Chongqing - At 7:30 a.m., as the mountain city of Chongqing eased into its rush hour, a neat queue had already formed outside the "Wuwei Liangfang" medicinal-food experience store, located at the west gate of Chongqing Banan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital.

Customers select baked goods at the "Wuwei Liangfang" medicinal-food experience store located at the west gate of Chongqing Banan TCM Hospital. (Photo/Mei Yao)

Inside the store, a woman in simple work attire moved briskly between the shelves and the counter, checking ingredient supplies while giving a reminder to her staff: "A little more of the lotus leaf Pu'er milk tea, please." Her name is Liu Ying, the store's chief manager and product developer.

But many of the customers waiting in line may not realize that Liu wears another hat: she is also the director of the Clinical Nutrition Department at Chongqing Banan TCM Hospital. Even more surprising is that the store, which has been open for less than a year, has become an online sensation, drawing crowds of young people and averaging daily sales of over 20,000 yuan (about $2,760).

Where Medicinal Aroma Meets Culinary Delight

The story of "Wuwei Liangfang" began with Liu's day job.

As an experienced clinical nutritionist, Liu regularly interacts with patients from all walks of life. In her daily consultations, she has noticed a growing number of young people seeking advice. They are generally troubled by sub-health issues such as fatigue from pulling all-nighters and digestive disorders brought on by irregular eating habits. But they tend to shy away from the bitter taste of traditional Chinese medicine.

"Wellness management shouldn't be limited to taking medicine. It should be integrated into daily meals." This idea grew stronger in her mind.

Liu Ying, developer of "Wuwei Liangfang" and director of the Clinical Nutrition Department at Chongqing Banan TCM Hospital, checks product inventory with a staff member. (Photo/Mei Yao)

Coinciding with the national "Healthy China" strategy, which advocates "prevention before illness," Liu wondered: Why not incorporate TCM wellness wisdom into milk tea and bread that young people love? Her bold idea received support from the hospital leadership.

Soon, a special research and development team was formed, led by the Clinical Nutrition Department and comprising multidisciplinary experts. Their "treasure trove" was the official catalog of 106 medicinal-food substances released by the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China. Tangerine peel, astragalus, lily, poria cocos, and goji berries — ingredients that are both medicine and food became the wellspring of their creativity.

"The biggest challenge was how to make these herbs effective while also satisfying young people's demands for good taste and an appealing look," Liu said. The team spent hours in the lab, repeatedly testing and adjusting their formulas.

Take their "Roselle and Dark Plum Decoction," for example. The drink includes roselle, dark plum, hawthorn and tangerine peel, and it is designed to promote fluid production, quench thirst, invigorate the spleen and aid digestion. But the initial version was dull in color and unpleasantly sour. The team revised the formula more than 10 times, adjusting the quantity of each ingredient and the boiling time until they found the perfect balance — a pleasantly tart-sweet taste, a bright ruby hue and a refreshing quality without any heavy herbal aftertaste. The product later became a bestseller in the store and will soon go into mass production with a partner company.

A staff member prepares a signature herbal wellness drink for customers. (Photo/Mei Yao)

After nearly a year of preparations, on May 7, 2025, the "Wuwei Liangfang" experience store quietly opened on the west side of Chongqing Banan TCM Hospital. The initial offerings included more than 30 types of wellness baked goods, such as poria cocos biscuits and rose and longan soft European-style bread, and over 10 herbal teas and specialty wellness coffees. All products follow the TCM theory that "the five tastes enter the five zang organs," and use medicinal-food ingredients in scientifically formulated proportions. Priced between 10 and 20 yuan (about $1.40 to $2.80), they appeal to young people's demand for convenient wellness that doesn't compromise on taste.

"I used to write out nutritional prescriptions for people," Liu joked. "Now I'm writing prescriptions for milk tea and cakes. But the essence is the same — helping everyone eat more healthily."

From a Cup of Tea to a Full-Spectrum Food Therapy

What Liu and her team didn't expect was the overwhelming popularity on opening day. Without any splashy advertising, long lines formed outside the store — and most of the customers were young people. Some took a cab just to get there. Others bought multiple items. Many took photos to share on WeChat Moments and Xiaohongshu, a Chinese lifestyle platform, describing the store as a "new wellness discovery." By 10 a.m., more than 2,000 wellness pastries and over 400 cups of herbal tea had sold out.

