PINS AND NEEDLES: Manuel Rodriguez-Vereau (front) performs an acupuncture treatment under the instruction of Chinese doctor Zhou Yunxian at Guang'anmen Hospital in Beijing on February 18 (BAI SHI)

Manuel Rodriguez-Vereau, 59, a Peruvian with one-quarter Chinese ancestry, arrives at the Guang'anmen Hospital in Beijing on an early spring morning to study acupuncture therapy.

It is the second time Rodriguez-Vereau has received a short-term training of acupuncture and moxibustion therapy in China. Despite his upbringing in Peru, Rodriguez-Vereau has never forgotten his Chinese heritage. He learned the basics of TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) from his father at a young age and has continued medical training into adulthood.

"In my hometown in Peru, acupuncture is an effective and affordable therapy for treating some pains and illnesses," Rodriguez-Vereau said to Beijing Review.

Several years ago, he moved to Sweden and opened a rehabilitation clinic in Malmö, a harbor city in southern Sweden. "I found that TCM is very popular in many European countries. Especially in Sweden, acupuncture has been increasingly recognized as a legitimate medical treatment. It was an opportunity for me to continue my career there," he said.

Since the mid-1990s, acupuncture has grown in popularity in Sweden and other European countries. Currently, thousands of doctors and nurses in Sweden have received professional training in this ancient Chinese medical therapy, which has been used widely for rehabilitation and pain relief there, said Yang Jinsheng, head of Guang'anmen Hospital.

Yang is also director of the international cooperation department under the State Administration of TCM of China. He has worked to promote TCM to the rest of the world for many years. According to a report of the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies in 2013, acupuncture has become a clinical application in 183 countries around the globe.

"Chinese people believe that acupuncture can heal over 100 illnesses, and it is widely used as an adjuvant therapy for over 300 conditions," said Yang. "Based on strict medical trails, the physicians practicing acupuncture reported to World Health Organization (WHO) that they've found evidences that acupuncture has success in treating 43 conditions in 1996."

"Apart from the WHO, hundreds of scientific trials have been undertaken to prove the efficacy of acupuncture at medical research institutes abroad," Yang said.

Infinite knowledge

As an empirical medicine, acupuncture relies on dedicated practice. Mastering acupuncture requires many years—perhaps an entire lifetime—of dedicated study.

Rodriguez-Vereau has been engaged in acupuncture and moxibustion treatment for nearly 16 years, but only recently traveled to the birthplace of the discipline to receive training from authentic Chinese experts.

"I came to Beijing to brush up on my skills a year ago. I was very impressed with the sophistication of skills and work ethic of TCM doctors in Beijing during my study there," he said.

"As an old Chinese saying goes, knowledge is infinite. There is so much to learn, so I decided to come to Beijing again this spring for a two-month acupuncture study," he said.

For his latest study, Rodriguez-Vereau attended the advanced course hosted by China Beijing International Acupuncture Training Center (CBIATC) of the Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion under the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (CACMS).

Zhou Yunxian, 76, a senior TCM doctor in CBIATC, is Rodriguez-Vereau's instructor in Beijing. Despite reaching retirement age, Zhou has stayed on at the Guan'anmen Hospital to continue training the next generation of medical professionals.