Zhang Boli, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering and head of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, has focused on treating COVID-19 patients with TCM.

Zhang arrived in Wuhan as an expert member of the Central Guidance Team in Hubei on Jan 27, the fifth day into the city's lockdown for epidemic control. Zhang proposed the use of TCM in treating patients with fever and suspected COVID-19 patients under centralized quarantine. Many of the patients reported relief from symptoms and the number of confirmed cases saw a sharp drop.

In early February, Zhang and fellow TCM expert Liu Qingquan applied to set up a makeshift hospital mainly using TCM comprehensive therapy. After this was approved by the Central Guidance Team, Zhang and more than 200 other TCM experts started their work at a TCM makeshift hospital in Jiangxia district.

While the hospital was open from Feb 12 to March 10, they treated 564 patients with mild symptoms and none of them saw their health condition deteriorate. What was learned from the experience then spread to other makeshift hospitals and helped reduce the proportion of mild cases developing into severe cases.

On Feb 19, Zhang had gallbladder surgery due to cholecystitis, but he refused to withdraw from the frontline and went back to work shortly after the surgery. It was not until April 16 when Zhang returned to Tianjin, after 81 days of hard battle in Wuhan. He is still actively participating in work related to normal epidemic prevention and control.