There are now 18 pharmaceutical companies in Tibet alone, including two public companies.
Tibetan medicine, known as "Sowa Rigpa" in Tibetan, is at least 2,300 years old. It has absorbed the influences of traditional Chinese, Indian and Arab medicine and is mainly practised in Tibet and the Himalayan region.
It uses herbs, minerals and sometimes insects and animal parts. It was put on the official list of China's national intangible cultural heritage in 2006.
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