Congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD) is a group of genetic muscle disorders with early onset and no specific treatment is available. Since all muscles may be involved, these patients require multidisciplinary and comprehensive treatment, including respiratory and cardiac function monitoring, support, nutrition, rehabilitation and orthopedic surgery. Nowadays, there are many parents who unrealistically hope that there will be such an effective medicine that will cure their children’s condition like two tablets of ibuprofen for fever, and even go to the lengths of their families to do so, only to be disappointed. In contrast, not enough attention is paid to daily care and nutritional support, such as rehabilitation, which is really important for the children’s treatment. With the help of U.S. experts and funding from the Beijing Natural Science Foundation for Foreign Cooperation and Exchange, the Department of Pediatrics of Peking University First Hospital held the second “Symposium on Translational Medicine for Congenital Myotonic Dystrophy” from October 18-20, 2012, as part of the Centennial Celebration of Peking University Hospital. The theme of the conference was respiratory function monitoring, orthopedic treatment and rehabilitation training, with the aim of improving the knowledge of relevant professionals about this disease and the corresponding comprehensive management measures, conducting academic exchanges, conveying correct information, guiding comprehensive treatment, and promoting the development of translational medicine. The first two days of the conference were held in the Department of Pediatrics, where some patients were mainly examined and evaluated in the areas of neurology, respiratory system and spine and joints, and the parents were communicated and exchanged with them accordingly regarding the children’s conditions and future treatment. During the two-day clinic, 29 patients with CMD from all over China received neurological examinations, pulmonary function measurements, spinal joint examinations and genetic counseling in an orderly manner. From 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, each day was full of schedules. The specialists worked tirelessly to examine the patients; the children and parents prepared carefully and provided as detailed a medical history as possible; residents, graduate students, eight-year students and even middle school students from Beijing No. 4 Middle School volunteered to take on the role of volunteers, and they all did their best to help the children with their difficulties and assist the specialists with the examinations. In addition, four patients underwent sleep breathing monitoring and BIPAP non-invasive ventilator treatment in the respiratory medicine department for free on the nights of the 18th and 19th, which is of great significance to improve the quality of life and respiratory function of the children. The third day of the conference was held at the Beijing Contemporary Service Center, and the most special and striking of the attendees was a group of children of all ages, some held by their parents, some supported by their parents, and some in wheelchairs. They are the special guests of this conference – children with CMD. The venue, which can accommodate more than a hundred people, has been filled with children and parents as well as invited experts and scholars from home and abroad. We invited Castern Bonnemann from NIH (former Professor of Neurology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia), Oscar (Hank) Mayer from the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, David Spiegel from the Department of Orthopaedics, Anne Ruthowsk, President of the American Association for the Treatment of CMD, and Yaqun Zou, Senior Research Fellow at NIH, to be our CMD experts. In addition to the team of CMD experts, including Que Chengli from the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Liu Hong from the Department of Spine Surgery, Yuan Yun from the Department of Neurology, Huang Zhen from the Department of Rehabilitation and many medical and nursing staff from the Department of Pediatrics, Zhang Cheng from the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Han Chunxi from Shenzhen Children’s Hospital, Li Xihua from Shanghai Pediatric Hospital and Dai Yi from the Union Hospital also attended the meeting and answered patients’ questions. The meeting was hosted by Xiong Hui of the Department of Pediatrics, and Vice President Ding Jie and Director Jiang Yuwu delivered welcome speeches on behalf of the hospital and the Department of Pediatrics, respectively. Carsten Bonnemann, director of the Division of Pediatric Neuromuscular and Neurogenetics at NIH, who has a deep knowledge of congenital myotonic dystrophy, gave a detailed lecture on new advances in the diagnosis and treatment of CMD, giving us a clearer understanding of CMD and sharing the importance of genetic diagnosis with the audience. Anne Ruthowsk, a mother of a child with congenital muscular dystrophy, shared her experience in the care and management of children with congenital muscular dystrophy with many Chinese parents, and also emphasized the importance of rehabilitation and other care and nutritional support for the prognosis of children with CMD over a particular drug. Department of Pediatrics, Peking University First Hospital. Anne Ruthowsk, as the president of the American CMD Therapy Association, is committed to promoting the international registration of CMD so that more families with CMD can be connected, and so that families with CMD are not alone in their search for treatment and sharing of care, which is well received by parents. Oscar (Hank) Mayer, who has many years of clinical experience in pulmonary function measurement and non-invasive ventilation, shared with the audience the issues related to respiratory insufficiency and the evaluation and management of respiratory function in children with CMD, as well as the corresponding instructions on how to use the ventilator. David Spiegel, who is dedicated to the research on the impact and treatment of neuromuscular diseases on the spine and joints, shared with the audience the orthopedic surgical treatment of CMD patients. Hui Xiong introduced the current status of diagnosis and treatment of congenital muscular dystrophy in China. The Department of Pediatrics of Peking University First Hospital, established in the early days of the hospital, is one of the earliest modern pediatrics departments established in China. Since 1942, it has been working according to the modern pediatric model of Western medicine, and many pediatric specialties, such as pediatric neurology, have become leading disciplines in China, and it is the first in China to carry out pathological and genetic diagnosis of various congenital myotonic dystrophies. At the same time, as a subspecialty of Peking University First Hospital, a hospital with strong comprehensive strength, we can rely on the platform of Peking University Hospital and make use of the adult respiratory medicine and spinal surgery departments to carry out better diagnosis and treatment for children with CMD. From teething to toddler, every bit of growth is exciting for parents, but for children with CMD, every bit of growth has to be extremely difficult. Many of the attendees were children and parents, and it was sad to see parents pushing wheelchairs into the conference, but it was still a blessing to see the smiling faces of the children in wheelchairs. People often say that one leaf clover represents hope, two leaf clover represents giving, three leaf clover represents love, and the rare four leaf clover is happiness …… Congenital muscular dystrophy is a rare disease, just like four leaf clover, we hope that through our efforts, we can let these children enjoy the happiness of four leaf clover. Undoubtedly, compared to the families of healthy children, each family of children with CMD has to endure more hard work and more worries, but each family still embraces hope, does not count the payment, and is full of love for their children. We believe that more attention and greater support from the community is undoubtedly an affirmation of their dedication and can make them live a happier life. We believe that with the joint efforts of physicians and patients all over the world, the children with congenital muscular dystrophy will have a better tomorrow!