Beijing Tong Ren Tang

Beijing Tong Ren Tang HK is the Hong Kong branch of Tong Ren Tang, continuing the traditional Chinese medicine business, offering Chinese patent medicines, herbs, and TCM consultation services.

Tong Ren Tang traces its history to Beijing in 1669, during the eighth year of the Kangxi Emperor’s reign in the Qing dynasty. The founder, Yue Xianyang, was associated with the imperial medical establishment and created a medicine business whose reputation was later strengthened by its connection to the Qing court. In 1702, the business moved to the location from which its historic Beijing retail identity developed. In 1723, during the Yongzheng era, Tong Ren Tang was appointed a supplier of herbal medicines to the imperial court. It retained that role until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911. The imperial appointment became more than a historical episode: it supplied the brand with a long-lasting association with careful selection, skilled preparation, and reliable formulas. Tong Ren Tang’s traditional manufacturing philosophy is expressed through a maxim that emphasizes not reducing labor when preparation is complex and not reducing the quantity or quality of materials when ingredients are costly. This principle helped distinguish the business in a sector where trust, provenance, and preparation techniques were central to consumer confidence. During the late Qing and Republican periods, Tong Ren Tang continued to operate as a medicine house while Chinese commerce became more competitive and increasingly connected to overseas markets. A Tong Ren Tang Tiger Bone Wine product received recognition at the 1924 Leipzig Trade Fair, according to historical accounts, illustrating the company’s early attempts to present Chinese medicinal products to an international audience. The original tiger-bone product should be understood as a historical product reference rather than a current offering, because the use of tiger bone is prohibited under modern wildlife-protection rules. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, Tong Ren Tang was incorporated into the changing structure of China’s pharmaceutical and commercial system. Over time, its activities developed beyond a single historic pharmacy into a group of manufacturing, retail, technology, international, healthcare, and investment entities. Modernization included new production facilities, standardized industrial processes, expanded quality systems, and broader distribution. The traditional name was also increasingly represented in the romanized form Tongrentang for contemporary commercial use. The group’s post-1990s development included capital-market and international initiatives. Beijing Tongrentang Co., Ltd. became a Shanghai-listed company under ticker 600085, while Beijing Tongrentang Technology Development and other related companies supported manufacturing, research, and overseas development. In 2000, Hutchison Whampoa invested in Tong Ren Tang Technologies by subscribing for shares, reflecting the growing interest in commercializing traditional Chinese medicine through partnerships and modern corporate structures. In 2007, Tong Ren Tang and the American Greater China Corporation announced Tong Ren Tang Wellness Corporation, a proposed platform for wellness centers combining traditional Chinese medicine products and services. The planned service mix included acupuncture, massage, acupressure, tuina, tai chi, qigong, reflexology, herbal foods, and health products. This initiative represented an early effort to reinterpret the pharmacy heritage as a broader lifestyle and wellness proposition. The company has also invested in preserving and formalizing its cultural assets. Tong Ren Tang’s traditional medicine culture and selected traditional preparation techniques have been recognized within China’s national intangible cultural heritage framework. The brand has also been designated a China Time-Honored Brand, reinforcing its official status as a historic commercial name. Modern growth has not been free of difficulty. The brand has faced widespread counterfeiting and unauthorized registration of its name and marks in China and overseas markets. These problems have affected exports, licensing, cross-border commerce, and consumer trust. In 2018 and 2019, a food-safety controversy involving honey associated with Tongrentang Bee Industry led to investigations, public criticism, product checks, and the withdrawal of a national quality award. The episode highlighted the governance risks created by contractors, affiliates, and a complex group structure. The group has continued to broaden its consumer proposition. In 2020, its Zhima Health concept brought herbal coffee, milk tea, health foods, wellness experiences, and traditional medicine-related services into a more contemporary retail environment in Beijing. The project was aimed particularly at younger consumers and illustrated the company’s attempt to combine traditional medicine culture with modern consumption occasions. By the mid-2020s, Tong Ren Tang remained an active, internationally recognized Chinese medicine group. Its business continued to span patent medicines, herbal preparations, health products, pharmacy retail, traditional medicine services, and overseas operations. Leadership of the Shanghai-listed operating company changed in 2025, when Zhang Chaohua became chair and Chen Jiafu became general manager. The brand’s continuing challenge is to preserve the authority of its heritage while meeting modern expectations concerning evidence, product safety, regulatory compliance, transparent governance, intellectual-property protection, and relevance to new generations.

1. 2025Zhang Chaohua becomes chair of the listed company

   Zhang Chaohua is elected chair of Beijing Tongrentang Co., Ltd.; Chen Jiafu becomes director and general manager.

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2. 2023Manufacturing affiliate receives marketing authorization-holder approval

   Tongrentang’s manufacturing plant becomes marketing authorization holder for selected products, including Angong Niuhuang Wan.

