TCM treatment catches interest of new generation

Practitioners give patients calabash moxibustion therapy at a health center in Pingliang, Gansu province, on July 16. (LI YALONG/CHINA NEWS SERVICE)

In mid-July, there was a long line in the outpatient hall of Jiangxi Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Nanchang. Many of the patients, including a large number of young people, were coming for sanfutie.

A TCM treatment, sanfutie is administered during sanfu days in the middle of summer. The process involves placing small, square herbal plasters or bandages on various areas of the back and neck.

"Sanfutie is usually applied in cycles of three years, requiring continuous application over this period to achieve better results," said Xu Maolin, 31, who tried sanfutie for the first time last year, and is now in her second year of treatment.

The sanfu period, or "dog days of summer", refers to the hottest part of summer based on the Chinese lunar calendar. It occurred from July 15 to Aug 14 this year. According to traditional Chinese medicine theory, sanfu days are an excellent time for health preservation and healing diseases.

"I've had allergic rhinitis since I was little, and I used to suffer from a runny nose every morning and evening during autumn and winter, which was uncomfortable," Xu said.

"Last year, on a colleague's recommendation, I tried sanfutie treatment for the first time and my rhinitis improved a lot, and I felt good."

She said she initially thought it was a treatment only elderly people have, but later discovered her preconception was wrong. "Many people at my age are using sanfutie, and it's so popular that I need to get up very early to make an appointment," she said.

Xu said she had been won over by the traditional therapy and would recommend it to her friends.