Zhang Zhongde and his colleague Zou Xu left Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on a train bound for faraway Hebei province on Tuesday. Their aim was to help Hebei fight the coronavirus outbreak using traditional Chinese medicine.

"Although I still had the bag I carried to Wuhan a year ago, the mood is not so dignified this time," said Zhang, who is vice-president of both Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine and Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine.

"We have more experience this time," he told media before boarding the train.

Zhang said he hoped to be able to give full play to the role of TCM, quickly introduce personalized treatment plans and blend with Western medicine to cure more patients and prevent further spread of the coronavirus.

Zou, director of Critical Care Medicines at Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, agreed that there's more confidence, even though the outbreak in Hebei is sporadic and is quite different from the situation a year ago. He urged people not to panic because the pandemic is still controllable.

Both Zhang and Zou will treat patients at front-line hospitals in Xingtai and work to control the outbreak.

It is the second time the two senior practitioners of TCM have left home to help the country fight the coronavirus.

Zhang and Zou successfully used TCM treatments to help patients recover in Wuhan, Hubei province, a year ago.