Beijing ? A Chinese farmer who received a partial face transplant after being mauled by a black bear has been discharged from the hospital and will go back to his rural mountain village, state media said Saturday.

Li Guoxing, 30, who underwent surgery in Xijing Hospital in the central Chinese city of Xi’an, thanked the doctors and nurses after being released Friday and said he was happy to go home, the Xinhua News Agency said.

“Before I accepted the surgery I could not eat, drink or smile like an ordinary person,” he said at a news conference. “Now I am starting to act like an ordinary person. It feels great.”

The state-run Beijing Youth Daily featured a photo of Li arriving in Kunming, capital of the southwestern province of Yunnan, and holding a bouquet of flowers as a group of smiling people welcomed him. His face appeared swollen and stitches were still visible.

“When he took a train to Xi’an for his operation, he had to wear a mask,” the newspaper said. “Now he’s full of confidence and greeted everyone at the exit door of the airport for 20 minutes.”