Service

        “Hung Xiang Ginseng Apothecary” sits on the bustling Dihua street, and its entire storefront is lined with dried goods such as candied fruits. The store is clear and bright, glass cabinets showcase many varieties of medicinal herbs, and still more herbs are kept in the refrigerators on the side. The entire store in designed for self-service, and customers can freely choose between products according to need and preference.

        The owner of Hung Xiang, Mr. Lin, told us that he decided early on to open his store in the Dadaochen district, ever since he came to Taipei to be apprenticed at a relative’s apothecary. He considered Dihua Streetan ideal location because it was already an established commercial district for the medicine industry and many customers frequented the area, and this is precisely where he has ended up.

Hung Xiang, like most other apothecaries on Dihua Street, wholesales herbal medicine to stores in neighboring counties, and also retails medicines and ready-made prescriptions to individual customers. In addition, these stores also sell candied fruits and preserves to help take away the bitterness of Chinese medicines.

Hung Xiang Ginseng Apothecary

Various north-south goods

             The owner, Mr. Lin, told us that because there is such a large selection of store on Dihua Street, many people consider it the place to go when seeking appropriate herbal nourishments such as goji berries and chrysanthemum tea. The stores also adjust product availability according to customer need and to seasonal changes because bestselling items alter from time to time. For example, in the summertime, people like to buy ingredients for herbal tea, plum tea, chrysanthemum tea, and prepare the drinks themselves at home, whereas in the wintertime, medicinal cuisine is much more popular and ingredients like astragalus, Chinese Angelica, jujubes and goji berries are in high demand, due to the current trend of taking herbal supplements to enhance one’s immune system.

         Although many stores stand along Dihua Street, competition within the industry does not pose as great a threat as the universality of Western clinics in its need for transition and reform. The foremost issue is that visits to the clinic are covered by the National Health Insurance, but visits to apothecaries are no, and this discourages the public from seeking cure from Chinese medical physicians. Another issue is that Chinese medicine relies on traditional remedies that require long cooking processes and are slower at relieving symptoms, which poses as an inconvenience for the busy people of today. In order to attract more customers, apothecaries must continue to maintain good quality control, and also provide pre-packaged, “ready-made” prescriptions like herbal soups and immune-boosting soups so that customers may pick and pay.

Mr. Lin accepted our interviews.

Various Chinese Herbal Medicine

           In addition, to facilitate medicine intake, apothecaries have begun selling packets of soluble drinking medicines that only need to be dissolved in hot water. As a matter of fact, these soluble drinks have existed for a long time, but have always been considered as more of a tea than medicine by the previous generations. However, promotional literature in the media and the quickening paces in lifestyle have made people come to consider soluble drinks as a convenient alternative to the elaborate process of cooking down liquid medicine, is becoming more widely embraced.

Chinese medicine may be a traditional industry, but it possesses irreplaceable values. As long as apothecaries and store owners are willing to simplify the process of medicinal intake, continue to guarantee the quality of medicinal ingredients, and thereby gain customers’ trust, people will surely recognize the benefit of Chinese medicine and help this ancient culture to sustain and to grow.