6 | DISCOVER SHANXI Friday, February 28, 2020 CHINA DAILY The best of both worlds: patients prescribed TCM and Western medicines

By YUAN SHENGGAO

Medical institutions in North We used TCM China’s Shanxi province using ther­ apies combining traditional Chi­ therapies to help nese medicine and Western improve patients’ medical sciences to treat novel coro­ navirus patients have made marked lung conditions and progress in recent weeks, local prac­ Western medical titioners said. Since the outbreak in December, therapies to increase TCM specialists from Shanxi Tra­ patients’ immunity ditional Chinese Medicine Insti­ tute have cooperated with a to the virus.” number of hospitals in the prov­ Ding Aiguo, head of the TCM ince to create therapies and pre­ department at the No 1 Peo­ ventive measures for patients of ple’s Hospital in Shuozhou various conditions. As a result of the research, the specialist team at the institute therapies in Shanxi province was developed five therapies for treat­ discharged on Feb 6 from the No ing the novel coronavirus. The 1 People’s Hospital in Shuozhou therapies were approved by the city. Shanxi Medical Products Admin­ “We used TCM therapies to help istration and the Shanxi Health improve patients’ lung conditions Commission on Feb 17, according and Western medical therapies to to local media reports. increase patients’ immunity to the Shanxi became the fourth prov­ virus,” said Ding Aiguo, head of the ince after Guangdong, Sichuan hospital’s TCM department. A nearby ultra­high­voltage substation is ready to transmit electricity generated by the Yuanqu pumped­storage hydropower station to the and Shaanxi to use these approved He said TCM quickly improves nationwide grids. WU JIAN / FOR CHINA DAILY TCM therapies to treat patients clinical symptoms, strengthens a infected with the novel coronavi­ patient’s bodily resistance and eases rus. defecation. By Feb 20, the therapies had been He added that patients who used in both Shanxi and Hubei — received TCM treatment held a rel­ the province that was most severely atively stable condition and Hydropower plant project gets hit by the epidemic — to help appeared unlikely to decline into a patients and medical workers boost more serious state. their immunity. Shanxi was among the earliest According to the Shanxi Health provinces to use both TCM and Commission, the TCM therapies Western medical measures to treat underway in southern Shanxi have been offered to more than novel coronavirus patients. 13,000 patients and medical work­ The Shanxi Health Commis­ ers. sion and Shanxi Medical Prod­ Province making strides in switching to renewable energy and protecting local environment It is reported that more than 90 ucts Administration established percent of the confirmed coronavi­ a TCM experts group on Jan 21. rus patients in Shanxi province The team is led by Wang Xixing, a ners, the Yuanqu power station is Beijing and Tianjin, as well as Hebei, It is one of the most competitive have used the TCM products and famed professor and researcher expected to be put into operation by Jiangsu, Hubei and Shandong prov­ and reliable ways of storing electric­ therapies. at Shanxi Traditional Chinese 2028. inces. ity, enabling the efficient use of sur­ According to Li Tingquan, head Medicine Institute. The station will also use new ener­ The province has established nine plus energy for the entire grid. A of the hospital affiliated to Shanxi The group, on behalf of the local gy sources such as wind power, and transmitting channels and 18 return pumped­storage hydropower sta­ University of Chinese Medicine, the health authority, approved the new power­transmission modes lines, which have a total delivery tion has a service life of up to 80 or TCM therapies are used with West­ provincial TCM treatment plan for such as ultra­high­voltage direct capacity of 38.3 million kW. even 100 years, according to indus­ ern medicines. the epidemic on Feb 6. current and ultra­high­voltage alter­ The Shanxi provincial govern­ try insiders. “Doctors drew on both TCM and As of midnight on Feb 26, a total By CAO YINGYING nating current to reduce reliance on ment released new environmental In 2013, Yuanqu and Hunyuan Western medical experience in epi­ of 133 confirmed cases of the novel [email protected] coal consumption in power genera­ improvement measures in 2017, county in Shanxi province were demic disease treatment to work coronavirus pneumonia were tion and improve transmission effi­ requiring coal­to­electricity and gas­ recommended as the sites for out plans and therapies for treating reported in Shanxi province. Of North China’s Shanxi province ciency. to­electricity transformation and pumped­storage hydropower sta­ patients, helping to relieve fever, them, 104 were cured and dis­ started construction on a pumped­ It will help to reduce coal con­ use of new energy as the driving tions by the National Energy coughing, shortness of breath, charged from the hospitals. storage hydropower station in Yuan­ sumption by about 290,000 metric force of the province’s energy Administration. fatigue and poor appetite,” Li said. qu county, Yuncheng city on Feb 18, tons, emissions of carbon dioxide by reform. The Yuanqu pumped­storage The first patient who received Guo Yanjie contributed to a major step in the province carry­ about 540,000 tons, sulfur dioxide According to Wang Jinhao, direct­ hydropower station was listed as a both TCM and Western medical this story. ing pilot comprehensive reform on by some 1,800 tons and nitrogen or of the grid technology center of key project in China’s 13th Five­Year energy production. oxide by 650 tons annually, accord­ State Grid Shanxi Electric Power Plan for hydropower development Jointly funded by State Grid Xin­ ing to project planners. Research Institute, Shanxi has in 2016 and one of the key projects yuan and State Grid Shanxi Electric Shanxi is a major electricity pro­ worked on new energy development in Shanxi province in 2018 and Power with a total investment of ducer in China. Its rich energy for 12 years. With a total installed 2019. 7.96 billion yuan ($1.13 billion), the resources like coal made it the first capacity of 23 million kW, the new According to the project plan, power station will have a total province to deliver electricity energy sector has become the sec­ land preparation, major tunnels capacity of 1.2 million kilowatts with nationwide. ond­largest power supplier in the and roads linking the upper and four reversible pump turbine gener­ In 2009, the world’s first 1,000­ province. lower reservoirs will be completed ators. kilovolt UHVAC power transmis­ Wang said pumped hydroelec­ this year. The station, located in the south sion project — the Jindongnan­ tricity storage is an effective power Liu Sheyuan, head of the People’s of Shanxi province, is a major Nanyang­Jingmen UHVAC storing tool that has become one of Congress of Yuanqu county, said, project in China’s renewable energy transmission project — became the largest and most widely used “The project will help improve local and hydropower plan for the 13th operational in Shanxi province, energy storage forms. It can store traffic conditions, increase local Five­Year plan (2016­20) period, and showcasing China’s manufacturing energy in the form of water in an government revenue and provide a key project of Shanxi’s energy ability in long­distance, large­capac­ upper reservoir, pumped from jobs for about 3,500 people, as well reform, which aims to shift from the ity and low­loss UHV power trans­ another reservoir at a lower eleva­ as drive the development of other use of coal­fired power to that of mission. tion. During periods of high elec­ industries such as tourism in the multiple renewable energy resour­ As one of the northern channels tricity demand, power is generated county.” Pharmacists at Shanxi Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chi­ ces. of China’s west­to­east electricity by releasing the stored water nese Medicine prepare dosages for novel coronavirus pneumo­ According to the project’s plan­ network, Shanxi transmits power to through turbines. Li Yali contributed to this story. nia patients. ZHAO HUIFENG / FOR CHINA DAILY Luxurious craft keeps its luster through the ages

