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| Tourists are experiencing making herbal medicine at Dai Nam Thai Y Duong |
Restoring and succeeding the royal herbal medicine
Dai Nam Thai Y Duong serves as a place to stay and to be taken care medically on the model of Thai Y Vien (TYV). With the restoration of valuable royal remedies, visitors who are interested can learn about royal remedies and experience services on demand.
Hoang Thuy Oanh and her family from Hanoi are attentively listening to physician Phan Tan To, Chairman of Hue City Oriental Medicine Association talking about the basis of making herbal medicine and how to examine and prescribe. “I didn't know TYV has such exciting stories. I hope those precious remedies will be revived so that tourists can buy them as gifts,” admired Oanh.
In 1804, emperor Gia Long had TYV established, gathering many good physicians all across the country to Hue capital city. It served as not only a clinic but also a place which produced many precious remedies. Treatment, herbal medicine processing, as well as medical documents are an endless source of knowledge of medicine and health care.
Excellent Teacher Physician Phan Tan To, Chairman of Hue City Oriental Medicine Association has been working very hard to research and collect precious prescriptions that are recorded in documents with remarks by emperors. Many physicians at Hue City Oriental Medicine Association have worked with one another to produce many products based on the prescriptions by ancient TYV such as Quy ty hoan Minh Mang, Luc vị hoan Minh Mang, Dinh huyen hoang Minh Mang, Minh Mang Thai Y Vien herbal wine, etc. which have become people’s favorites in and out of the province.
Viewed from business perspective, MEDIPHARCO Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company has researched and inherited TYV's Minh Mang Thang to make it into a product which is consumed nationwide and exported to Thailand, France, Russia, Korea, Japan, Laos, etc. With its modern production lines, the company aims to upgrade its product into instant tea and soft capsules to diversify its health care products associated with Hue.
According to Dr. Phan Thanh Hai, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports, during the time he was working at Hue Monuments Conservation Center, the staff cooperated with a research company to produce Hoang Trieu Ngu Tuu - a famous wine in the Nguyen dynasty and royal teas with lotus seeds, longans, etc. When those products were introduced to the market, Hoang Trieu Ngu Tuu alone brought back a revenue of nearly VND2 billion in the first year. Up to now, those who are interested in the heritage have always been looking for products which have royal origin.
Putting the heritage into use
The successful products by TYV pose the issue of how to research, exploit and succeed royal herbal medicine for tourism and for the development of culture and society. Researches on the medicine of the Nguyen dynasty are the foundation for the development of TYV in many aspects. How to put those values into practice is what we must think about.
As a man who is enthusiastic about this work, Phan Tan To suggested reviving TYV in the form of a clinic with recorded royal herbal prescriptions. “The most important thing is to preserve and promote the royal medicine. We have been trying to search and restore it. We need the cooperation from others in this field,” said Phan Tan To.
Dr. Phan Thanh Hai, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports thinks that TYV is precious tangible heritage which assists the socio-economic development. “China has the famous Dong Nhan Duong, being a “hen which lays golden eggs” for tourism in the country. Our TYV is as valuable,” compares Hai. According to Hai, TYV is available heritage for the process of making tourism a key economic sector.
“Descendants of royal medical families are still here. Especially we have the developed Oriental medicine. It is possible to develop a line of royal medicine with healthcare and beauty products. First of all, there must be a proper policy, then a collaboration of researchers, investors, chemists, distributors to manufacture products of the best quality,” said Hai.
"Restoring the most important part of TYV will contribute to the field of resorts and healthcare in particular and tourism in general. Currently, healthcare tourism is on trend and the demand of the market, which is an advantage for Hue tourism and contributes to diversifying it,” said Nguyen Van Phuc, Director of the Bureau of Tourism, who is of the same mind.
According to People's Artisan Physician Venerable Thich Tue Tam, in the process of restoring TYV and related products, in addition to personnel and facilities, brand promotion is as important. “If well promoted, people know how good and special TYV is; then they will come to visit and experience services. From there, its fragrance spreads,” stressed Venerable Thich Tam Tue.
According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, there have been many seminars about this matter. Provincial leaders hope to receive suggestions regarding policies with the aim of promoting the value of TYV in relation with the traditional medicine and the intension to build Thua Thien Hue into an intensive medical center. Restoring TYV of the Nguyen dynasty means exploiting a brand name which brings benefits to the development of economy, tourism and services.