Recitation of Shi Shuo (On Teachers) at the opening ceremony. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Visitors also lined up to experience traditional therapies such as guasha (a traditional Chinese scraping therapy) and auricular point pressing.

"This festival helps bring TCM closer to the public, allowing more people to understand and benefit from it," said Liu Gesheng, secretary of the Party Committee of the Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

In a highlight ceremony, six students in traditional robes performed the teacher-apprenticeship rite for six veteran practitioners including Wang Baohe.