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Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
Latest news and updates about traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), including Covid-19 treatments, food to eat and avoid, acupuncture, gua sha, and how TCM could help with anxiety and pain relief.
In April 2026, Venchi debuted its 30-year dried mandarin peel and red bean dessert gelato. It is one of the many ways that chun pei (dried mandarin peel) is being reinvented. Photo: Joyce Yip
Food and Drinks

Mandarin peel ice cream? Chun pei, a TCM ingredient, is gaining favour

Dried mandarin peel was first used in dishes to impress Chinese emperors. Today, it can be found in everything from drinks to desserts.

Food and Drinks

Asian-American mother challenges tough Chinese traditions for new mums

Wellness

Are ice baths good for you? What you need to know before taking the plunge

Vietnam

Pangolin win: Vietnam sends scale smugglers to prison for 8 years

The Asian pangolin has been hunted for its meat and scales to the point of extinction, causing poachers to turn to its African cousins.

A rescued pangolin bought off a wildlife seller rests at the Green Finger Garden in Lagos, Nigeria. Photo: Reuters
Chinese culture

Turning walnuts into ‘jade’? Social media goes nuts over old Chinese tradition

You will not actually make jade by rolling walnuts around in your palm, but this Chinese tradition can boost hand strength and calm anxiety.

Hong Kong economy

Ex-Hong Kong leader’s Chinese medicine platform to link mainland and global markets

Leung Chun-ying launches Hong Kong-based trading platform to boost transparency, efficiency and global reach of branch of medical practice.

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Food and Drinks

How Okinawan food evolved with Chinese influences to become ‘truly unique’

Long ago, Okinawa was part of the Ryukyu Kingdom, a trade hub linking Japan to Asia. Today, dishes like goya champuru reflect this history.

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Champuru is a representative dish of Okinawa, Japan. Its use of goya, or bitter melon, reveals its Chinese influences. Photo: Getty Images
Trending in China

China youth flock to TCM bars for ‘prescription cocktails’ amid ‘punk wellness’ trend

Younger generation embrace notion of ‘wrecking yourself while saving yourself’ by drinking concoctions of booze and herbs.

Trending in China

Why Chinese pour TCM medicine dregs on roads, hope others will walk, drive over it

Folk legend has it that a man known as ‘king of medicine’ in Tang dynasty examined leftover TCM on street, came up with better cures.

Wellness

Luxury traditional Chinese medicine treatments are finding fans in Hong Kong

TCM treatments at Upper House, Island Shangri-La and Yun Wellness ranging from acupuncture to massage are appealing to younger generations.

Yun Wellness, at the Island Shangri-la in Hong Kong, regularly hosts guest acupuncturists, tai chi masters and bonesetters. Photo: Yun Wellness
Two Sessions 2026

China to launch TCM on global health mission over the next 5 years

Health commission chief says the plan is to expand the pool of medicinal plants and improve training and technology.

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China aims to bring traditional Chinese medicine to the world. Photo: Simon Song
Trending in China

Why ancient Chinese folk custom involved cutting thigh flesh to feed sick relatives

Extreme act of filial devotion saw raw flesh cooked for human consumption; eventually act was rewarded with tax relief, official titles.

Wellness

All about TCM’s ‘miracle pill’ Angong Niuhuang Wan, and when not to take it

The prized Angong Niuhuang Wan is thought to help stroke victims if taken at the right time. But when is that, and can it harm you?

Food and Drinks

This TCM bar in China makes customers drinks based on its doctor’s diagnoses

Shanghai bar Niang Qing is one of many new traditional Chinese medicine bars that offer bespoke wellness to China’s stressed-out youth.

A bartender prepares shots at Niang Qing, a “TCM bar” in Shanghai, China. Similar bars based on traditional Chinese medicine have popped up in cities across China, epitomising what the country’s stressed-out, time-poor youth refer to as “punk wellness”, or “wrecking yourself while saving yourself”. Photo: AFP
Ageing society

Opinion | Hong Kong should see the ‘silver economy’ as a golden opportunity

The city could reframe its ageing trend by working to become a global capital for ‘longevity finance’ and supporting East-West healthcare innovations.

