Embracing the Beginning of Winter: health wisdom at the museum

This episode is presented by the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, TV and Tourism, and the Hangzhou Municipal Health Commission, co-produced by the Hangzhou International Communication Center and the City Express, with support from Zhejiang Chinese Medicine Museum,  International Education College, and Basic Medical Sciences College of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University.

This September, the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, TV and Tourism, together with the Hangzhou Municipal Health Commission, launched 30 Hangzhou Featured TCM Cultural Tourism Experience Spots. It is the first time that Hangzhou has introduced a comprehensive list of TCM-related attractions, covering a wide range of venues such as museums, wellness centers, cultural parks, herb planting bases, and resort hotels.

To better understand the wisdom of seasonal wellness, Lorenz Willenbrink from Germany and his teacher, Dr. Yang Hui, visited the Hangzhou Chinese Medicine Museum, explored herbal displays, learned about the human meridian models, practiced traditional health exercises, and strolled in the “Herbal Garden"—immersing themselves in the essence of TCM and its philosophy of harmony between heaven and humanity.

Lorenz and Dr. Yang are exploring the museum

My name is Lorenz Willenbrink, and I am from Germany. I have a degree in Chinese studies and studied Chinese Kung Fu and health exercises before deciding to become a student of TCM in Hangzhou.

At the Beginning of Winter, I had the opportunity to visit the Zhejiang Chinese Medicine Museum with Dr. Yang. The extensive exhibition not only features a wide variety of human meridian models, ancient TCM canonical works, and herbal medicine samples in its display halls but is also surrounded by a medicinal herb garden showcasing numerous plants used in Chinese medicine.

The impressive acupoint statue

Acupoints and Solar Terms:

Nourishing Kidney Qi in Winter

As we entered, Dr. Yang made sure to show me the impressive acupoint statue in the hall. He began to explain that with winter here, nurturing our Kidney Qi is the key to vitality. "To strengthen kidney qi," he said, "we often massage the Shenshu point and use moxibustion on the Guanyuan point, which is three finger-widths below the navel. Moxibustion is especially good for warming the body and driving out the cold in winter.”

Flowing Stillness: Baduanjin’s Philosophy

A multimedia training station in the exhibition area caught my attention, demonstrating traditional health-cultivating exercises such as Baduanjin and Yijinjing. I found myself following the clear on-screen projections. This was a welcome contrast to bustling public spaces. Its gentle nature is perfect for winter, as strenuous activities risk depleting kidney qi, whereas Baduanjin is designed to strengthen it.

Into the Herb Garden: From Specimens to Nature

The herb and plant samples on the third floor were another highlight. Housed in beautiful glass containers and displayed on wall-mounted shelves, the air around them was imbued with the essence of TCM.

The Herbal Medicine Specimen Wall

After exploring the herb and plant specimens on the third floor, Dr. Yang and I visited the herb garden. There, we saw and touched the wolfberry, moxa and other plants up close. The entire experience, from the curated collections indoors to the living plants outside, along with Dr. Yang's insightful explanations, made the essence of TCM come alive.

This exploring is just the beginning of the Hangzhou Featured TCM Cultural Tourism Experience Spots journey, which has deeply reinforced my inspiration to continue the path to becoming a Medicine Doctor and to delve deeper into the fascinating world of traditional Chinese herbal medicine.

Source : Hangzhoufeel