16/11/2025
In honour of World Acupuncture Day we are celebrating our friends and fellow acupuncturists around the world, not least the place where it all began – China.
A few weeks ago, representatives from the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) along with members of the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine (RCHM) and the British Medical Acupuncture Society (BMAS) and delegates from the US, Canada, Brazil and Columbia, attended the inaugural assembly of the newly formed International Association of Holistic and Integrative Medicine (IAHIM) in Xi’an, China.
The IAHIM general assembly took place at the North-Western China Anti-Cancer Conference (C**A) under the leadership of Daiming Fan, with the key objective being the promotion of Holistic Integrative Management.
This concept positions TCM including acupuncture as an integral, core component of the patient journey; from prevention through diagnosis and post-treatment rehabilitation.
This acceptance into mainstream healthcare is a marked difference from many Western systems that still debate integration. The value of acupuncture and TCM is seen as innate and a vital part of the national strategy to treat cancer.
China has three primary kinds of hospitals: Chinese medicine hospitals, Western medicine hospitals and gynaecology, obstetrics and paediatric hospitals which combine the two systems. Beijing has around 200 Chinese medicine hospitals and large clinics.
The BAcC team met with colleagues from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM), one of the famous top 5 in China who are keen to foster relationships with other countries. They have 6 overseas TCM centres around the world including in the US, Germany and Australia, that integrate medical treatment, education, scientific research, and cultural communication.
They toured an affiliated hospital, which had a moxibustion unit, and discussed opportunities for joint UK – China research collaborations.
Throughout the week-long trip, the UK delegation built new relationships for potential collaboration aimed at supporting the advancement of acupuncture in the UK.
We hope that this will in turn lead to more opportunities for members, students and colleges in the future!
