Qi Zheng Tibetan Medicine’s Lei Jufang: Opening the Door to Ancient Tibetan Medicine

　　Dressed in simple attire, she wears a long scarf draped loosely around her neck—a shape reminiscent of the pristine white khata. Her mottled hair is gently tied into a bun at the back of her head, and a faint smile always lingers on her face, exuding both gentleness and inner strength. Unremarkable in appearance, she is Lei Jufang, Chairwoman of Qizheng Tibetan Medicine (002287).

　　Everyone is used to calling her “Engineer Lei.”

　　Let Tibetan medicine benefit more patients.

　　To outsiders, Tibetan medicine is both unfamiliar and mysterious. The Tibetan people revere it as sacred and are reluctant to share it with outsiders. In 1987, at the age of 34, Lei Jufang stepped out of the laboratory at the Institute of Modern Physics in Lanzhou, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and began her entrepreneurial journey.

　　The early days of starting her business were not smooth. It wasn't until 1995 that Lei Jufang, accompanied by a delegation from China's Guangcai Project, traveled to Lhasa, Linzhi, Shannan, and Nagqu in Tibet for an inspection tour. There, Lei Jufang saw a pristine ecological environment and abundant wild medicinal plant resources. It was as if she had unlocked the door to a treasure trove—she felt that her pursuit of benefiting others had finally found its true purpose, and her career had finally found its home.

　　As her research deepened, Lei Jufang was profoundly amazed by the Tibetan medical system. She resolved to “create the finest Tibetan medicines using the purest, unadulterated medicinal ingredients from Tibet and the most advanced manufacturing techniques, thereby establishing the status and dignity of Tibetan medicine through both its cultural heritage and therapeutic efficacy.”

　　In 1995, Lei Jufang built the Qizheng Tibetan Medicine Factory on the banks of the Niyang River in Linzhi, thus embarking on a brilliant career of her own.

　　Located at the foot of green hills northeast of Bayi in Linzhi, the Qizheng Tibetan Medicine Factory is a distinctive architectural structure that blends traditional and modern styles, reflecting the unique cultural identity of the Tibetan ethnic group. Every morning, while the town of Bayi is still deep in sleep, as soon as the gates of the Qizheng Tibetan Medicine Factory open, local residents from nearby neighborhoods begin to trickle in—grouping together in small clusters. They’re not coming to work; rather, they enter the factory’s main hall to offer butter lamps before the statue of the Medicine King. Then, holding prayer wheels in their hands, they recite sacred texts while circling the entire factory building, performing a ritual of blessing and prayer. Behind this office building lies a closed production workshop that has earned national GMP certification for pharmaceutical manufacturing.

　　The same holds true for Qizheng Tibetan Medicine’s production facilities in other regions: tradition is embedded in the modern, and the modern, in turn, permeates tradition. This contrast forms the most fundamental underlying tone of Qizheng Tibetan Medicine.

　　In Lei Jufang’s view, in the context of multiculturalism, it is crucial to find ways to carry forward certain philosophical ideas from local cultures and to ensure the sustainable transmission of values. Tibetan medicine holds a uniquely significant position within Tibetan culture and is an essential component of it. Lei Jufang has incorporated the cultural essence of Tibetan medicine as a key element in building Qizheng Tibetan Medicine’s corporate culture system.

　　According to Lei Jufang, Qi is establishing the Milin Tibetan Medicine School in Gongbu Manlongyu County, Linzhi. Over the past decade or so, the school has already produced two graduating classes. These students are trained using the most traditional methods: they rise early—before 5 a.m.—every day to recite the "Four Medical Tantras," followed by classroom instruction in the morning and hands-on diagnostic practice in the afternoon. After graduation, these students are essentially equipped with the basic skills required of a rural doctor—including proficient herb gathering, preparation of medicinal formulas, and diagnosis and treatment. This is a truly traditional model of Tibetan medical education. For training grassroots doctors, this approach is highly effective: it combines theory with practice, allowing students to learn and apply their knowledge simultaneously—a training model that enables them to quickly enter the field and put their skills into action.

　　Advocating for ethnic medicine

　　As a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Lei Jufang annually offers advice and suggestions for the development of the entire ethnic medicine industry. A look at her proposals over the years reveals that their scope is not limited solely to the field of Tibetan medicine operated by Qizheng Tibetan Medicine itself.

