Nineteen-year-old Cambodian student Bou Sokcheat was all ears while a team of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) experts on Tuesday was giving a lecture on the advantages and efficacy of TCM to nearly 200 students at the Asia Euro University (AEU) here.

For Sokcheat, this rare lecture provided the participants with a good opportunity to learn about the importance of TCM in curing a number of diseases.

"I have gained a valuable insight into the TCM, which has been used for hundreds of years in China to diagnose, treat and prevent illness," she told Xinhua after the lecture.

Sokcheat, who is a first-year student in the major of Chinese literature at the Chinese Department of AEU, one of the teaching centers of Confucius Institute at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said the lecture also encouraged people to take part in self-care efforts, focusing on diet, exercise and self-treatment.

"I think using TCM is really good because it can reduce the use of modern medicine," she said.

Chhang Meng Chhay, an 18-year-old freshman at AEU, said TCM, which includes therapies such as gua sha massage, acupuncture and cupping, is very useful in treating diseases.

"The presentation has provided me new experience and knowledge," he told Xinhua. "For me, TCM is really good for treating diseases, reducing the use of modern medicine, and it has high efficacy."

Through the lecture, Chhay said he learned that there are many TCM techniques, which can be used to cure many kinds of diseases.

"I think the TCM is really useful to help people maintain health, heal diseases and live a long life," he said.

The lecture, undertaken by TCM experts at the Cambodia-China Friendship Preah Kossamak Hospital in Phnom Penh, was part of a series of activities to mark the Confucius Institute Day.

Fan Maorong, one of the TCM experts who gave the lecture, said she came from the Respiratory Department at the Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences in Beijing.

She said the lecture focused on the use of TCM to prevent and treat diseases of the respiratory system, and the show of Baduanjin Qigong exercise.

"Baduanjin (literally meaning "eight steps to healthy living") is a kind of exercise in TCM," Fan told Xinhua. "Usually, we can use it to strengthen our body."

She said her team has been in Cambodia for about half a year, and the diseases she saw every day in Cambodia included chronic cough, bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, and insomnia, among others.

"TCM is good at preventing and treating these diseases, including sequelae," she said. "TCM provides a lot of advantages and it can help improve the quality of life."

Fan said using the TCM in combination with Western medicines to treat diseases will be even more effective.

Sam Sophy, dean of the AEU's Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Foreign Languages, said the lecture provided the unique cultural side of TCM to the students and aroused their interest in this field.

"TCM is well known and fast gaining popularity around the globe for its efficacy in curing diseases," he said. "The lecture is crucial for students to understand the importance of TCM."