Members of the Traditional Chinese Medicine team from East China's Jiangsu province pose for a photo at the Dahuashan makeshift cabin hospital in Jiangxia district, Wuhan. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is being adopted as a means of treatment for novel coronavirus pneumonia patients in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province and the city hardest hit by the epidemic in China, according to Yang Min, head of the Jiangsu TCM team.

Yang, a chief nurse from the Nantong Hospital of TCM, is currently working at the Dahuashan makeshift cabin hospital in Jiangxia district, which mainly receives patients experiencing mild symptoms.

"TCM is the major means of treatment at the hospital. Patients take herbal soups and learn TCM exercises, such as tai chi and Baduanjin (a fitness practice with a history of 800 years)," Yang explained during a phone interview on Feb 15.

"The treatment has proved effective, as the physical and psychological wellbeing of patients is improving," Yang added.

As of recently, more than 85 percent of NCP patients nationwide have received TCM treatment, according to the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Over 3,100 medical workers specializing in TCM from 28 provincial-level regions across China have arrived in Hubei to provide medical care.

TCM scientists are racing to find effective TCM drugs and prepare relevant clinical trials, according to Li Yu, chief of the administration's Science and Technology Department.