Some studies show certain herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine show some promise in helping to alleviate the effects of chemotherapy and the flu:

"One review investigated whether a Chinese herb known as Haungqi can help reduce common side effects of chemotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer. Four trials with a combined 342 patients showed that compared to chemotherapy alone, the traditional medicine seems to decrease the incidence of nausea and vomiting, promote production of white blood cells and stimulate the immune system. Although there was not enough solid evidence to recommend use of the herb in clinical practice, the authors found no harm in it. The review was led by Wu Taixiang, of West China Hospital at Sichuan University.

Another review found that when it comes to improving flu symptoms, traditional Chinese herbs might be as effective as chemical drugs."

Cleaning out the old is a Chinese New Years tradition in Asia:

""Congratulations! Get rich!" goes the greeting heard throughout Chinese New Year. But while there's no guarantee you'll get rich in the coming year, you can get a houseful of hand-me-downs by scavenging the streets for discarded furniture right now.

Among the many traditions of the Lunar New Year -- a visit to Dihua Street or a week of endless eating -- is the time-honored task of qujiubuxin (去舊佈新), or getting rid of the old to make room for the new.

Now is when closets are cleaned, kitchens are cleared and sitting rooms are stripped bare in anticipation of all the things a thick red envelope might buy. And when all that old stuff is brought out to the street, it brings out both antiques enthusiasts and bachelors looking to replace sagging boxes with actual bookshelves.

Of course, the vast majority of stuff thrown out of a person's home isn't going to make its way into anyone else's home, but one man's trash is sometimes another man's treasure."

Taipei's Dihua street is the place the shop during Chinese New Year:

"Dihua is a relatively quiet street lined with textile stores and traditional pharmacies. That is, until two weeks before the Lunar New Year when local vendors spill out of their storefronts to set up shop on the walkway.

This narrow street, located near the Danshui River in Taipei's Dadaocheng District, turns into a sea of shoppers, merchants and bins packed with an array of savory and sweet holiday snacks. The traditional market is a popular destination for Taipei residents to do their New Year shopping and provides a viable option for temporary employment."

Fascinating article about traditional Mongolian medicine:

""When Genghis Khan, born in Temujin, swept through Europe, Mongolian medicine was like the wind beneath his wings," said Yu.

More brother than cousin to CTM, the distinctive Mongolian medicine can be traced back more than 1,000 years. It is famous for its "bizarre" treatment of hypertension with blood-letting and drinking fermented horse milk.

"Mongolian medicine, which helped Genghis Khan conquer high and low in the Asian-Euro continent, has found a place in everyday life of common Mongolians," acknowledged Yu. "

One man's successful experience with acupuncture:

"As Watkins was grasping at straws, a friend suggested that he try acupuncture. At first, he scoffed at the idea. When suggestion turned to insistence, Watkins decided, why not? What did he have to lose."

"Acupuncture was absolutely my last resort," he said. "I came to Dr. Angelique Murphy knowing that if this didn't help me, then I was just going to have to resign myself to living the rest of my life in pain."

Not a friend of needles and foreign to the ancient art of healing, Watkins was initially hesitant and skeptical. But no more.

After five sessions he is "100 percent" better and has even begun to let himself believe that there will be a time in the not to distant future when he can get back on a regular exercise program."

Good article describing some of the basic principles of Feng Shui:

"The Chinese art of feng shui has been practiced for centuries. It involves arranging your surroundings in order to create a balanced and supportive environment.

Translated literally, feng means "wind" and shui means "water." Together, the two words suggest gentle winds blowing over smoothly flowing water. They suggest balance, peace, harmony -- all the things you'd feel if you awoke on a beautiful day and all was right with the world. That's what feng shui is, and that's what it does -- it makes things right in your world.

A primary tool used in feng shui is a bagua map. A bagua map is an eight-sided diagram that is superimposed over a home, room or plot of land in order to locate each life area or gua. The nine guas are commonly referred to as Knowledge and Self-Cultivation, Career and Life Path, Helpful People and Travel, Family and Ancestors, Health and All Areas, Children and Creativity, Wealth and Prosperity, Fame and Reputation and Marriage and Relationships.

Each gua has its own color or colors. Some guas also have their own element and shapes. For example, the color associated with the Fame gua is red, the element is fire and the shapes are the triangle, pyramid, and cone.

After a feng shui practitioner positions the bagua map over a scale drawing of a space, he or she will then determine how to balance the energy of that space, using various enhancements or "cures." Once those enhancements or cures are put into place and empowered with the client's intentions, the client can then expect to experience some results rather quickly. Beneficial circumstances -- and helpful people -- will begin presenting themselves, and the client will begin achieving his or her goals."

In addition to the health benefits, many people see alternative therapies (including traditional Chinese medicine) as a way to save money:

"Last year, about 6 million Americans turned to complementary and alternative medicine, known as CAM, to treat conditions such as chronic pain and depression because conventional medicine was too pricey, according to a survey released last month from the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC.) That amounts to 13 percent of the 38 million adults who used some kind of complementary medicine in the last year.

"With health-care costs definitely continuing to outpace inflation and wage growth, more and more people will find conventional medicine unaffordable," HSC health researcher Ha Tu said. "We'll find the 6 million number growing and more people turning to CAM because they see it as an inexpensive alternative."

Complementary and alternative medicine encompasses a wide variety of practices including acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy, meditation, chiropractic treatments, massage, and sometimes even prayer."

Treating the root cause of aliments using acupuncture:

" Acupuncture is often the last resort, she adds. "We're trying to get people to think of us earlier, because we treat the root of the problem and not just the symptoms, so you get a more solid result."

Acupuncture has been around for more than 5,000 years and its purpose is to locate and remedy imbalances of the body, Wu says.

The Chinese believe the body is a matrix of electromagnetic energy flowing through circuitry referred to as meridians. Each of the 12 main meridians is related to an organ or function. Super- thin needles are inserted into the skin in certain channels or meridians along which the body's energy, or chi or qi (pronounced "chee"), flows.

According to Chinese medical theory, "illness arises when that cyclical flow of the qi becomes unbalanced or blocked," says Susan K. Turner, a doctor of Oriental medicine at Alternative Family Healthcare in Albuquerque.

The purpose of acupuncture is to restore that balance by unblocking or redirecting the qi. "

Portrait of William Wong, who grew up in Oakland's Chinatown and has written a book about its history:

"Oakland's Chinese began to assimilate into American life in the mid-20th century, with the growth of schools, social organizations and churches. The churches of Chinatown played an especially important role, as Wong highlights in a photo of Episcopal Deaconess Emma Drant watching her flock of children at the True Sunshine Mission in the early 1900s and a portrait of the Rev. Edward Lee, the first American-born Chinese to become a Methodist minister.

World War II accelerated the process of assimilation. With China an American ally during World War II, Congress lifted the Chinese Exclusion Act. A new Chinese middle class emerged, realizing the promise sought by early Cantonese-speaking immigrants who called California "Gum Saan," or Gold Mountain."