Macau Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Industry Trade Union delegation investigated the development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry in Tongcheng County on Dec 10.

The delegation visited Hubei Yaoxiang Yucao Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, Furen Pharmacy, Yaogu Mountain TCM Health Technology Industrial Park, Daping township sealwort base, and Runkang Pharmaceutical, to learn about the county’s TCM industry planning, construction of medicinal materials base, planting scale, market sales quotation and price.

Tongcheng is known as the "natural medicine storehouse in regions south of the Yangtze River", with abundant resources of traditional Chinese medicine, having 166 families and 1313 kinds of natural wild Chinese medicine varieties, which accounts for 46.59% of the total number of medicinal plants in the province, and the total reserves amount to more than 10 million kg. It’s rich in rare Chinese medicinal materials, such as sealwort, bletilla striata, paris polyphylla, and uncaria rhynchophylla. In recent years, Tongcheng County vigorously implements the "revitalization of traditional Chinese medicine" and "five drugs" (medicinal materials, medicine, pharmaceutical market, medicinal diet, medicinal health maintenance) strategy simultaneously; the planting area of medicinal materials exceeds 112,300 mu, and the annual acquisition of Chinese medicinal materials can reach more than 1,000 tons, so a TCM industrial chain with integrated development of primary, secondary and tertiary industries has taken shape.

The delegation spoke highly of the development prospect of traditional Chinese medicine in the county. They said that Tongcheng is rich in traditional Chinese medicine resources and has obvious advantages in natural planting, hoping the two sides can strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the field of TCM, give full play to their respective advantages, expand and strengthen industrial chains and industrial clusters, and jointly promote the healthy development of TCM. (By Liu Shanshan/Xianning Daily)