Dreams reveal our body's cares

A pioneering traditional Chinese medicine doctor suggests that dreams can be early warning signs of physical problems. Ye Jun delves deeper.

For 10 years, retiree Li Rong had a recurrent nightmare, in which she fell into a countryside squat toilet and was unable to get out. "It certainly wasn't a dream of blooming flowers or a flowing stream and it didn't feel good," says the 49-year-old former laborer from Beijing.

Determined to find the reason behind this disturbing nightmare, she consulted with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Dr Liu Jie, at the Yu Yuan Tang Clinic in Beijing.