ACTOR SELENA GOMEZ and five million other people are getting some good news from Hong Kong. Scientists in the city found that a root widely used in Chinese medicine can be combined with a western drug to enable it fight the incurable disease known as lupus.
But that’s just one of about 200 Chinese medicine items that have been found to have clear efficacy against disease, measured by international scientific studies.
It’s also good news for Mainland China and Hong Kong. Thanks to the city’s western heritage, Hong Kong is quickly becoming a global science hub for traditional Chinese medicines.
There were two big events in the industry today. The permanent premises of the Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute opened, as did the first Chinese medicine hospital in Hong Kong. Both can be found at Pak Shing Kok Road in Tseung Kwan O.
These arr big scale projects. The institute includes the Chinese Medicines Herbarium and Laboratories – a center which will exhibit about 3,500 specimens, on a display cycle.
The project also includes the Shennong Herbal Garden. About 700 square metres in size, this medicinal plant garden showcases about 180 species of medicinal plants in a natural setting.
And you don’t even have to be in Hong Kong to learn more about this ancient knowledge. A website has been set up which enables researchers anywhere in the world to use the internet to examine specimens with manipulatable, high-resolution 3D images.
Hong Kong wants to “promote high-quality development of Chinese medicine to go global”, said Dr Ronald Lam, Hong Kong’s Director of Health.
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