BEIJING, Dec. 1  -- Thirteen years ago, Li Guo (a pseudonym), then 33 years old, was diagnosed with HIV, a virus he contracted as a result of rampant illegal blood collection in central China's Henan Province.

"I was so feeble at the time and couldn't get on my feet," Li said, remembering his days in bed anticipating death. "I even had my coffin made," he added.

Li now leads a life similar to any other person in his town. When interviewed last week by Xinhua for World AIDS Day, observed internationally on December 1, he was building a house with other villagers in his hometown.

"I can earn about 100 yuan (8.6 U.S. dollars) every day by doing work at construction sites," Li said. "I am very confident in collecting enough to prepare for my son's marriage."

Li Guo is one of many beneficiaries of China's national traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) pilot project for HIV treatment.

The project was launched by the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance and State Chinese Medicine Administration Bureau (SCMAB) in 2004, which provided free treatment using TCM in five provinces, including Henan.

The trial program has been extended to 19 provinces so far, with direct central finance investment reaching 530 million yuan in total, according to SCMAB statistics. Over 26,000 HIV/AIDS patients had received free treatment as of Sept. 30, 2014.

The project includes using combination therapies consisting of TCM and antiviral drugs as well as applying herbal abstracts to directly suppress the virus load and help the human body to reclaim its immunity, according to the SCMAB.

Many others, like Li Guo, have slowly regained their physical strength after years of TCM treatment and returned to normal life, said Li Fazhi, chief physician and team leader of Henan's expert group for HIV prevention and treatment.

Li Fazhi said he was not sure whether TCM could be applied for HIV relief when he first assumed his role as leader of the province's expert team. But following experiments, he found that HIV patients demonstrated many similar symptoms to those suffering syndromes defined by TCM.

"Many patients were vomiting violently because of side effects caused by antivirals, so we developed several TCM preparations to reduce the antiviral toxins and successfully made the patients feel comfortable," Li Fazhi said.

TCM is also affordable for the patients, said Xia Zuchang, head of Henan's TCM association.

The daily cost per person on the TCM therapeutic schedule is less than 10 yuan, Xia said.

The death rate of those with HIV in China has been declining steadily over the last decade, from 9.23 percent to 3.39 percent, below the international average, said Xu Liran, official with the Henan provincial health department.

"We have observed steady recovery of the CD4+T lymphocytes (immune white cells) and inhibition of viral load in the patient's blood after they receive the combination therapy," Xu said.

China has vowed not to let down its guard against the virus, although its overall infection rate is low. Latest figures suggest there were 497,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in China at the end of October, and 154,000 had died following infection.

A total of 3,413 anti-viral treatment institutions have been set up in 31 provincial-level regions, and more than 9,000 voluntary HIV testing stations have been set up nationwide.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday visited Beijing's YouAn Hospital, which specializes in HIV/AIDS treatment, ahead of World AIDS Day on Monday. He vowed the government will continue to increase support for prevention and treatment.

The Premier also said China will deepen cooperation and share its experience with the world in combating HIV.