Nanyang Plans to Train 10,000 Overseas Chinese Medicine Students

What changed

Nanyang, Henan, the hometown of physician Zhang Zhongjing, plans to train 10,000 overseas traditional Chinese medicine students during China’s 15th Five-Year Plan period. The city also plans overseas Zhang Zhongjing Formula Pavilion clinics and international training through its “Zhongjing Workshop” programme.

Nanyang’s wider targets include:

• 300 Zhang Zhongjing Formula Pavilion moxibustion clinics in the city
• More than 10,000 related chain clinics across China
• Moxa-industry output above 40 billion yuan by the end of the plan
• One traditional Chinese medicine company with annual output above 10 billion yuan, one above 1 billion yuan and more than 20 above 100 million yuan

Why it matters

This is an attempt to turn Nanyang’s traditional medicine identity into an export system. The plan links three pieces that are often treated separately: overseas training, clinical facilities and the production of moxa and other traditional medicines.

Nanyang already describes itself as the “world’s home of moxa.” Its moxa industry produced 22 billion yuan in 2025, with more than 70% of China’s domestic market, according to figures presented by Vice Mayor Zhao Bin on October 13. The new target would take that industry to more than 40 billion yuan by the end of the planning period.

The ambition is substantial, but the practical test will be implementation. The announcement does not specify the overseas locations, trainee countries, financing or regulatory approvals. Those details will determine whether the programme becomes a durable international training network or remains mainly a domestic industrial expansion with an overseas label.