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3. 2020Zhima Health coffee and wellness concept expands

   Tong Ren Tang experiments with coffee, herbal beverages, health foods, and wellness services in Beijing retail locations.

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4. 2019China Quality Award recognition withdrawn

   Authorities withdraw Tong Ren Tang’s China Quality Award recognition after the honey controversy.

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5. 2018Honey-related food-safety controversy

   A controversy involving honey produced by an affiliated or contracted business triggers investigations and product checks.

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6. 2007Tong Ren Tang Wellness partnership announced

   Tong Ren Tang and Greater China Corporation announce a partnership focused on integrated TCM wellness centers.

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7. 2000Hutchison Whampoa invests in Tong Ren Tang Technologies

   Hutchison Whampoa subscribes for shares in Tong Ren Tang Technologies, supporting the group’s modern corporate and international development.

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8. 1924Tiger Bone Wine receives Leipzig Trade Fair recognition

   Historical accounts record recognition for a Tong Ren Tang Tiger Bone Wine product at the Leipzig Trade Fair.

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9. 1911End of the Qing imperial supply relationship

   The fall of the Qing dynasty ends Tong Ren Tang’s formal imperial-court supply role.

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10. 1723Imperial-court medicine appointment

    Tong Ren Tang is appointed a supplier of herbal medicines to the Qing imperial court, a role it retains until 1911.

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11. 1702The business moves to its historic Beijing location

    Tong Ren Tang relocates to the site associated with its long-running Beijing retail identity.

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12. 1669Tong Ren Tang is established in Beijing

    Yue Xianyang establishes the medicine business during the Kangxi era of the Qing dynasty.

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Premium, heritage-led traditional Chinese medicine and wellness, combining imperial-court associations and traditional preparation culture with modern pharmaceutical manufacturing, retail, and health-service formats.

• Angong Niuhuang WanChinese patent medicine

  A traditional formula-based pill positioned by Tong Ren Tang as one of its signature heritage medicines. The product is associated with the classical Angong Niuhuang Wan prescription and with meticulous sourcing, processing, honey-pill formation, and wax-sealing techniques. Tong Ren Tang markets versions containing natural bezoar and natural musk where permitted by applicable approvals. It is a regulated medicine and should be used only according to approved labeling and professional medical advice.

• Liuwei Dihuang WanChinese patent medicine and tonic

  A classic replenishing formula made from six traditional herbal ingredients, including prepared rehmannia, Chinese yam, poria, moutan bark, Chinese cinnamon-related ingredients, and alisma in the standard formula tradition. Tong Ren Tang sells the product in multiple dosage forms, including large honey pills, water-honey pills, concentrated pills, and soft capsules. It is one of the brand’s most recognizable everyday traditional medicine products.

• Tongren Niuhuang Qingxin seriesChinese patent medicine

  A family of traditional formula products included among Tong Ren Tang’s core product varieties. The series is marketed in multiple specifications and dosage forms and contributes to the brand’s heart, brain, circulation, and general wellness product portfolio. Product indications, ingredients, and approved uses vary by formulation and jurisdiction.

• Wuji Baifeng productsWomen’s traditional health medicine

  A traditional women’s health product family associated with replenishing and balancing formulations. Tong Ren Tang offers Wuji Baifeng-related products as part of its established patent-medicine portfolio, including products sold under the Tong Ren Tang and Beijing Baifeng naming systems in different markets.

• Xihuang WanChinese patent medicine

  A traditional formula-based pill included among Tong Ren Tang’s core varieties. It reflects the company’s focus on classical prescriptions, standardized production, and heritage products with long-standing recognition in the Chinese medicine market.

• Jingzhi Niuhuang Jiedu PianChinese patent medicine

  A Tong Ren Tang patent-medicine product in the clearing and detoxification segment. It is part of the group’s established cold, heat-clearing, and general symptom-oriented product portfolio, with formulations and approved claims governed by local pharmaceutical regulation.

• Wuzi Yanzong WanChinese patent medicine and reproductive-health tonic

  A traditional formula product sold by Tong Ren Tang as part of its core varieties. The product belongs to a traditional tonic and reproductive-health category and is marketed in regulated pharmaceutical forms rather than as an unrestricted food supplement.

• Jinkui Shenqi WanChinese patent medicine and tonic

  A classical formula-based tonic product included in Tong Ren Tang’s core product list. It represents the company’s broader range of traditional replenishing medicines beyond its best-known heart, brain, and emergency-oriented offerings.

• Tong Ren Tang Ganoderma productsHealth supplement

  A range of health products based on ganoderma, including products marketed as broken-wall ganoderma spore powder capsules and related formulations. These products are especially visible in overseas markets and in the group’s international health-product portfolio.

