Clinical practice and research situation of Acupuncture in China: An overview report of 2012 Pearl River Forum

The sixth symposium of State development forum of traditional Chinese medicine, 2012 Pearl River Forum, was held in Guangzhou. More than 50 experts on Acupuncture and other related fields all over the country were attracted. The theme for this year's forum was `Development Strategy on Acupuncture - Accelerating innovation development and advancing clinical practice and research of Chinese acupuncture'. Moreover, an international multicenter clinical evaluation research on the therapeutic effects of acupuncture, which would break its old patterns, was fully discussed and approved in the forum. 2012 Pearl River Forum is to be a turning point of Chinese acupuncture.