This is a medicinal herbs market in Kunming City. This is the largest traditional Chinese medicine market in Yunnan of China. Early in the morning, Mr. Wang, a medicinal herbs merchant, and his assistant have already begun their busy day.

Wang Wei / Medicinal Herbs Merchant

Mr. Wang：

(I come from) Bozhou of Anhui.

One of China’s largest traditional Chinese medicine distribution centers is also in our city. We came here 16 years ago. Our family used to be farmers, primarily cultivating medicinal herbs. Gradually, my parents and my father-in-law all began working in the medicinal herbs industry. Now we have opened shops here where we sell between 1,000 to 2,000 kinds of medicinal herbs. The average sales volume ranges from RMB 10 to 20 million per year.

Mr. Wang, 38 years old, has been in the medicinal herb business for nearly 20 years. Sixteen years ago, he and his family came from Anhui to Yunnan, looking for high-quality medicinal herbs in natural habitat.

Mr. Wang:

The medicinal herbs in Yunnan directly come from farmers or being collected from the mountains. Yunnan's medicinal herbs are all natural. The land growing medicinal herbs in Yunnan account for 40% of China's total medicinal herb cultivation. There are more varieties and types of medicinal herbs in Yunnan than anywhere else.

Yunnan, located on the low latitude plateau, with a unique natural climate that has made it a treasure trove of medicinal plants. Yunnan possesses rich biological resources that exceed 6,500 medicinal species and it is now the largest production area of authentic medicinal herbs in China, with medicinal plant output accounting for more than half of the country's total. Yunnan ranks first in the country in terms of the scale of medicinal herb cultivation.

Mr. Wang:

Yunnan's medicinal herbs are authentic. In terms of quality, goods from Yunnan are well known among consumers for being organic and pollution-free.

Yunnan's medicinal herbs span a wide variety and are all of good quality. With herbs like San Qi, Dian Zhong Lou, Dian Long Dan, Sha Ren, Yun Fu Ling, Yun Mu Xiang, Yun Dang Gui, Tie Pi Shi Hu, Tian Ma, and Deng Zhan Hua, etc. These herbs are called 'Top Ten Yunnan Medicinal Herbs' and are renowned nationwide. Among them, San Qi and Deng Zhan Hua account for over 90% of the production nation-wide. The foundation of Yunnan's medicinal herb industry is solid. There is a saying that goes 'no prescription is complete without herbs from Yunnan.' And many different kind of unique plant can be found in Yunnan.

Zhong Wei / Director of Public Relations, Botanee Group

Our core ingredients, such as the Qingci Guo, come from Shangri-La, Yunnan. Have you heard of it?

The Qingci Guo is a unique plant found near the Yulong Snow Mountain and Lugu Lake, regarded by locals as the 'King of All Flowers'. One cosmetic technology company in Yunnan extracts the active ingredients from it to produce a series of popular skincare products.

Zhong Wei:

The skincare concept in traditional Chinese medicine dates back to ancient times. The traditional Chinese medicine and food are indeed deeply intertwined. There's a very famous ancient medicine book in Yunnan called the 'Dian Nan Ben Cao.' It’s a bonafide treasure bestowed upon us by our ancestors. We have been studying the genes of herbal plants and see how they function compared with the book. We also seek inspiration from ancient formulas and extract their essences using modern technology.

Yunnan's medicinal herbs are historical. One of them was successfully developed in 1902 by Dr. Qu Huanzhang of the Yi ethnic group in Yunnan, called "Yunnan Baiyao”. In Yunnan, traditional medicine have been well-preserved; and being further invigorated by modern technology and innovation.

Zhou Xingwu has witnessed significant development in Yunnan’s medicinal herb industry over the past 20 years, especially in the expansion of the supply chain. He says Yunnan is actively elevating its productivity and transforming every potential local resource into a sustainable opportunity.

Zhou Xingwu / General Manager of a medicinal herbs chained shop

Traditional Chinese medicine is simply ubiquitous in Yunnan — it grows everywhere.

There's a saying in the local dialect that "You touch three medicinal herbs every time you sit down."

Zhou Xingwu:

I've been working in this company for over twenty years. I've also witnessed the development of our Yixin Tang. I look after the production and sales in the area of traditional Chinese medicine, from raw material harvesting, planting, production, processing, and sales.

Zhou Xingwu:

We’re actively involved in national projects and in setting standards that hopefully will be recognized internationally, giving traditional Chinese medicine a stronger foothold globally.

Yunnan's traditional Chinese medicinal herbs has been reinvigorated by the marriage of heritage and innovation. But the inheritors and custodians of Yunnan’s integral herbal resources still have a wish: they wish to better cooperation with Hong Kong and leverage the advantages of “One Country, Two Systems” to reach out international markets. 

Zhou Xingwu:

By connecting the strategic position of Hong Kong with the superb resources in Yunnan, I think we can leverage Hong Kong as a spring board to meet international standards for quality assurance and verification. The next step will be extending these to other countries around the world to promote and share the use of traditional Chinese medicine.

The culture of traditional Chinese medicine has a long history. Today, Yunnan's traditional Chinese medicinal herb industry is steadily advancing in the direction of sustainability, standardization, and modernization. On the road to global recognition, testing and certification of Yunnan's traditional Chinese medicine must align with international standards. Hong Kong is a significant market for traditional Chinese medicine and one of the largest markets for mainland Chinese medicinal herb. At the same time, Hong Kong is an international commercial center which serves huge overseas markets. In terms of internationally recognized standards for professional certification, it has advantages that other mainland cities yearn to have. We really look forward to further cooperation between Hong Kong and Yunnan in the field of medicinal herbs, for elevating Yunnan medicine to new heights and allow more patients and customers around the world to be benefited by new Chinese herbal medicine in Yunnan.