Power Of Plants

Traditional Chinese medicine evolves from herbal drinks to high-end therapies

- Erica Ng

Mention of ‘traditional

Chinese medicine’ (TCM) used to conjure a dark, bitter concoction that boiled from a mixture of herbs and roots, and its pungent aroma were often associated with twisted ankles and grandmothers. This stereotype is radically changing in Macau, where TCM is fast becoming more modern and scientific.

Macau identified TCM as one of the key emerging sectors earlier this year with hopes to eventually become the global exchange platform in the field. Effort is perhaps most evident in its establishment of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park of Cooperation between Guangdong and Macao, a 500,000sqm industrial park dedicated to TCM research and business development.

Chan Fei-In, a TCM doctor at the University Hospital of Macau, says the modernisation of TCM has been evident in the city over the past decade as education and qualifications have become more structured and recognised, encouraging forward-thinking students and practitioners to join the field. Chan says, “There is more information among TCM experts and the general public. We are interacting more with experts from Mainland China, and at the same time people have more access to information online.”

The Faculty of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) was established in 2000. Currently, the school offers Bachelor, Master and Doctor of Philosophy programmes in TCM. In 2003, a specialised TCM clinic was established with the approval of the Macau Health Bureau and provides opportunities for clinical practice for its medical students. Local demand at this clinic was so robust that it became a full-fledged university hospital four years later, with departments dedicated to Chinese medicine as well as Western medicine.