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Kazakhstan: Strategic developments in Astana
Communications丨China-Kazakhstan Traditional Medicine Cooperation Writes a New Chapter for the Health Silk Road Xinhua News Agency, Astana, October 6th (Reporter Yao Ziyun, Li Renzhi, Zheng Xin) As the autumn chill deepens, in a three-story building south of Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, the air is filled with a faint medicinal fragrance, mixed with the scent of moxibustion and decocting Chinese herbal medicines. This is the China-Kazakhstan Traditional Medicine Center. In the rehabilitation treatment room, 3-year-old Aimaganbet is receiving treatment. Xiao Pengtao, a rehabilitation therapist from Xi'an Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Brain Diseases, kneels, one hand supporting the child's back, the other gently adjusting his leg posture. The child's mother, Bibinur, sits in a nearby chair, her eyes never leaving her son. Aimaganbet suffers from hyperkinetic cerebral palsy. In February of this year, Bibinur encountered the center's free TCM clinic while shopping with her child. She half-heartedly let the doctor give him a treatment, and to her surprise, it actually worked. Since then, mother and son have come to the center every Monday to Saturday for systematic treatments such as acupuncture, Tuina, and physical rehabilitation. During the initial examination, Aimaganbet had difficulty even turning over and could not fix his gaze on others. More than half a year later, his condition has significantly improved. He can now slowly close his mouth and focus on the person in front of him. "Although he still cannot walk and talk like a normal child, we have seen hope," Bibinur said. Li Wei, a doctor from Xi'an Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Brain Diseases, treated a 16-year-old local girl whose weight was severely excessive and had darkened skin on her neck. Her family thought it was a common skin disease, but Li Wei diagnosed it as a pre-diabetic symptom. After a month of treatment, the girl's condition improved significantly, and her mother specially sent a cake to express her gratitude. Randos Zhalgasov, 70, lives in Oral City, more than 1,000 kilometers away from Astana. Due to severe pain in both knee joints, he traveled to the medical center in June of this year for a 10-day treatment. "The doctors not only treat the illness but also teach you how to maintain your health and rehabilitate," he said. "This feeling of being respected is something I haven't experienced elsewhere." Liu Liaoyuan, the director of the center, introduced that the center was guided by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, supported by relevant departments of Shaanxi Province, and undertaken by Xi'an Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Brain Diseases in 2019. It officially opened in 2023. Currently, 12 Chinese doctors and more than 20 local medical assistants work here. As of September this year, the center has received a cumulative total of 85,000 outpatient visits. The center is currently located in a new site of 1500 square meters spread across three floors. The basement houses the herbal decoction room and traditional Chinese medicine storage, the first floor has an adult consultation area, and the second floor has a pediatric rehabilitation area. In the basement's herbal decoction room, machines decoct and package herbs according to standard procedures, which patients can take home and heat to consume. In the first-floor remote consultation center, doctors can connect with multiple top-tier hospitals in Xi'an for remote consultations when encountering difficult cases. In the first-floor acupuncture room, 26-year-old Kazakh girl Ayaan is assisting a Chinese doctor with acupuncture. Around 2018, Ayaan's mother received acupuncture treatment for knee pain with excellent results, which inspired Ayaan to consider studying Traditional Chinese Medicine. In 2019, Ayaan was admitted to Zhejiang Chinese Medical University. At the beginning of her studies, the difficulty of learning various TCM theories and classical Chinese texts almost made her want to drop out. Her passion for TCM kept her going, and she also developed fluent Chinese. In May of this year, Ayaan joined the center as an assistant acupuncturist and is currently preparing to take the national qualification examination for traditional medicine in Kazakhstan. "Before, when locals heard about TCM acupuncture, their first reaction was 'Needles? Does it hurt?' Now they say 'I can try it.'" Ayaan said. "This change has been particularly evident in recent years." In addition to providing medical services, the center continuously expands its cooperative network. The center has helped the National Children's Rehabilitation Center of Kazakhstan establish the first TCM outpatient clinic in a public hospital in Central Asia and co-established the "Belt and Road" Joint Laboratory for TCM Brain Diseases with Nazarbayev University. Furthermore, the center conducts two-day free training sessions every month, having held over 20 sessions and trained hundreds of local TCM enthusiasts and primary care physicians. Historically, Traditional Chinese Medicine traveled westward along the ancient Silk Road with caravans. Today, under the framework of jointly building the "Belt and Road," medical staff from China and Kazakhstan at the China-Kazakhstan Traditional Medicine Center are working hand in hand to make the art of traditional Chinese medicine take root in Central Asia. "We are not only here to practice medicine but also to spread culture. We must strive to make more local people believe in and accept TCM," said Liu Liaoyuan.
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