The opening ceremony. [Photo by Yu Jing/China News Service]

The first Guangxi Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Industry Exchange Conference opened in Nanning on July 21, showcasing Guangxi's abundant traditional Chinese medicine resources and focusing on the traditional advantages and new development trends in the TCM industry.

The four-day conference set up a 33,000-square-meter TCM exhibition space. It also held five themed conferences, 19 parallel conferences, and a TCM industry investment promotion event.

Huang Luqi, deputy head of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that the TCM industrial chain is long and has a strong comprehensive driving force that will continue to help develop agriculture processes, rural areas, and farmers.

Guangxi is known as China's "natural pharmacy" and "the home of Chinese medicinal materials." The region is home to 7,506 TCM plant and fungi species, ranking among the top in the country.

Guangxi officials put forward that the region will attach great importance to the development of TCM and the medicinal industry of the Zhuang and Yao ethnic groups. It will continuously improve policies and mechanisms for industrial development, thus enhancing its service capabilities, and boost technological innovation. 

Leading TCM companies, demonstration bases, research institutions, and key industrial parks in Guangxi signed contracts for 23 projects during the event, covering both modern and traditional Chinese medicine industry chains. The total intended investment amount of these projects is about 7 billion yuan ($973 million).