CHINESE President Xi Jinping has emphasized the importance of inheriting, developing and utilizing this valuable legacy to promote Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to the rest of the world. The Healthy China 2030 blueprint outline explicitly calls for fully leveraging the unique strengths of TCM.
Under such guidance, TCM has not only built a full-chain service system in China covering prevention treatment and rehabilitation, but is also breaking down prejudice through scientific evidence, rejuvenating itself with technological empowerment and winning over young people with cultural appeal.
TCM is continuously seeking new ways to fit into modern society, modern hospitals and modern communication channels. From tuina (Chinese therapeutic massage) and acupuncture in outpatient clinics, to livestreamed wellness routines on screens, to techniques being digitized and standardized in laboratories, TCM is no longer defined solely by its “age.”
Never obsolete
In a bright laboratory, Liao, who is in his 40s, reclines face down while a minimalist tuina robot follows a preset program, delivering precise tuina strokes to his neck and shoulders. Minutes later, he sits up, moves his shoulder and lets out a relaxed smile.
“The experience exceeded my expectations,” Liao said. “It doesn’t quite have the feel of a human therapist’s hands, but it’s very good.”
The robot is an innovative project led by Fang Min, a professor at Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and director of the Tuina Research Institute at the Shanghai Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Fang, the fifth-generation inheritor of the nationally recognized intangible cultural heritage item “Ding’s rolling manipulation,” has devoted nearly 40 years to the practice.
Now, he and his team are pairing modern technology with TCM, giving this age-old treasure a new lease on life in the digital era.
In collaboration with technology companies and universities, Fang and his team have compiled a database of technique data from more than 1,000 tuina experts. By combining the data with artificial intelligence tech and biomechanics, the team has trained the robot to emulate expert hand techniques and perform tuina.
In October 2025, the project secured support from China’s Ministry of Science and Technology, and the National Health Commission as part of a major research initiative, Fang said.
“We have completed version 1.0 of the tuina robot; next we will develop version 2.0, with a focus on miniaturization and home use.”
Fang was able to observe the role of TCM in contemporary clinical practice from a broad, institutional perspective. He found that non-pharmacological therapies, such as tuina, are widely used in clinical settings, especially for patients with degenerative musculoskeletal changes that have not yet reached the threshold for surgical intervention.
“For conditions like cervical spondylosis, lumbar disc herniation and knee osteoarthritis, most patients are in considerable discomfort but are not yet at the point of needing surgery,” Fang said.
Generally speaking, TCM and certain modern medical approaches are not substitutes but complements, Fang said. In a modern hospital, when treatments are applied according to their indications, different modalities can work together to improve clinical outcomes, he added.
“TCM has been handed down through the centuries and as it has evolved it has only become more vital,” he told the Global Times.