Experts in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are hoping last week's UNESCO listing of acupuncture and moxibustion, the traditional Chinese therapy of burning the mugwort herb against the skin, as intangible cultural heritage might herald a revival of TCM in its home country.

Over decades, the two treatments almost disappeared as remedies for common ailments.

Yuan Xiaohong, a student at the School of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, is often frustrated by the distrust of the traditional therapies.

"In my hometown, most people know little about acupuncture. They regard it as akin to witchcraft," says the 23-year-old from southeast China's Fujian Province.

For centuries before Western medicine entered the country about 200 years ago, needles were standard tools for Chinese doctors.

"The county hospital of Chinese medicine at my hometown does not have an acupuncture doctor," Yuan says.

"It is definitely good and exciting news for acupuncture doctors that the therapy is on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage," Yuan says. "We can see that the authorities have begun to pay more attention to the development of acupuncture therapy."

"Although a relative newcomer in China, Western medicine has become the mainstream. Now many Chinese have little understanding of traditional therapies like acupuncture and moxibustion," says Zhao Jiping, doctor at the Dongzhimen Hospital of the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, where people can queue for half a day to see an acupuncture specialist.