yeah thats probably not a bad tact either, I'll see how things go and maybe go down that route. As of now I've decided against taking the herbs. Just don't feel comfortable ingesting large quantities of an unknown substance even if it came from a hospital.

GBTEXDOC — has pm'd me some further thoughts on all of it... some really good details on how someone with western medical training tried to approach and "figure out" TCM. If anyone else out there is interested, I can share some of this information...or is trying to do something similar to me let me know. We can compare notes.

cnotes11 or anyone else who might be interested, found this place on lonely planet in Hong Kong. hong kong clinics might be better, staff probably speaks english. of course there are travel costs etc... but if you make visa runs or something, maybe you can pop in.

www.lonelyplanet.com/[...]

Healing Plants
Acupuncture, reflexology, Swedish massage and homeopathic doctors at hand.
info@ehealingplants.com

and also found this... this one's in Shanghai

gochina.about.com/[...]

Body & Soul is a TCM clinic founded by a German woman who has lived and studied in China for many years. Her philosophy combines Western and Chinese methodologies to offer clients a whole range of treatments. The focus of the clinic is TCM but consultations and diagnoses can be given in a range of languages including English, German, French, Japanese (as well as Chinese) thus making the clinic approachable for non-Chinese speakers.

I perused those links. Maybe a little bit of potential for my purposes. The one large caveat being no prices listed. I have to think that being in Hong Kong and Shanghai their prices are much higher. Potentially approaching US prices for similiar services(?). I may poke further into the Hong Kong one when I go there in a couple months, we'll see.

I am still intrested in further discussion on this topic. Opinions and experiences are welcome. I have been trying to do my own self study on various methodologies within TCM. Managed to scrape together a few books. Looked a bit online too. But so much information there seems to be tainted with self promotion, or questionabley sourced information. If people know of some credible sources please share...

Find it hard to believe that with all the Laowai wandering around in Kunming I am the only one interested in TCM. Maybe GBTEXDOC was right in saying(in a pm) that its not openly discussed because so many on Gokunming like to argue and deride for sport.

I would like to try acupuncture too! I did it once in USA and loved it. So, since the question hasn't actually been answered yet, how much does it cost, and where is a good place to go for it?

I paid 130 rmb for 2 treatments. It has yet to been seen whether where I go for it is "good". I am currently going to:

www.gokunming.com/[...]

But there are other foreigners who get treatment there. Saw two last week, one said he'd been a kunming resident for eighteen years. This made me think that he would probably be able to decipher between good/bad places for treatment.

And the foreign exchange coordinator is nice, she kind of acts as a patient advocate. Let me know if you have further questions.

@tigertiger —someone mentioned in a PM that your wife is a tcm doc or had family members who were(?).

I assume they gleaned this information from something you posted. Otherwise unsure how they would know that. But it made me wonder why you have no comment on the topic? You are the most frequent poster on Gokunming, and seem to be knowledgeable on a variety of topics.

I would be curious to hear your opinion on any of the above if you are willing to share it.

I don't mean to put you on the spot...just trying to engage with others on this topic and help myself navigate.

In answer to the OP's question.
TIC, trust no-one. TIK double that.

As for the rest, I claim the 5th.

I had allergies for 20 plus years and nothing could relieve the symptoms. Since I came to China I have been taking the TCM medicine (Boiled herbs) and it does wonders for me. I just drink the magic potion and my allergy problems disappear. The doctor is great because what he does is also balance my Qi. I usually get 2 bags for 2-3 days and my problems are gone.

Well some of your internet slang went over my head. But fair enough.

@HFCAMPO - good to hear a success story,