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Huqingyutang was founded by Hu Xueyuan in 1878, and it pairs up with Beijing Tongrentang as the famous south and north ancient medicine shops of the nation. It still operates as such. Walk through the narrow corridor over the pond and into the doorway of the workshop, and you’ll see a dozen or so people busily going drawer to drawer, grabbing roots, leaves, bark, etc., throwing them together, and packaging them to ship off somewhere. They are such pros that they don’t even need to look at a recipe.
Have a seat and soak in the action and the architecture. It isn’t as elaborate at the villa because it was used for business, but it’s still something special. You’ll probably come across art students sketching away, trying to capture the essence Qing dynasty architecture. When you’ve had enough of this, head back into the museum – China’s first national museum of traditional Chinese medicine – and learn a little history.
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