健康英语新闻:Traditional Chinese Medicine exhibition opens in Vienna

VIENNA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The three-day Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) exhibition opened Friday in the Flower Garden Hirschstetten in Vienna, with the aim to introduce traditional Chinese medicine to the Austrians and to arouse their interest in the culture of Chinese medicine.

Holding for the second time, the exhibition this year have attracted more visitors to take part in the health talks on traditional Chinese medicine, read or buy books around the theme of traditional Chinese medicine. Some visitors enthusiastically tried Chinese diet therapy prepared by the organizers.

In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine has been increasingly recognized and accepted in Austria. It has already not only entered into the classroom but also into the hospital and clinic.

Some private health insurance companies in Austria have started to include the treatment by traditional Chinese medicine into their insuring categories. Chinese patent drugs are already available in many pharmacies in Austria.

But in general, traditional Chinese medicine still faces many limits in Austria, which hasn't been involved into the public health insurance system. Some Austrians still have doubts of Chinese medicine, in particular the medicinal herb drugs. All these have restricted the development of traditional Chinese medicine here.

Currently, major clinics of traditional Chinese medicine carry out only acupuncture and moxibustion, massage and other health-care physical therapy.

Richard Schmerker, a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine in Austria, told reporters that the development of traditional Chinese medicine here still faces many challenges and the biggest one is the shortage of effective propaganda and popularization.

But he expressed his full confidence about the future of traditional Chinese medicine in Austria. He said, the uniqueness of finding the root cause of diseases and laying the axe to the root will make it be accepted by more and more Austrians.