by Li Huizi
WELLINGTON, April 11 (Xinhua) -- When Tom Thomson looked back on his days as an endurance athlete, he remembered more than the challenges of competing in the famed Coast to Coast race.
It was during those years of physical strain that he first discovered the healing power of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
"I spent a lot of time in hospitals with broken this and broken that," Thomson, now chairperson of the Canterbury Museum Trust Board, recalled at the "Chinese + TCM" South Island Roadshow held Saturday in Christchurch, the largest city on New Zealand's South Island.
"They started introducing me to acupuncture. Apart from my early misgivings, I experienced good results and was quickly back to my level of fitness," Thomson told an audience keenly interested in TCM.
Now, decades later, that personal connection has taken on new significance. Under Thomson's leadership, the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch is set to collect and display the One Million Silver Needles Project, a nationwide initiative organized by New Zealand's Chinese medicine community.
The museum will host a dedicated exhibition later this year, honoring the contribution of the country's acupuncturists and the deepening ties between Chinese and New Zealand cultures.
"The gift of one million silver needles is a symbolic recognition of the enormous contribution that Chinese immigration has made to New Zealand culture," Thomson said.
"It reflects not only a shared history, but a shared future," he added.
Chinese Consul General in Christchurch He Ying said in her address that both the Chinese language and TCM are "treasures of Chinese civilization and bridges connecting China with the world."
She noted that Chinese immigrants introduced the language and TCM to New Zealand as early as the 1860s. After more than 160 years, both have moved from community-level practice into the nation's education and healthcare systems.
"More and more Kiwis are learning Chinese and turning to TCM for treatment," she said, adding that the One Million Silver Needles Project embodies the TCM community's aspiration to contribute to the public health of New Zealanders and enrich bilateral exchanges in health culture.
Paddy McBride, chair of the Chinese Medicine Council of New Zealand, said TCM is a registered profession in New Zealand today, recognized alongside doctors, midwives, pharmacists, osteopaths and dieticians.
There are now more than 1,300 registered practitioners of TCM in New Zealand, more than two-thirds of whom speak English as a second language, she noted.
"We are here in New Zealand and we are passionate about Chinese medicine. I remember as a second-year student sitting in class listening to the relationship between how the body works and how the seasons of the year and the climates all interreact. And it just hit me so hard," recalled McBride.
The One Million Silver Needles Project has united practitioners from throughout New Zealand and encouraged more Kiwis to explore what Chinese medicine truly is and what it can add to their lives, she said.
McBride was in China recently and spent "a considerable amount of time" in one of the hospitals there. "The integration of Western medicine and Chinese medicine was mind-blowing," she noted. "People going and having surgery and then on the day after surgery would start their course of herbal medicine or acupuncture."
Calling TCM "the future of medicine," McBride added, "Those of us who have trained in Chinese medicine, those who have trained in Western medicine, we should each use what we do best to provide the very best of healthcare for all New Zealanders."
A team from Zhejiang Chinese Medical University engaged local audiences with lectures, interactive demonstrations and hands-on activities during the Christchurch event.
"We hope to offer everyone a chance to understand and experience traditional Chinese medicine's approach to health and well-being," said Fan Xiaohui, vice president of the university. ■