Chinese acupuncture thrives in Lithuania

In order to improve his skills and enlarge his knowledge about Chinese culture, Dainius has been to China seven times since 2007.[Photo/Xinhua]

A Chinese acupuncture clinic in Lithuania's second largest city currently receives around 100 patients per week, bringing the traditional Chinese medicine skill to more people in the Baltic country.

Owner Dainius Butvilas, a 39-year-old Lithuanian, is the only doctor at the clinic, which has been running since 2009 in Kaunas. He can speak Chinese, practices martial arts, and can kill pain with silver needles in the ancient Chinese way.

When he started his own career, around 20 patients came each week, seven years later, this number had increased five-fold.

His patients come from across Lithuania. "Eighty percent of them are from Kaunas, and the rest are from other places," he said.

"The oldest is 95 years old, and the youngest is just a few months," he continued.

Vaidas, a 32-year-old man from Kaunas, came to the clinic due to back pains.

"I don't know very much about traditional Chinese medicine. It's quite mysterious to me. But it works. Dainius cured my mother's back, and she recommended I come here," Vaidas told Xinhua on his first visit to the clinic.
According to Dainius, it had not been easy to set up an acupuncture clinic in the country.

"I had to prepare lots of documents during registration, and not so many people here had enough trust on traditional Chinese medicine at that time," he said.

In order to improve his skills and enlarge his knowledge about Chinese culture, Dainius has been to China seven times since 2007. He studied and practiced Chinese acupuncture in Tianjin, Liaoning and Hubei.

"Traditional Chinese medicine is very deep. It helps people know their bodies, and helps us know why diseases come up," he said, talking about his reasons for choosing this career.

Besides working in his own clinic, Dainius has also trained 30 people to perform acupuncture.