An elderly woman sits on a chair on the road in front of a fruit and vegetable seller in a market in Causeway Bay in December 2024. Photo: Antony Dickson
Trending in China

Foreigners flock to China for cheaper medical treatment, drawn by free visa policy

Number of foreign visits to mainland hospitals spikes to 1.28 million in 2025, a rise of 73 per cent on the number 3 years ago.

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Opinion | Fee hikes are only half the equation if Hong Kong health reform is to work

If paired with viable service alternatives, clear guidance and a stronger focus on prevention, price rises could become a catalyst for real change.

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Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

4 in 10 Hongkongers struggle to distinguish Chinese medicines from supplements

Our Hong Kong Foundation develops new tool to assess literacy in Chinese medicine, finds ‘moderate level’ of understanding among respondents.

The pharmacy at the Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong, the city’s first hospital in the field. Photo: Edmond So
Trending in China

China aunties teach qigong exercises to fliers at Cairo airport during flight delay

Foreigners join in as middle-aged Chinese women set about taking stress of travelling with pain-relieving dance moves.

Trending in China

Chinese woman swallows raw fish gallbladder to relieve headache ends up in ICU

Fish gallbladder is ‘even more toxic than arsenic’; a few grams are capable of poisoning an individual, larger amounts are potentially fatal.

Hong Kong economy

Editorial | Hong Kong’s biotech hub aim advanced by pacts with national agencies

Deepening cooperation on traditional Chinese medicine and cancer research will help the city play a role in developing more effective and less intrusive treatments.

The Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Hospital at Pak Shing Kok Road, Tseung Kwan O, on December 9. Hong Kong has been urged to develop Chinese-Western treatments. Photo: Edmond So
Trending in China

Self-taught China pupil impresses peers with TCM pulse diagnosis, praised online

Classmates queue up for youngster with facial expression of ‘an experienced doctor’; tells one boy ‘your problem is spicy food’.

A secondary school pupil in China who is self-taught in Traditional Chinese Medicine has impressed his classmates with his pulse assessment skills. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin/X.com
Luxury Hotels

Welcome to Ananda, the luxury Indian retreat favoured by celebrities and royalty

India’s first luxury wellness retreat, Ananda offers Ayurvedic medical consultations in addition to yoga, meditation and singing bowl healing.

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

85% of injured Hong Kong fire victims discharged, others in stable condition

Health Bureau says 67 of 79 victims injured in Tai Po fire have recovered or been discharged, while 12 are in a stable condition.

Wellness

Wellness gets a 2026 upgrade as ancient wisdom meets modern modalities

The Langham, Hong Kong, has a 3-part Trinity of Calm wellness journey, while The Upper House has a collab with TCM-based Chain’s Medicare Centre.

Heanney Banks’ Yana Method offers practical tools for mothers in Hong Kong, including breathwork sessions and live group coaching. Photo: Handout
Trending in China

China aircraft carrier allows use of naked flames for TCM therapy popular with troops

Military chiefs describe flames used in cupping treatment as ‘necessary fire’; say strict fire prevention code enforced on ship.

China’s most advanced aircraft carrier, Fujian, has made an exception for the use of naked flames on board to accommodate a traditional Chinese medicine treatment. Photo: SCMP composite/Sohu/Chinese Ministry of Defense
Wellness

Need to pass gas after eating? Why taking a short walk is so good for you

‘If you take 100 steps after each meal, you’ll live to 99,’ an ancient Chinese proverb says. Here is why a post-meal walk is so beneficial.

Beauty

Explainer | What is horse oil and why is it a popular skin treatment in East Asia?

Horse oil is said to intensely hydrate skin, fortify hair, and diminish the appearance of wrinkles, but research is lacking on such claims.

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