, in what viewers online described as a final musical farewell.

The incident took place at Dongguan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Guangdong province, where Huang Haile invited violinist Tang Xing to perform for his mother, Ye Jindi, while she was receiving end-of-life care, according to the South China Morning Post. The musician played “Mother” by Joe Hisaishi, a well-known piece from the 1999 Japanese film Kikujiro, as Ye lay in her hospital bed.

The report said the mother was a former music teacher and had been suffering from late-stage liver cirrhosis and heart inflammation. The gesture was arranged in her ICU room and lasted about 10 minutes, with the son saying he hoped music could offer comfort at a time when conversations were limited.

The son said he made the decision because his mother loved music and he believed hearing is among the last senses to fade. The story spread quickly across social media platforms, where many users reshared the footage and reflected on how families mark final moments in hospitals.