• Ejiao and tonic productsTraditional supplement and health food

  Tong Ren Tang sells donkey-hide gelatin and other tonic products within its replenishing, nutrition, and wellness categories. These products extend the brand beyond prescription-like patent medicines into gift, nourishment, and daily health-consumption occasions.

• Zhima HealthWellness retail and herbal beverage concept2020

  A contemporary retail concept introduced in Beijing that combines coffee, milk tea, herbal ingredients, health foods, wellness services, and traditional medicine-related experiences. Zhima Health was designed to make the heritage brand more approachable to younger consumers and to create new consumption occasions around health and lifestyle.

• 2020Zhima Health youth-oriented wellness retail

  Beijing, China

  Tong Ren Tang used coffee shops, herbal beverages, health foods, wellness services, and redesigned retail environments to reach younger consumers and associate traditional medicine with contemporary urban lifestyles.

  Outcome. The concept attracted public attention as an example of a time-honored Chinese medicine brand experimenting with food-and-beverage retail and social-media-friendly experiences.

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• 2020Traditional Chinese medicine culture and health-promotion outreach

  China

  Tong Ren Tang participated in health-industry exhibitions and public-facing health-promotion activities featuring products such as Angong Niuhuang Wan, Liuwei Dihuang Wan, tonic products, and traditional medicine lines.

  Outcome. The activity reinforced the brand’s position as both a heritage medicine house and a modern health-industry participant.

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• 2007Tong Ren Tang Wellness Corporation

  United States · China · International markets

  Tong Ren Tang and Greater China Corporation announced a wellness-center partnership built around acupuncture, massage, acupressure, tuina, tai chi, qigong, reflexology, herbal foods, and health products. The initiative translated the pharmacy brand into an integrated traditional medicine and lifestyle service proposition.

  Outcome. The announcement demonstrated Tong Ren Tang’s intention to internationalize its service model, although the available reference material does not establish the partnership’s full scale or long-term commercial outcome.

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• 2025Reorganize leadership of the listed operating companyOther

  Beijing Tongrentang Co., Ltd. adjusted its senior leadership structure during the term of its tenth board.

  What changed. Di Shubing left the listed company’s chair and directorship on August 11, 2025. Zhang Chaohua was elected chair, and Chen Jiafu served as director and general manager.

  Aftermath. The change placed the listed company under new chair and management leadership while Di Shubing continued in a senior role at the controlling group.

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• 2023Secure marketing authorization for selected traditional medicinesProduct launch

  China’s marketing-authorization-holder system allows approved pharmaceutical companies and manufacturing organizations to hold regulatory responsibility for products under defined arrangements.

  What changed. The Tongrentang manufacturing plant became marketing authorization holder for selected medicines, including Angong Niuhuang Wan, Da Huo Luo Wan, and Niuhuang Qingxin Wan.

  Aftermath. The change strengthened the group’s direct regulatory and product-management position for the specified medicines.

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• 2020Enter contemporary coffee and lifestyle retailStrategy

  The company faced the challenge of making traditional Chinese medicine relevant to younger urban consumers and of creating new retail occasions beyond medicine purchases.

  What changed. Tong Ren Tang introduced the Zhima Health concept, combining herbal coffee, milk tea, health foods, wellness experiences, and traditional medicine-related services in Beijing.

  Aftermath. The concept generated public interest and positioned Tong Ren Tang as an example of a heritage healthcare brand experimenting with lifestyle retail.

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• 2007Develop integrated wellness centersStrategy

  Tong Ren Tang sought to extend its traditional pharmacy identity into service-based wellness and to create an international platform for traditional Chinese medicine treatments.

  What changed. The company announced Tong Ren Tang Wellness Corporation with Greater China Corporation, covering acupuncture, massage, acupressure, tuina, tai chi, qigong, reflexology, herbal foods, and health products.

  Aftermath. The initiative marked a strategic move toward integrated wellness services, but the available sources do not establish the eventual size or profitability of the venture.

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• 2000Accept strategic investment in Tong Ren Tang TechnologiesM&A

  The group was developing modern corporate structures and seeking broader commercial and international capabilities for traditional Chinese medicine.

  What changed. Hutchison Whampoa subscribed for six million shares in Tong Ren Tang Technologies.

  Aftermath. The investment supported the modernization and internationalization of a Tong Ren Tang-related listed technology business, although the available material does not quantify its long-term financial effect.

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• 2021Investigation of former executive Gao ZhenkunControversy

  Gao Zhenkun, who had served as general manager of Beijing Tongrentang Co., Ltd., was reported as being investigated by Chinese authorities. The reference material does not provide enough verified detail here to characterize the specific allegations or legal outcome.

