Warmer temperatures permitted a reduction in the number of layers to be worn. Dr Tao’s clinic was  less busy than the previous day, and we were treated to a learned discourse on a topic we had queried the previous day about treating heat syndromes with heat, a practice we had been told by another practitioner was not a good idea, but is done by Dr Tao. He gave us the history of the use of moxibustion, and indications for using it. The conclusion we drew was that different doctors have their own views on moxa in heat situations. He had clearly remembered and thought about the issue, and went to some trouble to speak to us about it.

During the lunch period we met with Erica, a Taiwanese medical student, student of TCM in the university and girlfriend of Igor, the Portuguese TCM student from the hospital clinic. We were looking for tickets to Shanghai for the weekend, and Erica kindly showed us where the train ticket booking office was in Xinjeiko, and did the transaction for us. Being without the language is truly a handicap, and Chinese is a difficult one to master. My speech and language therapist daughter informs me that people who don’t learn Chinese as their mother tongue will never become properly fluent in it. Now there’s a challenge!

The afternoon clinic was an interesting mix. A little boy of six came in for treatment of eczema, and played cat’s cradle with one of the Chinese medical students. A baby of about 18 months came in for treatment of facial palsy, and she did not like the experience one bit, protesting very loudly. Facial palsy is one of the commonest presentations to the TCM clinics, and the doctors say it resolves very quickly with acupuncture. One cannot imagine treating very small children in this way in Ireland for fear of being prosecuted for child cruelty. Different social mores, values and perception of life generally, plus the fact that there is a tradition of acupuncture in China.

Visiting the acupuncture clinic as a patient in China is a long drawn out process. Histories are taken at the doctor’s desk in full view of and clearly audible to the entire clinic. The old hands position themselves on the bed exposing the relevant bit of the body. Newbies perch looking uncertain. All ages wear many layers of clothes, and both men and women wear thermal leggings or granny bloomers under their trousers to preserve modesty, essential given the lack of privacy and that patients and their relatives may decide to have a look at what treatments are happening in the next bed. Glamorous designer undies remain at home. Needling with electrical clips applied to certain points lasts 30 minutes. Following this the treated area is cupped using bamboo cups. In Dr Tao’s clinic the area is given a Tui Na massage with moxa and herbs wrapped in fireproof cloth after cupping. Given that many patients come in two or three times a week, and some every day, there is a big time commitment.

Dinner was in the 1912 area, one stop from Xinjeiko on the metro. It is near the Presidential Palace and Nanjing library, the latter a colossal modern building. Huge amounts of construction were going on, even more so than in the rest of Nanjing. The metro is being extended to provide more than the current two lines, and more and more shopping malls seem to be being built. Rather reminiscent of Ireland in the era of the Tiger, albeit on a larger scale.

The 1912 area is a complex of “repro” buildings meant to look like old structures, but not quite carrying it off. It is full of eateries of every sort, and nightclubs. We ate in a Thai restaurant, sampling yellow and green vegetable curry, yellow prawn curry and a beef dish accompanied by fried and plain rice. The food was lovely and beautifully presented.

 

 

Green vegetable curry