CRI听力：Tibetan Medicine Experiences a New Boom

Reporter:
Here at the Hospital of Tibetan Medicine in Lhasa, patients are queuing up to be treated. As the most important hospital of Tibetan medicine in this region, the hospital provides all round services for both outpatients and inpatients.

39-year-old Ciren Dawa is a patient.

"I also went to other hospitals. Traditional Tibetan medicine works for my disease well. Over the past years medical conditions in the hospital and medical skills of doctors have improved greatly."
However, before 1959, Tibetan medicine was practiced by people from upper class and monks. It only served aristocrats. Back then, only three medical institutes were available for medical treatment and education. Ordinary people could only turn to few practitioners in the countryside for help.

President of the hospital Zhandui recalls.

"In 1959, the hospital had a floor space of only 1000 square meters. Only one or two doctors provided outpatient services. In 1980s, we built the outpatient and inpatient departments to receive more patients. Now our hospital covers an area of 40,000 square meters and provides 300 beds."

In 1980s, the government built five local hospitals of Tibetan medicine and established relevant departments in hospitals in seventy counties across Tibet.(www.hXen.com)

Meanwhile, in order to encourage more talent and research in Tibetan medicine, the Tibetan Traditional Medical College started offer postgraduate courses in 1999 and doctoral courses in 2004.

As academic exchange over the tradition becomes prosperous, the Hospital of Tibetan Medicine has adopted the method of combining Western and Tibetan medicine to treat diseases. Zhandui explains.

"The academic exchange is conducted both at home and abroad every year. We also send practitioners to study and practice abroad. At the same time, more and more medical institutions and patients come to us for consultation. Tibetan medicine has become more popular in China and is received in other countries. "

Now 18 factories producing Tibetan medicine have been built in Tibet and nearly a hundred outlets have been set up in other provinces. More than ten Chinese cities have Tibetan medicine centres.

Zhandui adds that thanks to the development of education and academic exchange, Tibetan medicine practitioners have achieved a lot in scientific research.

"We compiled an encyclopedia of Tibetan medicine with institutes in other provinces and arranged classic books of it. 70 books on Tibetan medicine have been published over the past few years. We have also developed new therapies and promoted them all over the country."

As traditional Tibetan medicine has been listed as intangible heritage of the region, it is expected to further develop in the future.

Chen Zhe, CRI news.