Founded in the early 15^th century, YongAnTang is the quintessential “time-honored” brand. This herbal medicine shop, with a history of over 500 years, certainly lives up to its name “Safe forever” in the minds of Chinese. Today, YongAnTang has 38 branch shops and 15 chain stores in Beijing.. I went to the location on ChaoNei Dajie.

Upon entering the store, I saw both Western and Chinese medicines inside, including their own specialties ginseng and pilose antlers. Prices range from several yuans for generic off-the-counter medicine up to RMB 1,000 for a kg of ginseng. The medicine advisors speak basic English, and can prescribe the right medicine to your symptom. They offer all levels of choices, from mild symptom-treating pills to prescription-level antibiotics.

In addition to shops, YongAnTang also has 10 clinics around the city, where senior practitioners can give you great medical consultation. If you don’t want to travel, try out their mail-order department to have the medicine delivered to your home.

What I appreciate

Large collection of western and Chinese medicine

What customers appreciate

Large collection of western and Chinese medicine

Tongrentang started its Chinese traditional herbs business in 1669 AD. The brand is very famous for its high quality herbs. The herb shop in the Shuang’an shopping mall mainly sells herbs said to be beneficial for health and beauty.

Tongrentang extract the essence of plants like ginseng and “lycium chinense”, and make pills purported to help with tiredness and drowsiness during day time.

In the shop, various kinds of tonics are on display: for children, young lady, young men, and senior citizens. Tongrentang also offers genuine ginseng root, and swiflet nests. These are built by cave-dwelling swifts which cling their nest to cave ceilings as high as 70 meters. These nests are mostly composed of seaweed mixed by the bird’s saliva, and harvesters find them on steep cliffs along the Southern Chinese coast and in South-East Asia. Bird’s nest soup is said to be very beneficial to women’s beauty.

Prices for a bottle of 50 pills hover around RMB 200. Ginseng root’s prices range from RMB 880 to RMB 1380, according to weight and age. Bird’s nests cost between RMB 2000 an RMB 4000.