Early start made on road to traditional Chinese medicine

A pale light seeped through the window of a small room where a man sat at a table next to a curtained-off bed.

An elderly couple and a young girl walked in holding hands, and after a little chat, the elderly pair lay on the bed, while the man, with his sleeves rolled up, inserted dozens of thin needles into their backs.

This was Teng Yun Rou's first contact with traditional Chinese medicine 15 years ago in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, her hometown.