Chongqing - A group of college students and teachers from Hongkong and Macao SARs went on a journey to West Chongqing's Tongliang District to experience the magical uses and various medicinal functions of mugwort on Thursday, with iChongqing livestreaming their whole exciting journey in collaboration with Canadian author Jorah Kai Wood.

Widely known by its other names of artemisia and wormwood, mugwort is the herb of choice for acupuncturists who practice moxibustion, a form of healing therapy in which mugwort is burned in a cone-shaped pile. According to the principles of traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the mugwort leaf has a bitter taste and pungent smell and is associated with the Liver, Spleen, and Kidney meridians.

The visiting students and teachers are from the University of Macao, the Macao University of Science and Technology, the City University of Macao, the Macao Polytechnic Institute, as well as those from some well-known local universities such as the Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, the Chongqing University.

Jorah Kai Wood, a Canadian author who rose to international fame for his COVID-19 pandemic journal Kai's Diary, was also invited as a guest speaker to the opening ceremony. He later joined iChongqing's livestream to co-host the mugwort experiencing tour, exploring the magical functions and various medicinal uses of the greenish herb.

The tour started from a cultivated land where they saw local villagers harvesting mugwort plants with sickles and tried reaping themselves, then moved on to another field to witness local primary schoolers practicing sketching with mugwort leaves. The group later went inside a mugwort plantation and processing camp where they experienced wrapping zongzi, a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice, and the various processes of planting mugwort seedlings, rolling mugwort leaves into cartons, grinding them into powder, and burning them as a form of moxibustion therapy.

Themed "Walking into Four Season, Falling Love with Nature," the mugwort experience tour in Tongliang District is part of the ongoing Chongqing, Hongkong, Macao Youth Nature Exploring Competition, which is a public benefit program jointly launched by the Hongkong, Macao Affairs Office of Chongqing Municipal People's Government, Chongqing People's Government Information Office, the Municipal Education Commission, Municipal Urban Management Bureau, Municipal Culture and Tourism Development Commission, Municipal  Forestry Administration, as well as Hongkong Federation of Education Workers, Yuao Friendship General Association, and Hongkong-Chongqing-Taiwan Youth Exchange Promotion Association.