▲ The musical “Qianjinfang” by Qin Yi
“This is a monumental work that promotes excellent traditional Chinese culture and disseminates the ethical practice of benevolence in medicine. It is an innovative musical with substance, morality, and warmth.” Recently, as one of the entries for the “Wenhua Award” at the 10th Shaanxi Provincial Art Festival, the large-scale ethnic musical “Qianjinfang,” produced by the Tongchuan Performing Arts Center of Shaanxi Province, was staged at the Tongchuan Theatre, receiving enthusiastic applause from the audience. According to the creative team, as fellow townspeople of Sun Simiao, the “Medicine King,” creating a production based on his life and telling his story through stage art to enhance the city's profile and promote the construction of Tongchuan as a health-focused city is not only an honor but also a responsibility.
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed, “Promote the inheritance and innovative development of traditional Chinese medicine.” This has brought new opportunities for the expansion and improvement of TCM culture and industry in the new era. In recent years, taking advantage of the continuous hosting of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture Festival, Tongchuan has taken various measures to explore, inherit, and spread TCM culture. Additionally, it has empowered the tourism industry with health and wellness, improving people's well-being and enhancing the reputation of the birthplace of Sun Simiao.
Preserving and Innovating: Enhancing Tongchuan's Reputation Through “Medicine King” Culture
Sun Simiao, known as the “Medicine King,” spent many years secluded in the mountains, dedicated to medical research, collecting folk remedies and secret prescriptions, summarizing clinical experiences and theories from previous generations. His works, “Qianjinfang” and “Supplement to Qianjinfang,” along with his concept of “treating disease before it occurs,” enriched and developed traditional Chinese medicine. The idea of “great doctors with sincere dedication” has been the highest goal pursued by Chinese medical practitioners for thousands of years.
The China Sun Simiao Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture Festival is a festival approved by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, and it is the only festival in China themed around “Sun Simiao” and “traditional Chinese medicine.” “Holding the China Sun Simiao Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture Festival and the International Forum on Sun Simiao Traditional Chinese Medicine in the hometown of the ‘Medicine King' is of great significance for promoting international exchanges in TCM, enhancing its international influence, and driving high-quality development in the field,” said Academician Zhang Boli of the Chinese Academy of Engineering during the 2023 China Sun Simiao Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture Festival.
Recently, focusing on the unique cultural IP of “Sun Simiao,” Tongchuan hosted the 2023 China Sun Simiao Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture Festival under the theme of “Great Doctors with Sincere Dedication, Preserving and Innovating, and Open Development.” Guests from 15 countries including the UK, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as consuls general from South Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand stationed in Xi'an, gathered in Tongchuan. They jointly explored the cultural resources and contemporary value of Sun Simiao's TCM culture, promoted international cooperation and exchange in TCM, and advanced the global reach of TCM.
Tongchuan resident Li Ming remarked, “The TCM Culture Festival features exhibition areas, food stalls, and free clinics. It's both visually appealing and delicious, and offers an immersive experience. As the birthplace of the ‘Medicine King,' the festival helps more people learn about Tongchuan and the ‘Medicine King' culture.”
Mayor Hao Guangyao of Tongchuan stated at this year's TCM Culture Festival that inheriting and innovating Sun Simiao's TCM culture is not only a historical self-awareness rooted in cultural confidence and national pride but also a practical motivation for safeguarding people's health and building a healthy China.
In recent years, Tongchuan has implemented a deep integration of “medicine culture +,” with the culture of Sun Simiao at its core, paying special attention to integrating TCM culture into all aspects of contemporary life.
“In addition to introducing 21 ‘Medicine King' health snacks such as Yaozhou Snowflake Candy (a provincial intangible cultural heritage) and Yaozhou Noodles (a municipal intangible cultural heritage), we have also carefully selected ten demonstration restaurants for ‘Medicine King' health meals, including Zhengyang International Hotel and Tongchuan Hotel. We have also launched ten specialty restaurants for ‘Medicine King' health cuisine, such as Sun Simiao Herbal Cuisine and Duo Zhen Gourd Head. Furthermore, we have introduced ten specialty snack shops for ‘Medicine King' health snacks, such as Yaozhou Salted Soup Noodles (a provincial intangible cultural heritage) and Qilipu Steamed Dumplings (a municipal intangible cultural heritage),” explained a staff member from the Tongchuan Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism.
In the future, Tongchuan will delve deeper into the essence of Sun Simiao's TCM culture, seek ways to inherit and innovatively develop TCM, continuously enrich TCM cultural products and services, fully unleash the diverse values of TCM, and contribute to the promotion of TCM's inheritance and innovative development, the construction of a healthy Shaanxi and healthy China, and the creation of a healthy Silk Road.
Fusing Cultures: Empowering All-Domain Tourism With TCM Culture
In recent years, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council have issued a series of major policies and measures, bringing a historic strategic opportunity for the inheritance and innovative development of TCM. Tongchuan has vigorously expanded markets for TCM cultural studies and TCM health and wellness tourism. Focusing on historical sites like Mt. Yao, Yuhua Palace, Zhaojin Fragrant Mountain, and Chenlu Ancient Town, it has developed TCM health tourism that integrates TCM health and wellness with cultural dissemination. Herbs like Forsythia suspensa and chrysanthemum have been planted within or near scenic spots like Huaxigou in Yijun County, Yuhua Palace, and Jinlocke Stone Forest, utilizing the ornamental characteristics of herbal flowers to combine herb cultivation with leisure tourism, attracting over 100,000 visitors for TCM study tours.
According to information from the Publicity Department of the Tongchuan Municipal Committee, Tongchuan has established four major health and wellness bases: Mt. Yao TCM Health and Wellness Base, Zhaojin Sports Health and Wellness Base, Yuhua Palace Forest Health and Wellness Base, and Chenlu Leisure Health and Wellness Base. It has also created three TCM health and wellness tourism demonstration bases: Modern TCM Health Tourism Demonstration Base of Yijun County, Sun Simiao's Hometown Mugwort TCM Health Tourism Demonstration Base of Yaozhou District, and Meixiang Garden Golden Chrysanthemum TCM Health Tourism and Wellness Demonstration Base of Wangyi District. Additionally, it has implemented 32 demonstration projects for TCM health and wellness tourism, such as the Sun Simiao Hospital Health and Wellness Demonstration Project of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, the Sun Simiao Elderly Rehabilitation Hospital Health and Wellness Project, and the Pengzu TCM Health and Wellness Center Health and Wellness Project of Yijun County, basically forming a full industrial chain development model of production, learning, research, and application.
In response to tourists' diverse and immersive experience needs, Tongchuan has organically integrated scenic spots, Sun Simiao Health and Wellness Centers, and TCM industry development bases, carefully crafting two premium routes. A series of TCM health programs, such as forest recreation, acupuncture and massage, cupping and scraping, have been launched. Ten unique Sun Simiao Health and Wellness Centers have been named and designated, greatly enriching tourist choices and the spiritual and cultural lives of the public.
“Moving forward, we will integrate the TCM culture of ‘great doctors with sincere dedication' through the fusion of ‘TCM + health and wellness + cultural tourism.' We will continue to transform the ‘Medicine King' resource-rich area into a high-value industry, consistently developing four series of brand products focused on TCM health care, ecological longevity, sports health and wellness, and cultural nourishment, enriching product offerings and the connotations of the industry. At the same time, we will cultivate and develop a batch of immersive TCM health and wellness tourism projects across the city, develop distinctive TCM tourism merchandise, and promote the integration of tourism and health and wellness,” said a relevant official from the Tongchuan Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism.