Markets featuring traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have mushroomed across Nanjing in recent months, appearing in parks, near shopping malls, and at local community health service centers.

Wang Yu, a second-year university student in Nanjing, traveled by subway on October 20 to visit a market at the lawn in Jinling Style, a commercial landmark in the city. The market had 20 stalls and operated from 3 pm to 8 pm.

The stalls showcased a variety of TCM herbs like Panax ginseng, Bulbus fritillariae cirrhosae, and Coptis chinensis. Inspirational quotes related to TCM wellness also gained the attention of visitors.

The stall owners included grey-haired doctors, and many of their customers were stylish young people eager to experience TCM practices, such as pulse diagnosis, bone-setting, cupping, and guasha (scraping therapy).

Zhang Rongchun, director of the TCM Department at Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, noted that most young people today are in a sub-healthy state from a TCM perspective, despite their blood and urine test results coming back normal. Zhao suggested that some potential early signs of illnesses might already be present.

Wang joked that TCM advice is more effective that her mother’s. She hadn’t expected that a casual visit to the market would lead to some health suggestions.

In the market, stalls offering acupuncture, moxibustion, and even bone-setting and cupping services had long lines of people eager to try. Some participants told Wang that they felt nervous before trying these services but more relaxed afterward, especially with cupping, which gave a warm sensation flowing up from the spine to the back of the head.

Among the visitors was Zhao He, who works at a design company. She said she faced increasing pressure due to holding a key role in a small company despite her young age. In her view, the rising popularity of TCM markets reflects the pressure she and her peers face in their fast-paced work and life.

With a history spanning thousands of years, TCM has attracted more and more young followers in recent years. Pan Lingfeng, deputy director of the TCM hospital at the Jiangsu Provincial Institute of Materia Medica, said that sub-health is becoming prevalent among young people, with his patients including those born in the 1990s. For example, weight loss has become a popular program at the hospital, and many successfully lost 10 kilograms in a month.

Previously, people relied on long-term Western medicine to manage hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hyperuricemia, which are also becoming prevalent among young people. However, TCM offers effective results through a combination of dietary adjustments, herbal medicine, acupuncture, and cupping, according to Pan.

Pan also pointed out that TCM clinics are springing up rapidly across cities. In 2023, the number of TCM clinics nationwide increased by nearly 12,000, four times the 3,000 added in 2022. In addition, Southeast University also offers elective courses on TCM wellness that are open to all students.

At TCM markets in Nanjing, tea sales are often one of the few commercial activities. At one stall of TCM herb tea, two staff members achieved sales of about 4,000 yuan a day.

As TCM markets grow in popularity, Pan and her team aim to spread the TCM concept of integrating food and medicine more widely. They have introduced five medicinal teas targeting issues like skin beauty and sleep improvement, along with a herbal foot soak. They are now also developing other medicinal meals targeting young people’s subhealth issues.

Zhao Yiqiu, deputy director of the Gulou District Commerce Bureau, said that the district had recently released measures to promote consumption, including encouraging the establishment of TCM wellness zones in shopping malls and other venues.