Although we had requested an opportunity to see the large-scale cultivation and harvesting of medicinal plants, this never came to pass. We had read in a Chinese periodical, China Reconstructs that "in the past, most herbs grew wild. Many took years to mature. Some grew only in one part of the country.
Today herbs are grown on state farms as well as in communes and brigade health stations all over China." What we did see were plant gardens, even when they were described to us as "plantations." None of them were in fact places where herbs were grown for supplying the needs of Chinese patients. We left wondering whether the large plantations existed and were simply too distant from the large cities we visited, or whether large-scale production is still mostly a goal for the future. In fairness, it must be stated that our visit was limited to cities, and that extensive side trips would not have been possible, given our schedule.
South China is said to be a leading medicinal plant-producing region. In the province of Kwangsi it is claimed that more that 200 types are cultivated, 40 of them introduced from other parts of the country and 150 cultivated from local wild plants. The people have been encouraged to exploit the mountainous areas, which are most suitable for cultivating these plants. Yunnan, Kweichow, and Szechwan are other provinces which supply large quantities of medicinal herbs.
In the northeast province of Kirin, deer are bred for their antlers, such antlers being much prized as tonics in traditional Chinese medicine.
More about Herbal Medicine:
No comments:
Post a Comment