A tiny acupuncture hospital in Yuncheng, Shanxi province, almost escapes notice in a shady yard next to a bustling street market.

In the late 1970s, Jiao Shunfa, the hospital's former head, invented a method of scalp acupuncture to treat diseases of the brain and nerves. He had secretly studied classics of traditional Chinese medicine for nearly 10 years during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76).

Jiao was acclaimed as a "needle master" after he was said to have cured hundreds of patients at home and abroad. In 1986, his scalp acupuncture technique was recognized as a breakthrough in TCM by China's Ministry of Health.