Big Relief From a Small Tin

By+Cui+Xiaoqin

Liang Bo first came to Rwanda on a business trip in 2009. While walking around Kigali， the capital city， Liang came across a group of local children who stared at his exotic Chinese face with excitement and kept saying：

“Tiger！ Tiger！”

This left Liang confused. What on earth did he have to do with a tiger？ What could the children possibly want from him？

Later， a more experienced Chinese colleague unraveled the “tiger” mystery for him： the children were asking for Tiger Balm， a Chinese herbal remedy which became surprisingly popular on the African continent.

Ancient Asian remedy

Tiger Balm， known by the name “refreshing ointment” in China， was invented in the 18th century. It was first used among people living in the subtropical Fujian Province in southeast China.

Its main ingredients include menthol， peppermint oil and camphor. Both extracted from mint plant， menthol and peppermint oil have refreshing， anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects on the body. Camphor has a weak local anesthetic effect and can ease cough and pain.

As an over-the-counter drug， Tiger Balm has become a must-have item in the medicine cabinets of Chinese families to address burns and bruises， and to relieve pain， pruritus， swelling， muscle soreness and inflammation. It can also work as an insect repellent， heal heatstroke and ease other uncomfortable symptoms caused by prolonged hot weather.

In many African countries where local people are plagued by scorching weather and mosquitos all year long， Tiger Balm has been welcomed as a useful daily necessity product. Africans love this product so much they even re-named it “Chinese balm.”

A rising industry

Some people speculate that the balm was first introduced into Africa in the luggage of Chinese diplomats in the 1980s. At the time， Chinas level of economic development was much lower than today， and diplomats could not afford to buy anything of value. But following the rules of etiquette， they always brought simple typical Chinese gifts to offer to their African counterparts as a token of friendship. Tiger Balm was one of those and later gained favor of the locals.

Today， a significant number of Chinese balms are being exported every year to African countries such as Egypt， Benin， Senegal， Ghana， Guinea， Nigeria and South Africa. Customs figures show in 2013 nearly 6 million kg of refreshing ointment were exported from China， with 67 percent going to African countries.

“When I was working in Africa， I have seen my African friends use Tiger Balm， but I dont think they understand all of its functions， such as healing minor burns， soothing headaches， repelling mosquitos， and easing toothache，” Liu Xiaohui， an official of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture who used to work in Tanzania and Zimbabwe， told ChinAfrica.

Liang said that he has seen Africans applying the ointment inside their mouth and nose， which could cause irritation. “I think we could do better in teaching our African friends how to use it，” said Liu.

Despite its multiple beneficial effects， the Tiger Balm is not a panacea as some seem to believe. Doctors warned that it is false that the ointment can cure hemorrhoids and corns， and taking it orally for diarrhea can be very dangerous， if not fatal.

Thanks to social media， more and more Chinese people have come to realize how useful and popular Tiger Balm is in Africa. Many Chinese tourists and workers going to Africa now like to bring small jars of balm with them， which they then give to the locals as gifts and tips.