Accepted across the planet

When I first took my British friend Isaebella Watson, 24, to an acupuncture clinic in Beijing, she was horrified when needles pierced her soft skin. She froze, and refused to move initially, fearing that a small change in posture could trigger a sharp pain. Later, however, she was amazed by the magical therapeutic effect.

Last month, Watson, who studies communication at a Beijing university, was on a long-haul flight from London to Beijing. She slept through the journey, only to find later she could not move her right arm and fingers.

"I felt no pain, and there was no bruise and scar. Instead, my arm just simply didn't follow my brain's instructions to move, as if it no longer belonged to my body. I went to a Western hospital. I took the prescribed medicine, but my situation didn't improve," Watson recalled.