TCM Herb Garden

Yesterday we visited the TCM sample room at PKU. A few graduate students at the university were kind enough to show us around and explain was some of the herbs were used for and how they were collected. There were a lot of samples, including animals! There were dried toads, seahorses, turtle shells, and starfish. There were also thousands of different herb samples. It was neat to see such an extensive collection of TCM sources.

Ana admiring some herbs in PKU's sample room

Today we visited a TCM herb garden in the suburbs of Beijing. It was really interesting. Our tour guide walked us through the garden and showed us many different plant species that have a medicinal purpose in TCM. It was cool to see some of the herbs we've discussed in class in real life. We also saw their library chronicling all the herbs they have in the garden. They had a dried sample and a description of each herb in books and stored in a huge room of filing cabinets. It was an impressive display.

Alex inspecting one of the TCM herbs

After the tour we ate lunch at a very unique restaurant. It was a restaurant that has food made from TCM products. There were salads made from medicinal herbs and dishes made with medicinal animals. It was a really cool experience and a delicious meal! We had tea that was brewed from flowers that are used to treat a sore throat and we had vegetables that promote good circulation. We all left that meal feeling really healthy! We had a really good tour.

Zai jian!