By YUAN SHENGGAO facturing varnished lacquerware. “The delicate varnishing and pol­ It led Pingyao lacquerware into a ishing procedures can result in a sur­ In the ancient city of Pingyao, new stage. face as shiny as mirror,” said Liang Shanxi province, local lacquerware How to decorate the The tuiguang lacquerware of Zhongxiu, a master inheritor of the is among the most sought­after sou­ items with images of Pingyao is made of a natural raw intangible cultural heritage. venirs by tourists. lacquer unique to China and var­ However, he said the varnishing “Varnished jewelry boxes are the Chinese and local nished by hand using a special and polishing procedures are not the most popular among tourists, espe­ cultural connotations technique. most difficult part of production. cially those who are newlyweds,” said Through embedding, sculpting, “How to decorate the items with a salesman at a local lacquerware is the most difficult.” carving and colored painting, the images of Chinese and local cultural shop. Liang Zhongxiu, a master lacquerware is decorated with pat­ connotations is the most difficult,” The popularity of Pingyao’s lac­ inheritor of the intangible terns of mountains and rivers, flow­ Liang explained. querware comes from its unique cultural heritage ers and birds, figures and pavilions. He added that the process place in the history of Chinese indus­ Finally, ornaments made of copper requires the artist to have a high aes­ try. guang in Chinese — lacquerwares and even gold are installed and the thetic taste when planning works of Lacquerware is one of the exqui­ in Pingyao, a county in the center of lacquerware is carefully finished. tuiguang lacquerware. site Chinese crafts, which is said to Shanxi province, can be traced back The finished products are simple Elegant as it is, the tuiguang lac­ date back to the New Stone Age. to ancient times. and elegant. The surface of the lac­ querware is not a luxury out of com­ The original wares in China were It is said that they originated in querware is smooth and shiny. It is mon people’s reach. those coated with black and red lac­ the Shang and Zhou (c. 11th centu­ also resistant to high temperatures, Li Xiao, a tourist from Changzhou, quers. From the Shang Dynasty (c. ry­256 BC) dynasties, were devel­ acids and alkali. Jiangsu province, recently bought 16th century­11th century BC) to oped in the Tang Dynasty (618­907) Lacquerware items include tables, several tuiguang lacquerware items the Qing Dynasty (1644­1911), the and peaked in the Ming (1368­1644) cabinets, screen walls, jewelry boxes in Pingyao. Chinese lacquerware industry had and Qing dynasties. and lacquer paintings. “When I found out the making of developed steadily and exerted In the middle period of the Qing In 2006, the technique for making tuiguang lacquerware is a national influence on the craft in Japan and Dynasty, the tuiguang lacquer­ Pingyao’s tuiguang lacquerware was intangible cultural asset, I figured the Korean Peninsula. ware began to be exported to included in the national list of intan­ it would be very expensive,” Li said. Renowned as one of the top four Europe and Southeast Asia. Dur­ gible cultural heritage. “However, when I was strolling From top: Members of the public examine Pingyao’s lacquerware lacquerwares in China, Pingyao’s ing the 1912­49 period, a lacquer­ The technique is complicated, down the street, I found I could exhibits, which were displayed at the Fourth Shanxi Cultural Indus­ lacquerware, especially the hand­ ware craftsman named Qiao involving more than 30 procedures. buy several pieces at affordable try Expo in December. ZHAO HUIFENG / FOR CHINA DAILY An artist uses a polished variety, is a brilliant repre­ Quanyu adopted the style of glass In terms of varnishing, at least five prices.” brush to apply lacquer paints and create a still­life painting of flow­ sentative craft in China. painting in southern China with layers of lacquer is applied and pol­ ers. ZHAO HUIFENG / FOR CHINA DAILY The hand­polished — or tui­ improved techniques for manu­ ished each time. Bai Jie contributed to this story.

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