Lei Jufang: Sustainability is the only path for the development of Tibetan medicine.

　　The symposium celebrating the 20th anniversary of Qizheng Tibetan Medicine, themed "Innovation and Responsibility," was recently held in Linzhi, Tibet. Experts, scholars, media representatives, and business leaders who traveled from all over China gathered to engage in an in-depth discussion on issues such as the sustainable development of Tibetan medicine. “For Chinese Tibetan medicine to achieve substantial growth, it must embrace a path of sustainable development,” said Lei Jufang, Chairwoman of Qizheng Tibetan Medicine, with conviction.

　　Planting serves sustainable strategies.

　　“Over the past two decades, Tibetan medicine has become a pillar industry. Why was Tibetan medicine chosen as a pillar industry? First, it’s due to its high-quality resources; second, it boasts a long-standing cultural heritage and remarkable therapeutic advantages.”

　　According to Lei Jufang, so-called pillar industries are those that account for 5% to 10% or more of a region’s total GDP. Thanks to the advantages of Tibetan medicine—such as its environmentally friendly nature and its ability to drive leapfrog economic growth—Tibet, Ganzi and Aba in Sichuan, and Gannan in Gansu all rank Tibetan medicine among the second to fifth positions as their regions’ pillar industries. Tourism, on the other hand, typically ranks first.

　　Lei Jufang believes that once Tibetan medicine becomes a pillar industry, both the industry itself and relevant government agencies should proactively plan for the sustainable development of Tibetan medicine. In particular, the cultivation of medicinal herbs—especially those that are endangered—can provide sustainable support for this long-term strategy.

　　“Right now is not the time to focus on maximizing profits; rather, our goal is to cultivate these medicinal herbs in preparation for a future era of resource scarcity,” Lei Jufang told a reporter from the China Business News. She explained that the medicinal herbs they’re currently growing simply can’t compete with the prices of wild herbs—which are harvested directly from the wild and sold immediately—because wild herbs don’t incur any cultivation costs. Today’s cultivation efforts aren’t aimed at making their products cheaper than wild ones; instead, they’re intended to help reduce costs for companies across the industry.

　　In fact, the history of cultivating Chinese medicinal herbs can be traced back more than 200 years.

　　“Today, cultivating medicinal herbs may take several years—or even decades—and often requires the concerted efforts of one or two generations to succeed. After all, no one has ever grown these herbs before, and their success depends on numerous factors, including environmental conditions, soil quality, temperature, altitude, climate, and improvements in seed genetics. But today’s cultivation is aimed at ensuring that,若干 years down the road, we’ll be able to make even better use of these herbs.” Lei Jufang believes that combining cultivation with resource management represents the way forward for Tibetan medicine, and this approach will provide powerful compensation for future applications.

　　“If cultivation succeeds, it will be the best compensation for the era of scarcity. Back in Gansu years ago, angelica and codonopsis were surely growing wild all over the mountains—but today, they’re much harder to find.” Lei Jufang believes that cultivation holds the key to addressing the challenges of sustained industrial development in the future.

　　“If one day, just like in Europe, every mountain is densely populated, the space for wild medicinal herbs to grow freely and unrestrained across the land will become increasingly scarce. Human habitation itself will start to impact our own environment. At that point, successful cultivation will become all the more crucial.” According to Lei Jufang, in fact, the national level has already laid out a comprehensive plan. Institutions such as the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine annually designate the cultivation of Chinese medicinal materials—especially those that are endangered—as major projects. The medicinal herbs currently being cultivated by Qizheng have also received considerable funding and support. That’s precisely why the company has been able to persistently and continuously carry out these cultivation efforts.

　　At the Qizheng Tibetan Herbal Medicine Cultivation and Research Base in Miri Township, Linzhi, reporters saw vast fields of rare medicinal herbs—such as Tibetan Danshen, Duyiwei, and Polygonatum—growing amidst layers upon layers of lush, wild greenery. On the expansive Tibetan plateau, at an altitude of over 3,000 meters, these plants thrive vigorously, standing tall against wind and snow, bursting with life.

　　“The process of cultivation brings both the joy of success and the frustration of failure,” said Lei Jufang. For example, Rhodiola rosea has never been successfully cultivated—but Qizheng will continue to persevere on this path of sustainability nonetheless.

