Two students from Africa mix some pungent herbs, one lot to repel mosquitoes and the other to ease anxiety. They are among a group of Chinese students learning traditional Chinese medicine at one of the country's top universities.

Vanessa Njifack, 21, from Cameroon, is a first-year student studying at Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine. Badrah Said Ali, 26, from Madagascar, is a third-year student at the university, which has 1,500 international students among its 20,000-strong student population. They are two of three African students awarded scholarships to study at the university.

Njifack says back home people "think Chinese medicine is witchcraft".