Ok I haven’t been blogging for a few weeks. So it’s about time for another entry!  This year the HK Trade Development department decided as a way to promote the spirit of Hong Kong that they would provide some fun recreational activities for its citizens over the holidays.   It’s one of the random things I love about Hong Kong.  That the government can just decide this and get it done.  This promotion has come in the form of a very affordable ice rink right outside our office!  I got gloves for $10 HKD ($1.50 USD) and paid the same for skate rental.  So for less than the price of a Starbucks coffee, the office was off to ice skate.  As you can imagine in a warm place like HK, ice skating is not a natural past time (although they have quite a few ice rinks scattered around HK!) So as my office mates gripped the railing in fear we all managed to go around together.  Ice skating is a great exercise b/c it requires you to use your core muscles for balance.  Anyone who does Tai Chi will know what I am talking about.

Less obvious perhaps is how does ice skating relate to TCM ( Traditional Chinese  Medicine).  The answer comes in a surprising way.  If you read Chinese history, you will see that they are innovative people historically.  Inventions and past times arose for both pleasure and function.  They also are not afraid to borrow ideas and copy them (ok sometimes  not in a good way) but overall in a good one.  They experiment adapt and get it done.  This is how Chinese medicine was born.  It took ideas from the monks who self medicated on their journeys across the silk road, the scholars who treated the emperors and formed schools, the local village healers, the family recipes handed down through generations and the alchemists who were experimenting with metals.  It didn’t limit itself to one body of knowledge for it’s development.  The result is a fantastic cultural heritage and body of knowledge to pull from.  So ice skating in HK is not that odd when you think about it!  If you want to read more about the history of TCM click onto the below link: http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/history/index.html

TCM PORKCHOP signing off