Traditional Mongolian medicine is now expanding out of a relatively small circle of practitioners to reach more people. Khangai Baatar is head of the haematology and oncology department at the State-owned Inner Mongolia International Mongolian Hospital in Hohhot, capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
He said: “Compared with Western medicine, traditional Mongolian medicine has relatively smaller doses and the medicine is mainly made of herbs and minerals, which are natural and easy to take.”
Though similar to traditional Chinese medicine, traditional Mongolian medicine usually uses more pills than raw herbs. “Traditional Mongolian medicine believes that the human body is a comprehensive unit, which has a self-healing capacity,” Khangai Baatar said.
“Medical methods are used to fully mobilise the human body to cure itself. Patients are given different medicines to be taken at different times during the day.”
Mixing Mongolian medicine and other traditional medicines with Western medicine will help to ease the situation in China where medical resources are in short supply due to the huge population.
Ulaan, head of the hospital, said the methods to cure 149 diseases at the institution are based on traditional Mongolian medicine. She said she is proud of the hospital’s cross-border medical services. Some 10,000 patients from the country of Mongolia have come to the hospital.
In 2013, Ulaan led a delegation to the United Nations headquarters in New York to attend a forum organised by the World Health Organisation. She delivered a speech there on the role traditional medicines from China have played in people’s daily lives.
“Academic communication and training of more international expertise has followed,” she said. “We call it ‘medical diplomacy’ to echo the Belt and Road Initiative.”
“Traditional Mongolian medicine (TMM) is a unique and precious resource in Inner Mongolia, which also mixes with traditional ethnic culture,” said Wu Tuanying, deputy director of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Inner Mongolia. Mr Wu was speaking at a recent ceremony giving the city of Tongliao, Inner Mongolia, the title of China’s TMM Capital.
“It plays an important role in not only the medical but also the cultural field. Traditional Mongolian medicine is widely favoured by the public for its close connection with nature, high quality and low price,” he added.
For example, bone-setting in traditional Mongolian medicine is easy to practise and is not restricted by environments. The technique at Tongliao Traditional Mongolian Medicine Bone-setting Hospital has been listed on the national-level intangible cultural relic list.
“Traditional Mongolian medicine is a precious cultural heritage of the Mongolian ethnic group and a crucial part of the medical sector in our country,” said Li Jiheng, Party chief of Inner Mongolia, when he visited Tongliao in 2016.
“Inner Mongolia should make the traditional Mongolian medicine business bigger and stronger for it to benefit more people.”
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