Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners prepare herbal medicine for patients in a TCM institution in Shangqiu City, central China’s Henan, July 20, 2025. (Photo: China News Service/Li Heng)

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners prepare herbal medicine for patients in a TCM institution in Shangqiu City, central China’s Henan, July 20, 2025. (Photo: China News Service/Li Heng)

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners prepare herbal medicine for patients in a TCM institution in Shangqiu City, central China’s Henan, July 20, 2025. (Photo: China News Service/Li Heng)

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners prepare herbal medicine for patients in a TCM institution in Shangqiu City, central China’s Henan, July 20, 2025. (Photo: China News Service/Li Heng)

A TCM practitioner applies a plaster to a child at a TCM institution in Shangqiu City, central China’s Henan, July 20, 2025. (Photo: China News Service/Li Heng)

A TCM practitioner applies a plaster to a child at a TCM institution in Shangqiu City, central China’s Henan, July 20, 2025. (Photo: China News Service/Li Heng)

Sunday marked the first day of the dog days of this summer. On this day, many parents in Shangqiu took their children to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) institutions to treat winter ailments in summer by applying plasters to their bodies and moxibustion therapy.