The ores need heating in rock salt so as to have better healing effects when they are used to give patients a massage. [Photo/China Tibet Online]

Tibetan medicine enjoys high popularity among Tibetans for such reasons as cultural identity and historical customs. The surgical department of Lhoka Tibetan Medical Hospital boasts its Tibetan medical therapy and Tibetans prefer to get medical care there.

Lhoka Tibetan Medical Hospital, as the only comprehensive Tibetan medical hospital in south Tibet's Lhoka Prefecture, undertakes the task of giving medical care to more than 300,000 farmers and herdsmen across the prefecture.

The street where the hospital lies is called "Kalsang Road". "Kalsang" means "happiness" in Tibetan language.

Its surgical department developed from the previous Tibetan medicated bath department in 1990. It has become a surgical center which integrates Tibetan medicated bath, physical therapy and rehabilitation.