As night fell, the main campus of the First Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine was ablaze with lights and thronged with visitors. On August 8, the First Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Culture Night Market kicked off here. Amid the aroma of herbal cuisine, free consultations were provided by famous TCM doctors and therapy experiences were also offered... That day, two international students stepped into the bustling night market with curiosity, embarking on a wonderful night journey of exploring TCM culture.
“We have visited plenty of night markets in China, but this is our first time to visit a TCM culture night market. We really want to see what is so special about it!” Khlybova Valeriia from Russia and Liu Bao Oscar from Hungary are both international students from Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and this was the first time they had witnessed such a stirring scene since in Liaoning Province. They would rather wander through the nine major-theme “stalls” than blunder away any unique TCM cultural experience.
In the herbal cuisine and functional foods cultural experience area, Valeriia and Liu Bao were deeply fascinated by the colorful five-element buns. They stopped to savor them, giving them high praise. “They are really delicious and also healthy. Should I consider opening a herbal cuisine restaurant in Russia to help promote China’s herbal cuisine?” Valeriia said with a smile.
“There are so many delicacies. We found many kinds of delicious foods and drinks!” Liu Bao said excitedly. Not only did the two savor the exquisitely-shaped “Succulent Berry” cultural creative ice cream and “Dietary Therapy” snacks, but they also drank multiple kinds of health-preserving medicinal soups.
In addition to the enjoyment of foods, Valeriia and Liu Bao also engaged in one-on-one pulse diagnoses by a famous doctor. Valeriia said in surprise, “So this is the legendary ‘inspection, auscultation and olfaction, inquiry and palpation’! I am so lucky today. The opportunity to have a consultation with a famous doctor is very rare. I will surely pay more attention to my health in the future!” Moreover, they also experienced Tui Na (Chinese massage therapy), Ba Guan (hot cupping therapy) and other particular TCM therapies. The two could not help but acclaim, “We were a little nervous at the beginning, but after experiencing, we felt relaxed all over. TCM is so amazing!”
In the traditional Chinese health exercise interactive area, Valeriia and Liu Bao enjoyed learning taiji (or tai chi). Under the guidance of Chinese students, the two tried to imitate. Although their shadowboxing movements were somewhat clumsy, they were immersed in the physical and mental pleasure brought by the exercises.
As the night market journey was about to end, the two international students were still intoxicated with the experienced pleasure. They stood in the center of the night market, and captured the memorable moment to share it with their family and friends overseas on social media. Liu Bao said with excitement, “We not only tried delicious foods and everything fun, but also had free consultations with a famous doctor. All these were so great!” Valeriia nodded and agreed, “The TCM night market is so city! I would like to bring the magical TCM culture to my homeland!”
