SANYA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Traditional Chinese therapy will play a major role in treating a group of Russian schoolchildren who survived a terrorist siege in Russia's southern city of Beslan.

    Most of the children's physiological functions had recovered after surgery, but they still suffered some complications, said experts after examining them at a hospital in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province.

    Traditional Chinese therapies, such as massage, acupuncture andointments, might have a unique effect, said Liu Dexi, president of the Traditional Chinese Hospital of Sanya, on Wednesday.

    Eight medical experts from the People's Hospital of Hainan and Liu's hospital are studying the best recuperative and treatment plans for the children together with Russian counterparts, Liu said.

    Fifteen-year-old Kusaev Khetag, was shot in her left knee and is still unable to bend her leg, while another girl, Thostova Aset,suffers slight paralysis caused by bullet debris in her head.

    Most children have had constricted chests, palpitations, headaches and nightmares due to the trauma of the hostage crisis, according to experts.

    Many countries, including China, have offered medical assistance to Russia after the hostage siege took place. More than 30 children have recovered after treatment by Chinese doctors, said Tsogoev Alan, a Russian doctor accompanying the children.

    "We think it is helpful to come to China to get traditional Chinese therapy," he said.

    Ten children with an average age of 13 arrived Tuesday in Sanya for a month of convalescent treatment. They will return to Russia on May 30.

    The recuperative treatment would involve both Western and traditional Chinese therapies along with entertainment activities,said Liu.

    The Chinese government will cover all the costs of the treatment, which totals 1.6 million yuan (200,000 U.S. dollars), as it falls within the Year of Russia in China.

    On Sept. 1, 2004, a group of armed militants took more than 1,000 people hostage in a school in Beslan in the Russian Republic of North Ossetia. The crisis ended on the third day after a fierce exchange of gunfire, leaving 331 people dead, including 172 children. Enditem