What connects a 66-year-old farmer in a small mountain village in China`s Inner Mongolia with a 50-year-old Australian from Queensland (see other story). Nothing, you may think.

But they are linked - by traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), in a trend that is seeing more people from diverse backgrounds look to Chinese medicine as an effective alternative to Western medicine, even as the debate over whether TCM is scientific or not rages on.

Like most of his fellow villagers, Yang Sanwa makes his living by planting corn, potatoes, wheat, and linseed in Guangshouliang, a small village near Fengzhen, in southern Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

But to his family and neighbors, Yang is better known as a self-taught expert in traditional Chinese medicine.

The village of less than 50 residents has no clinic or pharmacy. Only when plagued by acute illnesses do the villagers go to hospitals in Fengzhen, a two-hour hike on mountain roads plus a one-and-a-half-hour bus ride, away.

Very often, those with slight injuries or suffering minor ailments go to Yang who dispenses medical advice and simple treatments free of charge.

"I am not a qualified doctor, but I know how to handle small health problems," says Yang, a middle school dropout who has been teaching himself TCM skills for decades.

Nonetheless, the self-taught doctor takes no risks.

"You must pay closely attention to the do`s and don`ts, as any improper treatment can easily result in a fatality," he says.

Yang verifies the safety of the herbal medicines he collects from the nearby mountains by testing them on himself, and calls his simple equipment of acupuncture needles, ceramic cups, and gua sha (body-scraping) plates made of sliced buffalo horns, his "secret weapons."

"I choose only conservative and relatively safe methods to treat my fellow villagers," says Yang.

His daughter and son-in-law, who live and work in Beijing, often send him new books and Yang reads their health-tips diligently.

They include Zheng Fuzhong`s Rely on Yourself Not Doctors, Qu Limin`s Decoding The Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor, Yue Housheng`s Tao of Chinese Medicine, Xiao Yansheng`s User`s Guide to the Meridians and Collaterals in Human Body, and Xiao Hongchi`s The Journey to Cure, each of which boasts at least 300,000 sales.

Yang has been quick to learn physical exercises such as La Jin (literally, tendon stretching), proposed by the authors to help "prevent or delay illnesses". He also encourages his family and neighbors to try these preventive methods.

Yang is just one example of those with a growing interest in traditional Chinese medicine, says Zhang Xiuqin, an expert in gua sha treatment.

Her popular lectures about this simple but effective TCM method are currently being aired on Beijing TV, Shandong Satellite TV and Qinghai Satellite.

Besides the phenomenal sales of TMC books, lectures on TCM culture are being increasingly organized at companies, community centers and private healthcare clubs, says Zhang, who travels frequently to give lectures to TCM doctors, paramedics and ordinary people.

The past few years have also seen a surge of websites, online communities and blogs dedicated to TCM.

"An increasing number of Chinese are buying a vital TCM concept - prevention is better than cure. That means strengthening one`s immune system," says Hu Chunfu, an artist and TCM doctor with 15 years` experience in the field.

Many celebrities are also taking to TCM in a big way.

In late 2004, Liang Dong, a TV-host-turned businessman in Hong Kong and Ding Lei, chairman of Netease, one of the biggest Internet portals in China, kowtowed to Deng Tietao, a 93-year-old TCM doctor in Guangzhou in a solemn ceremony of apprenticeship.

"My aim is not to become a TCM doctor. For me, TCM is a gateway to traditional Chinese culture that I admire so much," Liang told local media.

Last January, Wu Yi, then a vice premier, said: "I will devote the rest of my life to studying traditional Chinese culture, traditional Chinese medicine in particular."

Yu Dan, a scholar famous for her personal interpretations of the Analects of Confucius, also cherishes a passion for TCM.

After reading Chinese medical classics, Yu says she was surprised to discover the extent to which Taoist and Confucian philosophies were embedded in the healthcare practices of ancient times.

"Chinese medicinal culture is not just something to ponder over and talk about, but sheer wisdom. People today can still experience its effectiveness," Yu says.

She says she always reaches out to traditional medicine first when her 3-year-old daughter falls ill. "TCM treatments seem to be more natural and have less side effects than Western medicine. At first, my family opposed my choice but gave in when they saw the results," Yu says.

Pop stars are the latest converts to Chinese medicine.

Take Taiwan hip-hop star Jay Chou`s smash hit Ben Cao Gang Mu, for instance.

Written by lyricist Vincent Fong, the song was inspired by Ming Dynasty physician Li Shizhen`s Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica) and advocates respect for the centuries-old Chinese cultural heritage.

The Great Royal Doctor, a 36-episode costume TV drama about bone-setter Yun Heming, quickly topped the charts after premiering on China Central Television early this month.

The TV mini-series, set in Henan province in Central China, has attracted massive attention to the 200-year-old Pingle Style Bone-setting School.

A new publication of a book series also introduces the Pingle Style Bone-setting Techniques, by the People`s Health Press in Beijing.

Private TCM healthcare clubs can now be found across the country offering a wide range of healthcare services; pharmacies are also offering more and more diverse TCM products including medicinal tea, and Chinese medicines that can be used as food ingredients.

Several provinces and autonomous regions rich in TCM resources such as Sichuan, Guangdong, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Henan and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region have made the development of TCM-related industries a top priority.

"The general public`s enthusiasm for TCM indicates a growing tendency toward self-treatment," says Zhai Liguo, a medical researcher in Beijing who has spent 25 years in finding TCM treatment methods for cancer and cardio-cerebral-vascular diseases.

However, it also reveals people`s disappointment with a healthcare system long troubled by corruption, fake medicine scandals, bogus doctors and astronomical costs.

The outbreak of epidemics such as SARS, bird flu, and H1N1 flu and the side-effects of allopathic medicines "have further prompted people to embrace TCM, which advocates a balanced, harmonious and holistic approach toward health," says Xiao Hongchi, author of The Journey to Cure and a financier-turned TCM doctor.

"TCM has also proven to be safer, cheaper and less painful."