To facilitate the need by Western doctors to study in China, several organizations exist for this purpose, including the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies that works with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Chinese government. It provides information to doctors and work with schools and hospitals to bring doctors and students to China.

The WHO also has seven "collaboration centers" across China that specifically works with universities and academic institutions outside China and in conjunction with the Chinese Academy of Sciences to improve access to foreigners seeking to study traditional medicine in China, according to a WHO official based in Beijing.

Despite the absence of reliable statistics, the WHO says there's a growing demand by foreigners interested in pursuing courses in Chinese institutions. They are either longtime mainstream medical doctors, Chinese medicine doctors, acupuncturists or medical students.

"They (doctors) realize the important role of traditional medicine and more and more people are also starting to take traditional medicine," says the WHO official. "There are more and more foreigners coming to China to learn traditional Chinese medicine."

While figures about the number of foreign students and doctors coming to China was not available, the WHO says that between 2002 and 2006, 6,675 foreign students enrolled in courses provided by the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, the country's largest TCM research institution that also provides training. It's under leadership of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Three of WHO's collaborating centers provide TCM courses to foreign students. In addition to the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences and its institutes, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and its institutes and Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and its institutes also do so.

(China Daily August 8, 2007)