Bridging cultures through healing: Expats explore TCM in Shanghai

Montealegre is not alone in his newfound knowledge. Alex Butler, the general manager of the media outlet Shanghai Spotlight, joined Montealegre on his journey of discovery at Longhua Hospital recently. Having lived in Shanghai for eleven years, Butler was no stranger to TCM, having tried it before.

"It's holistic," he said, "It's treating the whole body, not just looking at one symptom."

He also highlighted the effects of TCM in preventing diseases. "You're not waiting for a problem to occur, but you're preventing the problem from becoming more serious in the first place."

This preventative philosophy lies at the heart of TCM, explained Wang Xiao, a vice chief physician at Longhua Hospital. "It can simply be understood as 'pushing disease-causing factors out of the body'," he said.

This ancient concept, Wang said, remains relevant today and is able to complement Western medicine and improve the healthcare system.