KEY POINTS:
Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine are upgrading the 4000-year-old healing method to improve its image.
They are trying to make it more palatable to a new generation who are accustomed to visiting spas and "wellness" clinics.
Most young Chinese use Western-style GPs as their first port of call when they are sick but still believe that swallowing tortoise shell, deer pizzle, centipede, scorpion or sea horse, or sticking needles into their skins can treat a wide range of illnesses, as can the vast array of herbal remedies.
However, traditional Chinese medicine has an image problem - the potions taste awful and smell even worse.
Boutique owner Huang Zhaohe, for example, said she had great success using traditional Chinese medicine to help her lose weight, but admitted it was a struggle. "Once, when I saw what went into the medicine, I felt sick but now I am used to it," she said. "There are some strange things in Chinese medicine."
Traditional medicine is still popular in China because evidence suggests the old remedies are effective. Many poor people in rural areas rely on it because they have no access to Western-style healthcare. Yet even the wealthy, modern Chinese like to complement Western treatments with a holistic approach.
The rising incomes of young urban professionals have seen spas pop up all over Beijing, many of them offering therapies inspired by traditional medicine. These are said to have fewer side effects than Western drugs.
Stroke patients are often given acupuncture as part of their treatment. Indeed, the practice of inserting needles under the skin has even become more common in GPs' surgeries. About 3000 Chinese hospitals provide traditional medicine and see 234 million patients each year. The industry, worth £64 billion ($190 billion) annually at the last count, is growing by 20 per cent a year.
The Modernised Chinese Medicine International Association, based in Hong Kong, advocates using traditional medicine in granulated form. A patient simply whisks the granules into boiling water, rather than letting an array of foul-smelling herbs and questionable ingredients sit stewing on their stovetop for hours. Scientists are using new technologies to standardise doses and are carrying out more rigorous clinical testing to assess why the remedies work.
Traditional medicine is derived from a number of philosophies including the Taoist theory of "yin and yang", which asserts that the processes of the human body are interrelated and in constant interaction with the environment. Signs of disharmony help traditional medicine practitioners to understand, treat and prevent illness and disease.
However, the use of ingredients from endangered species has harmed traditional medicine's image. Another popular cure calls for a dose of bear bile drained from a painful tap in a bear's spleen. Some traditional medicine practitioners are now advocating the use of alternatives.
While buying a sachet of artificial tiger paw might be a less romantic option, it is certainly a more sustainable one.
ANIMAL AID
Healthy industry:
* About 3000 Chinese hospitals provide traditional medicine.
* They see 234 million patients each year in a $190 billion industry.
Exotic ingredients:
* Tortoiseshell is said to cure a "yin" deficiency by reinforcing body fluids and nourishing the blood.
* Earthworm and centipede help to reduce swellings.
* Scorpion is used to deal with migraine and rheumatism.
Endangered doses:
* The use of tiger and bear products has harmed traditional medicine's image.
* Some traditional medicine practitioners are now advocating the use of alternatives.
- Independent