　　The latest data show that Qizheng currently has over 100,000 mu of various research bases, including 3,090 mu dedicated to Tibetan medicinal herb conservation. A total of 31 species of Tibetan medicinal herbs are cultivated and conserved at these research, conservation, and breeding bases.

　　Modern Inheritance of Millennial Tibetan Medicine

　　This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region. As one of the region’s pillar industries, Tibetan medicine has played a vital role in Tibet’s economic and social development. As an important safeguard for national security, an ecological safety barrier, and a bastion for preserving the distinctive cultural heritage of the Chinese nation, listed companies in Tibet—acting as industry leaders—can offer valuable lessons to small and medium-sized enterprises in the vast central and western ethnic regions regarding how to achieve harmonious coexistence and mutual progress with employees, the environment, and local communities, as well as how to ensure the steady and sustainable development of their industries.

　　Qizheng Tibetan Medicine was registered and established in Linzhi, Tibet, in 1995 and listed on the SME Board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2009. As of 2014, the company had achieved sales revenue of 950 million yuan and net profit of 238 million yuan. It has cumulatively paid taxes totaling 1.082 billion yuan in the Tibet region and created employment for over 1,600 local residents, truly demonstrating remarkable achievements.

　　As a traditional Chinese medicine enterprise deeply rooted in Tibet, Qizheng positions itself in its development as the “modern inheritor of millennia-old Tibetan medicine.” Modern inheritance has been the guiding thread running through Qizheng Tibetan Medicine’s 20-year journey and is also one of the core genes that define Qizheng Tibetan Medicine as a leading modern Tibetan medicine company. “The reason Qizheng stands out among numerous Tibetan medicine enterprises lies in its relentless pursuit of modernization and marketization of traditional Tibetan medicine, and in its pioneering achievements in multiple areas within the Tibetan medicine sector,” said industry experts. As the modern inheritor of millennia-old Tibetan medicine, Qizheng Tibetan Medicine has demonstrated remarkable innovation on three key levels.

　　First is technological innovation. By leveraging technological innovation to overcome the “intractable challenges” of traditional Tibetan medicine and by adopting the new GMP standards, we will enhance industrial efficiency, continuously strengthen our manufacturing competitiveness, and lead the ancient Tibetan medicine industry toward modernization.

　　Second, we focus on R&D innovation. We continuously innovate and upgrade our R&D platforms, promoting the establishment of an open, boundary-less research institute that fully leverages the public-benefit and open-access characteristics of these platforms. By pooling together superior resources and specialized talents from various sectors and orienting our efforts toward industry needs, we are constantly propelling corporate innovation toward a new stage of socially-driven innovation.

　　Third, marketing innovation. We’re driving innovation in our marketing model by leveraging modern medical validation. Starting with the modern medical and market validation of Tibetan medicines and their market value, we aim to help consumers accept these products and fully appreciate their therapeutic efficacy. Through extensive evidence-based medical research and post-market studies, we rigorously validate the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of Tibetan medicine products using modern medical standards. At the same time, we’ve built our own dedicated marketing team, seamlessly integrating academic marketing with brand marketing to strengthen both our brand and academic marketing capabilities, thereby leveraging our brand and academic expertise to facilitate a transformation of our marketing model. “By employing modern market practices and rigorous medical validation, we encourage consumers to proactively embrace our products.” Qi Zheng’s 20-year experience and proven results have validated the effectiveness of this approach—a model that differs significantly from traditional promotional strategies that rely solely on self-promotion behind closed doors. Currently, building on the success of this model, Qi Zheng is steadily launching new products such as Bai Mai Ointment and the Bai Mai Therapy.

　　“Over the nearly 20 years we’ve been working in ethnic medicine, we’ve deeply realized that only by embracing the path of modern scientific and technological innovation can the various ethnic medical systems—each with a cultural heritage spanning thousands of years in our country—accelerate their development, better align with the ever-changing consumer demands of the mainstream market, move from niche markets to the broader public, and benefit an even larger segment of the population,” Lei Jufang said with deep emotion.

　　Reporting Media: China Business News

　　Report link: http://124.42.72.218/epaper/uniflows/html/2015/08/27/06/06_64.htm