Temperature drops, gaofang season starts
The first batch of gaofang was produced at Shanghai Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine over the weekend.
Along with the drop in temperature, the first batch of gaofang, a seasonal herbal paste tonic, was produced at the Shanghai Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine over the weekend.
Gaofang is a herbal paste made of condensed liquid herbal medicines chock full of ingredients like honey and brown sugar. Under traditional Chinese medicine theory, it can enhance health, especially for the elderly and people with weak immunity and chronic diseases. It also can help young and middle-aged people with sub-health conditions due to strong work pressure, irregular life pace and unhealthy lifestyles.
While other hospitals hire pharmaceutical companies to produce gaofang, Yueyang is the only one in the city to maintain the tradition by having a special plant with 100 bronze vessels to make the tonic. It is also the nation's biggest gaofang-making base.
Doctors said each paste of gaofang is tailor-made as doctors must check the patient and then make a prescription. The hospital follows the most traditional process of gaofang making, which consists of seven steps and takes up to two days.
Yueyang has more than 40 years of history in gaofang prescription and production. About 10,000 people have made reservations at its gaofang clinic this year.
"Gaofang is not only a TCM therapy but also an intangible Chinese cultural heritage," said Dr Zheng Li, an official of Yueyang, which makes about 20,000 prescriptions of gaofang each year. "In addition to offering health care, we are also promoting TCM culture and health education on disease prevention and control through gaofang prescription and production."
Yueyang is the only facility in the city to maintain the tradition by having a special plant with 100 bronze vessels to make gaofang.
