Finding old wisdom in new container

CHENGDU - When Yuan Wenqi, a salesman in the city, went to the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctor on Friday to have his cold treated, he was expecting to be given packs of herbs. Instead he was given a plastic container of medicine and was told to drink it like instant coffee.

"I'm leaving home tomorrow for a trip in Guangzhou," Yuan said. "It will save the trouble of boiling up the herbs for hours when I'm traveling. I was told the effectiveness of the new way of TCM equals the old."

The science-fiction like machine that produces the new prescribed granules can be found at the Smart TCM Dispensary in Chengdu No 1 People's Hospital, where it has been in use for about a month.