BEIJING -- The State Administration for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) on Thursday announced the first national census on TCM resources in more than two decades.

"The last TCM census was more than 20 years ago, and the TCM industry has been since developing rapidly. The demands and applications of TCM materials have expanded in the interval, and the types, distribution, quantity and quality of TCM resources changed greatly," said administration spokesman Wang Lian Thursday at a press briefing.

The previous three census started in 1960, 1969 and 1983 respectively and each took three to five years.

The administration said that some 9,000 types of TCM materials have already been researched during the preparation and trial census stage that started in 2009.

According to the administration, the census will be in full swing by the end of this year with the coverage of more than 800 counties in 31 provincial-level regions across the country.

The census will also see the establishment of 11 new seedling incubation bases that will set an example for cultivating precursor plants for TCM materials.