Alatan Bagan, a Mongolian pharmacist of the Inner Mongolia International Mongolian Medicine Hospital, selects padauk (a hard reddish-brown wood of a tropical tree that has a pleasant smell and is used for making expensive furniture) as a medicinal material on Oct 22. Oct 22 marked the 25th annual World Traditional Medicine Day. In 1991, representatives from 42 countries and regions met in Beijing to take part in the International Conference on Traditional Medicine. They unanimously decided to name the conference's opening date as World Traditional Medicine Day. The day aims to encourage people to use nature-based medicines. Many medics believe herbal products cause minimal side effects compared to modern medicines. [Photo/Xinhua]

Alatan Bagan, a Mongolian pharmacist at the Inner Mongolia International Mongolian Medicine Hospital, processes borax (a white mineral, usually in powder form, used in making glass and as an antiseptic for preventing infection in wounds) into drugs on Oct 22. The world market for alternative medicine is experiencing robust growth. This has been triggered by a growing demand for nature-based products and a belief that herbal products cause minimal side effects when compared to modern medicines. [Photo/Xinhua]