The Road
Research and Traditional Chinese Medicine in the 21st century
Demand for TCM is growing. New insights into the scale, breadth, quality and contemporary aspects of TCM research.
By Dr Zhou Yingying, Elsevier and Dr Mu Jingwen, Hong Kong Baptist University.

"While most TCM output comprises medical, biochemistry, and pharmacology work, interestingly, TCM research is more interdisciplinary than research in medicine, impacting diverse subject areas."
Researchers are drawn to disciplines that offer the greatest opportunity to advance knowledge, solve problems and contribute to society. This has seen research conducted into Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for centuries. In the 21st century, TCM research is flourishing with academic commitment, consumer demand, increasing global interest and TCM-related investment in Greater China’s health and education systems.
Recent analysis by global information analytics company Elsevier, and one of the world’s pioneering TCM research facilities at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), documents the evolution of TCM research. Output doubled from 2014 – 2023 with a compound annual growth rate of 10.6 per cent. The analysis also found improved scholarly impact in the most recent five-year period.
Much of the growth is driven by Mainland China, which dominates TCM research output, followed by the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong. The latter has shown a marked increase in volume and performance quality in the last five years and is recognised as the most active collaborator internationally and with industry.

With increasing demand for TCM healthcare across Hong Kong, Mainland China, Macau and Taiwan, with a combined population of 1.4 billion people, more than 70 universities offer Chinese medicine programmes. These programmes provide a pipeline of professionals to meet the need for Chinese medicine expertise in standard health consultations. This mainstreaming of Chinese medicine has seen the Hong Kong Government announce the establishment of the region’s first TCM hospital, scheduled to open in 2025. HKBU has been selected to operate this flagship facility.
Research is at the heart of TCM teaching programmes and health facilities. At HKBU’s School of Chinese Medicine, which includes 17 community-use clinics and 13 research centres and institutes, research strategy and themes highlight the growing interdisciplinary aspect of contemporary TCM. Cross-disciplinary teams work on pioneering research areas shared by medical research peers worldwide: precision medicine and phenomics, translational medicine and innovative drug discovery, authentication and testing.
The Elsevier analysis identifies this interdisciplinary aspect of TCM research. While most TCM output comprises medical, biochemistry, and pharmacology work, interestingly, TCM research is more interdisciplinary than research in medicine, impacting diverse subject areas. The analysis has also found a growing focus in the last five years on integrating TCM with modern pharmacological approaches and acupuncture-related therapies.

TCM has a long history of use in health maintenance, disease prevention, and treatment, and it is one of the most popular applied health resources worldwide. As one of the most highly cited TCM researchers, HKBU’s Professor Lyu Aiping explains, medicine has biological and social aspects. “TCM is a kind of social medicine with some biological basis, whereas Western medicine is mainly based on biology but also has some social elements.” At a time when environmental aspects of life are increasingly impacting the health and well-being of patients, TCM’s holistic perspective and personalised diagnostics are of increasing interest to Western practitioners.
According to the second global survey by the World Health Organization (WHO[1]), acupuncture is the most popular form of traditional and complementary medicine globally, with 113 member states recognising it. The use of other aspects of traditional Chinese medicine is acknowledged by 100 member states.
This popularity has resulted in TCM being standardised into law in many jurisdictions outside Greater China. In 2009, an International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) committee was established for TCM[2], while in 2022, the International Classification of Diseases included a chapter on traditional medicine.[3]
Elsevier’s overall findings highlight the research trajectory for TCM. This holistic, transdisciplinary approach bridges Chinese and Western medicine through data science and the life sciences. Research interest and patient demand for TCM is on the move. Professor Lyu sees positive benefits for patients. “TCM and Western medicine have different perspectives and, when combined successfully, will benefit the patients greatly.”
Elsevier’s full report, which will be launched next year, will detail more about the research landscape of TCM and the modern evolution of this traditional field.
Dr Mu Jingwen is HKBU’s Director, Institutional Research & Strategic Planning.
Dr Zhou Yingying, Head of Research Analytics in China at Elsevier, presented Elsevier’s Research Landscape Study of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with Hong Kong Baptist University at the recent QS Higher Ed Summit: Asia Pacific 2024 in Macau.
[1] https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240042322
[2] https://www.iso.org/committee/598435.html
[3] https://www.who.int/standards/classifications/frequently-asked-questions/traditional-medicine