China’s most advanced aircraft carrier, Fujian, has made an exception for the use of naked flames on board to accommodate a traditional Chinese medicine treatment. Photo: SCMP composite/Sohu/Chinese Ministry of Defense

China’s most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian, has allowed the use of naked flames on board to accommodate a form of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

The use of fire on the vessel is to be allowed so that cupping therapy can take place.

The news has received much attention on mainland social media after it was reported by state broadcaster CCTV on December 24.

The Fujian, China’s third aircraft carrier and the most advanced, officially entered into service in November at a grand ceremony in Sanya, Hainan province.

With a carrying capacity of 1,000 sailors, the Fujian is equipped with the biggest medical centre in the country’s naval fleet.

It is made up of a diagnosis zone, inpatient department, surgery rooms and a physiotherapy room where the TCM treatments moxibustion, cupping and acupuncture take place.

Cupping therapy is an ancient healing technique to ease pain.

The treatment provider first heats the inside of each cup by setting an alcohol-soaked cotton ball aflame, so that heat sends oxygen out of the cup. Then the cups are quickly placed on specific parts of the patient’s body, like the back, stomach, arms and legs, where they stay for some minutes.

The rationale behind the treatment is to use a vacuum or suction force inside the cup to draw blood to or away from specific areas of the body to relieve conditions that cause pain.

According to the military authorities, the flames are “necessary fire”, the report said.

Cupping therapy taking place. The treatment is used to alleviate pain and stiffness. Photo: Sohu

“It plays a definite role in the rehabilitation of sailors and is used in a strictly controlled manner,” a military official was quoted as saying.

The cupping treatment is practised for a short time, on a small scale and by professionals.

Also, the medical centre is installed with fireproof materials and an independent ventilation system.

The use of flames is prohibited in on board kitchens.

Cupping and other TCM physiotherapies are popular among military personnel because soldiers tend to develop problems such as back and neck pain or shoulder stiffness in the wet environment.

The Fujian enforces a strict fire prevention code.

Only electric stoves are used in its kitchen and sailors’ quilts are made of flame-resistant fabrics.

“We attach high importance to fire use on the aircraft carrier because it is seen as ‘a movable ammunition depot’ and we learn lessons from multiple previous fire accidents,” the official said, referring to an incident aboard the US carrier Lexington and Britain’s Dasher decades ago.

“Food can be prepared using electricity, but the health of sailors cannot be ensured with modern technology,” CCTV said in an editorial.

It is not the first time cupping treatment has made international headlines.

American swimming superstar Michael Phelps stunned the public with a raft of marks on his back left by cupping therapy when he took part in the 2016 Olympics.