Spa Wellness: China’s TCM Museum.

Education, enlightenment and healing await visitors of China’s TCM Museum.

The Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in Hangzhou in the Zhejiang Province of China invites guests both local and global to immerse themselves in the 5,000-year-old alternative medicine system. Within this 4,000-square-meter structure, established in 1989 on the site of the famous 19th-century Hu Qing Yu Tang Chinese pharmacy, guests can explore an Exhibition Hall that showcases 10,000 Chinese healing herbs and other TCM treasures, receive medical exams and treatment prescriptions at an actual TCM clinic, and even stroll over to a retail area to purchase recommended medicines.

Enlightening demonstrations await in the museum’s Medicine Preparation Hall, where visitors can witness the various techniques—including stir-frying!—used to prepare the TCM medications designed to nurture yin-yang balance. And for pure enjoyment, a restaurant offering life-prolonging fare welcomes hungry visitors.

The Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine is located on colorful Hefang Street, where numerous TCM pharmacies housed in historical buildings offer ancient wellness compounds, including self-produced medical wines and teas. The lantern-lit street serves as a gathering spot for many of the picturesque city’s festivals and celebrations. Not far from here is Hangzhou’s Red Cross Hospital, which supports a fully integrated program of Chinese and Western medicine.