 Chloroprocaine hydrochloride is the chloridized local anesthetic of procaine hydrochloride, with twice the anesthetic intensity, four to five times the metabolization and half the side effect of procaine. The chloroprocaine hydrochloride product made in China has been on sale since 2002. To determine the clinical efficacy of low-epidural anesthesia with chloroprocaine versus lidocaine, the investigators carried out a prospective, randomized, double-blinded multi-centre clinical trial. The results demonstrate that epidural anesthesia using chloroprocaine has a more rapid onset time and shorter duration than with lidocaine. It can also provide a reliable sensory and motor block in epidural anesthesia, and is thus a more attractive alternative than lidocaine for middle and short duration surgical procedures. 