Cultural tips

Chinese medicine can harmonize the human body, enhance immunity, and has small side effects as well as the capacity to cure diseases. That’s why Chinese medicine has become a top choice when treating chronic diseases, or when old people and children become ill.
China’s pharmacies can offer Chinese medicine and a wide variety of herbs. Pharmacy staff have received professional training and can carefully prepare medicinal herbs for customers in accordance with their prescriptions, which is referred to as抓药(zhuā yào).
In most cases, the active ingredients of herbs need to be extracted by boiling. This process is called decocting or 煎药(jiān yào). Sometimes the procedure is complex, so pharmacy staff will do the decoction for customers. There are also medicines for external use, such as treatments for bruises which are applied to the affected area. At pharmacies, customers can tell the staff of their symptoms so the pharmacist can help choose the proper drugs.