　　At the Two Sessions in 2017, Lei Jufang submitted seven proposals. Among them, her most highly regarded was the “Proposal on Recommending the Priority Formulation and Approval of a Catalog of Time-Honored Prescriptions of Ethnic Medicines.” Together with industry experts, she called upon the competent authorities for traditional Chinese medicine and drug regulatory agencies to, when compiling a catalog of time-honored prescriptions from ancient times, give priority to organizing, cataloging, and finalizing the formulation of those ancient ethnic medicine prescriptions that “are still widely used today, have proven efficacy, and possess distinct characteristics and advantages,” in accordance with the spirit of the “Law of Traditional Chinese Medicine.” Lei Jufang also specifically proposed encouraging ethnic medicine enterprises to conduct new drug research and development or to develop new dosage forms based on the approved time-honored prescriptions.

　　Regarding the promotion of ethnic medicines, Lei Jufang frankly admitted that, in order to reassure consumers and ensure they can use these medicines with confidence, ethnic medicine companies must significantly increase their investment in clinical research and validation. They need to put in considerable effort, rely on data to speak for themselves, and let real-life experiences do the talking.

　　She hopes that, through her continuous efforts, Qizheng Tibetan Medicine can maintain its leading position in the field of ethnic medicine and, in turn, drive the development of the entire industry. She further hopes that consumers will be eager to embrace ethnic medicine products, benefiting themselves in the process and contributing to the growth and prosperity of the entire ethnic medicine industry.

　　Boost local economic development

　　Lei Jufang has always believed that, in underdeveloped regions, the most important social responsibility of local enterprises is to integrate innovative elements into traditional industries, thereby creating and commercializing value.

　　The establishment of Qizheng Tibetan Medicine has spurred an economic transformation in the local area. Tibetan medicine is no longer processed solely through traditional manual methods; instead, modern pharmaceutical principles and technologies, along with advanced production equipment, have been introduced to the Tibetan region, creating employment opportunities and fostering the development of local talent.

　　In 1995, Qizheng established a presence in Linzhi and began serving many local people with disabilities. Most of these individuals had low levels of education and faced significant challenges in finding their place in society, which severely undermined their self-esteem and left them confined to low-level, auxiliary jobs. Thanks to Qizheng Tibetan Medicine, these disabled individuals now have stable employment and a secure source of income, enabling them to live peaceful and prosperous lives. Their children are also growing up healthy and thriving. Lei Jufang feels that this represents the company fulfilling its social responsibility.

　　Resource Conservation and Sustainable Use

　　The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is one of China’s richest regions in terms of biodiversity and also one of the country’s most ecologically fragile areas. In recent years, Lei Jufang has consistently called for the establishment of resource conservation areas on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to ensure the sustainable utilization of Tibetan medicinal resources. This proposal has attracted considerable attention at the level of the Tibet Autonomous Region and has already made substantial progress.

　　Lei Jufang believes that to run a business, resource conservation should be achieved from three aspects:

　　First, the concept of resource conservation should be integrated into the product selection and R&D stages. During the development of new drugs, we shouldn't focus solely on their potential market value and marketing strategies; rather, we must first assess whether the medicinal resources being used are sustainable and whether they could have negative or adverse environmental impacts in the future. If a resource is unsustainable, we should abandon it at an early stage.

　　Second, for medicinal materials already in use as marketed products, we need to develop a long-term plan to transition from wild-grown herbs to domestically cultivated, artificially grown varieties. Since 1997, Qizheng Tibetan Medicine has been actively engaged in planning for artificial cultivation. Over the years, it has undertaken public relations and key research projects in dozens of countries. Some of these projects have been successful, while others have faced challenges. For those that have proven feasible after several years of effort—showing that they can indeed be cultivated and scaled up—progress has been made. As for those that have remained difficult to cultivate in recent years, we must patiently continue to study their specific conditions and environmental requirements, persistently pursuing this path until we can successfully transform wild-grown herbs into domestically cultivated ones, thereby ensuring their sustainable expansion.

　　Third, adopt a semi-wild cultivation approach to achieve natural reproduction and sustainable development.

　　More than two decades have passed, and Lei Jufang has single-handedly transformed a small Tibetan medicine factory by the Niyang River into China’s largest modern Tibetan medicine enterprise. Her company has alleviated suffering for over 400 million patients, paid more than 1 billion yuan in taxes in Tibet, and created nearly 2,000 jobs. Yet, she remains true to her original aspiration. As she puts it: “There’s an enormous difference between a bright laboratory and a yak-dung stove in the Tibetan plateau, between rigorous computer programs and prayer flags fluttering above the snowline. But I believe that, at their core, these things aren’t so far apart—after all, humanity’s quest to improve our quality of life is fundamentally the same. And every effort we make, no matter in which field or region, brings about progress of its own, and the significance of each such contribution is equally profound.”

　　Reporting media: Securities Times

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