10 Facts About Dr. Ming Wang, the Man Behind SIGHT

Learn More About Dr. Ming Wang, a World-Known Eye Surgeon 

Angel Studios’ upcoming film SIGHT tells the inspiring true story of Ming Wang, an impoverished Chinese prodigy who flees Communist China to become a pioneering eye surgeon in America. When tasked with restoring the sight of an orphan who was blinded by her step mother, he must confront the trauma of living through the violent uprising in his youth, the Cultural Revolution.

Starring Terry Chen and Greg Kinnear, SIGHT hits theaters May 24, 2024.

While the film chronicles Dr. Wang’s rise from an impoverished childhood to world-renowned eye surgeon, there are many other fascinating facts about his life that weren’t covered. Keep reading to discover 10 more facts about Dr. Wang’s remarkable journey. 

Meet Dr. Ming Wang, the Man Who Inspired SIGHT 

1. He is a Harvard, MIT, and University of Maryland graduate.

After arriving in America, Dr. Wang went straight to work applying to the best universities in the country. He holds a PhD in laser physics from the University of Maryland and graduated magna cume laude from Harvard Medical School and MIT. He is one of the the only cataract and LASIK eye surgeons in the world who holds a doctorate degree in laser physics.

2. He arrived in the U.S. with only $50.

After fleeing China, Dr. Wang arrived in America in 1982 with only $50 in his pocket. At just 21-years-old, his first order of business was jumping into a taxi headed for the University of Maryland, which cost him $43. 

3. He has performed over 55,000 eye surgeries. 

Dr. Wang is known as “the doctor’s doctor” in the medical community and specializes in cataract and LASIK surgeries. He has performed over 55,000 eye surgeries throughout his life, including 4,000 on fellow doctors. 

4. He converted to Christianity in America.

As Dr. Wang advanced his medical career, he became more and more interested in Christianity and eventually converted. He has said that faith plays a very important role in his medical career and he prays with his patients before every single surgery. His ambition isn’t just restoring physical sight to his patients, but helping them regain their spiritual sight as well.

5. He is a dedicated philanthropist with several charities that he has founded or cofounded.

Dr. Wang has founded two 501c(3) non-profit organizations including Wang Foundation for Christian Outreach to China and Wang Foundation for Sight Restoration, which has served patients in over 40 states and 55 countries, all performed free-of-charge. He is also the founding director of Wang Vision Institute in Nashville, Tennessee. 

6. He has been doing charity work in China for 30 years.

Since leaving China in the 1980s, Dr. Wang has visited almost every year. Dr. Wang has been doing medical charity work in China for 30 years, performing eye surgeries and training hundreds of Chinese ophthalmologists. 

7. He has performed with Dolly Parton. 

Dr. Wang resides in Nashville where he has his eye institute. Consequently, he has many patients who are country music superstars. One of those patients is legend Dolly Parton, who he accompanied on her album Those Were The Days. He accompanied her on the Chinese Erhu violin, which he learned to play while growing up in the Chinese Cultural Revolution.  

Some of his other notable patients include Kenny Chesney, Nicole Kidman, and Julianne Hough.  

8. He watched hundreds of American movies to learn English.  

The hardest part about moving to America for Dr. Wang was not only learning English, but integrating into American culture. In order to understand American culture, Dr. Wang frequented a rundown movie theater in D.C. and watched two movies per night for months. He claims that he’s probably seen more American movies than most Americans. 

9. He is a champion ballroom dancer.

Dr. Wang learned ballroom dance during his childhood in the Cultural Revolution to avoid being sent to a Chinese labor camp, a devastating fate that fell upon 20 million youth. When he attended Harvard, he started the Harvard ballroom dance team and competed in multiple competitions. He also finished 4th in the US pro-am ballroom competition and was a finalist in the world pro-am international 10-dance championship. 

10. He is married and has 5 cats.

Dr. Wang resides in Nashville with his wife Anle and their five cats,  three of which are named Spaghetti, Tennessee, and Liliy. 

See Dr. Wang’s Story Brought to Life in SIGHT 

To see Dr. Wang’s story on the big screen, get tickets to Angel Studios’ SIGHT, coming to theaters Memorial Day weekend. To support this inspirational story and help its message spread worldwide, follow SIGHT on social media, purchase merchandise, or Pay it Forward to help as many people as possible see this film.