Customers select wellness steamed buns at the "Wuwei Liangfang" bun shop. (Photo/Mei Yao)

"I didn't expect such a high level of acceptance among young people," Liu said, pleasantly surprised.

"I used to think wellness was for the older generation," a young customer told Xinhua Net. "All kinds of herbs that are troublesome to prepare and unpleasant to eat. I never imagined milk tea and bread could also be good for you, with no medicinal taste and quite refreshing. The revitalizing tea with longan, red dates, and goji berries is great for office workers' daily care. And the poria and lotus leaf latte, the perilla cheese bread — these are my favorites."

The success of the small store was a spark that ignited a larger map of food-based wellness.

At the end of March 2026, a "Wuwei Liangfang" steamed bun shop, located right next to the experience store, officially opened. The shop was created in a collaboration between the Jiangjia Town government of Banan District, the district's TCM hospital and a local agricultural cooperative. It incorporates the TCM theory that "five colors enter the five organs" into its products and uses local ingredients such as black pork, black beans and black rice to develop wellness steamed buns and soy milk. Within half a day of opening, nearly 3,000 handmade wellness buns sold out, and current average daily sales are stable at more than 4,000 yuan (about $550 to $690).

In fact, the success of "Wuwei Liangfang" is not an isolated case.

Across China, a wave of "wellness foods" initiated by public hospitals is heating up. Hangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine's astragalus and goji berry biscuits and poria and yam cakes topped 500,000 yuan (about $69,000) in sales in their first month on the market. Longhua Hospital Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine's "nine-black sesame pills" were once out of stock. The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine's instant ass-hide gelatin cake and osmanthus turtle jelly have become popular gifts.

The "Wuwei Liangfang" medicinal-food experience store is located at the west gate of Chongqing Banan TCM Hospital. (Photo/Mei Yao)

These products feature fashionable packaging, modern taste profiles, convenience and health benefits. Health concepts are shifting from passive treatment to proactive wellness, and young people are at the core of this transformation.

Youth Consumption Power: Fueling a New Track for the Wellness Industry

While medical institutions are innovating, young people's demand for "light wellness" is driving an even broader health consumption ecosystem.

In Chongqing's core business districts, such as Jiefangbei and Guan Yin Qiao, health tea and light-meal shops that emphasize no additives, low calories, and precise nutrition are popping up everywhere, with personalized food wellness products selling well. Smart health wearables, home health-monitoring devices, and customized nutritional foods have become daily spending hotspots for young people. Traditional wellness venues are also improving their services to attract younger clients.

At the national level, multiple departments in China have issued plans to diversify health consumption scenarios. The "Healthy China 2030" blueprint set a target of 16 trillion yuan (about $2.2 trillion) in total output of the health service industry by 2030, with revenue already reaching 9 trillion yuan (about $1.24 trillion) in 2024, according to Xinhua Net. Meanwhile, a 2025-2030 industry report noted that young people aged 15 to 25 are gradually becoming the main force in the wellness market, and their wellness practices are growing increasingly diverse.

Why are young people increasingly embracing daily wellness? Liu Ying attributes it to the fast pace of modern life and high work pressure. Staying up late, prolonged sitting, and irregular eating have become the norm, leading to sub-healthy issues emerging earlier and prompting young people to pay attention to their own health. They seek wellness methods that are convenient, practical and do not compromise their quality of life.

This choice to balance life and health reflects young people's proactive concern for their own well-being. Innovative medicinal-food products precisely meet this need by integrating professional wellness into daily meals, allowing young people to effortlessly combine enjoyment with health.

From a cup of wellness milk tea and a steamed wellness bun to hospital-based wellness foods flourishing across the country to the steadily growing health industry, young people are redefining wellness in the new era through their consumption choices. The ancient wisdom of medicinal foods, rejuvenated through innovative integration, is injecting lasting, vibrant momentum into the development of China's big health industry.

(Zhang Xuege, as an intern, also contributed to this article)