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• 2019Withdrawal of China Quality Award recognitionControversy

  Authorities withdrew Tong Ren Tang’s China Quality Award recognition after the honey controversy. The action increased reputational pressure on the group and underscored the importance of supplier controls, food-safety governance, and accountability across affiliated entities.

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• 2018Honey storage and contracted-production controversyControversy

  A food-safety controversy concerned bottled honey produced after October 2018 by a contracted party associated with Tongrentang Bee Industry. Reports alleged that expired honey was recovered or stored for use as raw material. The matter prompted investigation, comprehensive product checks, and public criticism of quality oversight and contractor management.

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• 2025Tong Ren Tang changes the listed company chair

  Di Shubing left the chair and directorship of Beijing Tongrentang Co., Ltd. on August 11, 2025, citing work adjustment. Zhang Chaohua was elected chair, while Chen Jiafu became the listed company’s director and general manager.

  Leadership change
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• 2024Tong Ren Tang continues international product and retail development

  The group and its affiliated international businesses continued to market traditional Chinese medicines, health products, and wellness offerings outside mainland China, including through overseas registration and distribution activity.

  Other
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• 2024Tongrentang healthcare arm advances Hong Kong listing plans

  Tongrentang Healthcare Investment updated its Hong Kong prospectus while expanding a network combining hospitals, primary-care institutions, and an internet hospital.

  M&AOther
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• 2024Beijing Tong Ren Tang reports steady revenue but profit pressure in the first three quarters of 2024

  The Shanghai-listed company reported revenue of RMB 13.820 billion and attributable net profit of RMB 1.350 billion for the first three quarters. Coverage attributed margin pressure partly to higher Chinese medicinal-material costs.

  OtherPricing
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• 2024Tong Ren Tang promotes brand renewal through diversified marketing

  The company described cultural partnerships, community education, e-commerce, digital channel management, transit advertising and campaigns aimed at younger working consumers as part of its brand and sales-development program.

  Campaign
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• 2024Tong Ren Tang Healthcare updates Hong Kong listing application

  Tong Ren Tang Healthcare, a group company focused on integrated traditional Chinese medicine healthcare and senior-care services, updated its Hong Kong listing application after an initial filing earlier in 2024.

  M&AOther
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• 2023Tong Ren Tang affiliate obtains approval to become marketing authorization holder for Angong Niuhuang Wan

  The National Medical Products Administration approved a change under which the Tongrentang manufacturing plant became the marketing authorization holder for specified products, including Angong Niuhuang Wan, Da Huo Luo Wan, and Niuhuang Qingxin Wan.

  RegulationProduct launch
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• 2023Tongrentang launches a quality-focused strategy

  Beijing Tongrentang Co., Ltd. presented a strategy emphasizing premium products, lean manufacturing, precise marketing, and refined management, including a premium hand-crafted Angong Niuhuang Wan.

  Product launch
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• 2023Tongrentang promotes the Imperial Medicine 300 series

  Tongrentang Technology used the 300th anniversary of its imperial-court supply tradition as a platform for upgraded products, packaging, ingredients, channels, and retail services.

  Product generationCampaign
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• 2020Tong Ren Tang expands into herbal coffee and wellness retail

  The group promoted its Zhima Health concept, combining coffee, milk tea, herbal foods, wellness experiences, and traditional medicine-related services in Beijing locations. The initiative was designed to attract younger consumers and broaden the everyday relevance of the heritage brand.

  CampaignProduct launch
  Source
• Tongrentang expands digital and community marketing

  The group has described community lectures, campus health education, e-commerce promotion, data systems, cultural content, and retail collaborations as tools for reaching new consumers.

  CampaignOther
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1. Tong Ren Tang — Wikipedia
2. China Beijing Tongrentang Group official website
3. Tong Ren Tang product catalogue and core varieties
4. Angong Niuhuang Wan official product information
5. Liuwei Dihuang Wan official product information
6. Beijing Tongrentang Co., Ltd. 2024 annual report
7. Beijing Tongrentang Co., Ltd. 2025 leadership change announcement
8. Shanghai Stock Exchange disclosure for Tongrentang
9. Tongrentang manufacturing authorization announcement
10. People’s Daily Overseas report on Zhima Health
11. Honey-related food-safety controversy
12. China Quality Award recognition withdrawn
13. Traditional Chinese medicine culture and health-promotion outreach
14. Investigation of former executive Gao Zhenkun
15. Tong Ren Tang continues international product and retail development
16. Tongrentang healthcare arm advances Hong Kong listing plans
17. Beijing Tong Ren Tang reports steady revenue but profit pressure in the first three quarters of 2024
18. Tong Ren Tang promotes brand renewal through diversified marketing
19. Tongrentang launches a quality-focused strategy
20. Tongrentang promotes the Imperial Medicine 300 series
21. Tongrentang expands digital and community marketing