Can qigong cure cancer? Ill-stricken Chinese find hope in once-demonised Taoist regimen

Zou Rongsheng is a healthy septuagenarian with an upbeat outlook on life.

He wasn't always so hopeful. Four years ago, the Shanghai resident was told he had cancer. Zou underwent surgery to remove a malignant tumour in his throat. But his prognosis was bleak.

"Doctors told me they couldn't do anything else for me and suggested I get plenty of rest," Zou said. "I was in low spirits at the time."

But somewhere along the way, he discovered qigong, the ancient exercise and breathing regimen developed by Chinese Taoists many centuries ago. Since being introduced to qigong by fellow cancer survivors at a rehabilitation centre, Zou practices every morning in Mengqing Park near his home.

Now, the 72-year-old attributes his current state of well-being to the practice. Zou recalls catching a cold only once in the past four years.

Zou said the park, with its pond and many trees that make the air seem fresher, gives him a feeling of "peaceful alertness and physical vitality".