HEFEI, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- As China enters its hottest and most humid period of the year, more people are turning to a traditional Chinese therapy -- not to escape the heat, but to brace for the winter.

Sanfutie, a therapy that dates back to the Qing Dynasty (1636 A.D.- 1912 A.D.), is believed to be capable of reducing the risk of diseases that emerge or worsen in winter.

The word Sanfutie means "Sanfu plaster." Sanfu refers to the hottest 30 days of a year, usually lasting from mid-July to mid-August.

In the system of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the period is considered the best time to receive Sanfutie treatment.

"There were only 500 to 600 people coming for the treatment when I first joined the hospital in 2008," said Wu Bingkun, a TCM specialist at a hospital in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province.

"Today, the therapy is available almost everywhere, even in some community clinics," said Wu. "This summer, nearly 15,000 people have signed up for Sanfutie treatment in the hospital."

During each session, Wu plasters credit card-sized medicated patches on the back of a patient and keeps them there for around 20 to 30 minutes.

"The patches are placed on various acupuncture points on the body," said Wu. "For example, we stick one on the bottom of the neck if the patient is prone to respiratory problems such as asthma during the winter."

The medicine in the Sanfutie is thought to be able to mitigate the cold and dampness that lurks in the body and causes illness during the winter.

The hot summer is considered in TCM the period when the human body has the most "yang energy," which can help enhance the effect of the medicine.

"My grandson often catches colds in the winter. We tried the therapy last year, and it was quite effective," said Dong Gongxi, who brought his seven-year-old grandson for the therapy for a second year.

Curing cold weather-related disease during the summer is a notion promoted in TCM, and it reflects the philosophy of preventing disease over treating it, according to Wei Fuliang, a TCM professor in the Anhui hospital.

"Though modern medicine has been developing rapidly, the traditional treatment is still favored by many Chinese people," said Wei.