In 1994, Professor Yuan Hao, from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, cured a patient diagnosed with avascular necrosis using medicinal herbs from a recipe of the Li ethnic group. Yuan first witnessed the efficacy of ancient Li treatments when he was based in Hainan Province during the 1960s and early 1970s. He remembers encountering a young worker whose foot was injured by a faulty machine. The local hospital didn’t provide much help, and doctors believed that amputation would be the patient’s only choice. But the young man’s family pursued other options and brought in an elderly Li ethnic doctor. The doctor pounded fresh herbs into a paste which he applied to the patient’s foot. Two months later, the young man completely recovered. Amazed at hearing this news, Professor Yuan sought out the doctor and was given the prescription, which he soon began using on his own patients.

Hainan Island is a tropical paradise, boasting abundant animal and plant resources. Among Hainan’s more than 5,000 medicinal plants, half are frequently used in medical practice, accounting for 40 percent of the nation’s total. In addition, nearly 1,000 species of animals, including insects, are used as ingredients in traditional Li medicine. Various wild vegetables also possess medicinal properties. The Li people are believed to have been the first inhabitants of Hainan, and therefore also the first on the island to experiment with local natural resources to cure diseases.

The Li people live mostly in mountainous areas, home to abundant snakes and insects that can potentially be very dangerous. In addition, islanders are at risk of falling victim to various diseases which thrive in the humid climate. Over years of practice, the Li have mastered their own effective ways of treating myriad ailments by making use of their immediate natural surroundings. Plants and herbs are used to treat venomous bites, injuries and fractures, and even typhoid, as well as liver, tropical and immunological diseases.

Along with substantial empirical evidence for the efficacy of Li traditional medicine, local villages also abound with various myths and legends. Some senior herbal doctors are rumored to be able to produce “love potions,” which are said to make a person forever besotted with his or her lover. Although this sounds like fanciful romanticism at best, and witchery at worst, researchers have found that some herbs do actually release certain scents which are capable of influencing hormone secretions.