Hakka Medicine: From Millennia of Heritage to Modern Industrialization - A Health Path Connecting the World
HONG KONG, Dec. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Hakka medicine is the result of deep integration between traditional Central Plains Chinese medicine and the natural environment of southern China, carrying profound historical heritage and unique clinical value. The Seventh World Hakka Entrepreneurs Convention was held in Meizhou, Guangdong from November 23 to 25. With the theme of "Gather Global Hakka Entrepreneurs • Facilitate High-Quality Development", the conference upheld the principles of "openness, innovation, cooperation, and mutual benefit," and explored new opportunities for the development of Hakka culture and industrial development. At this grand, globally watched event, Guangdong Jiaying Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. showcased its star products, including "Double-ingredient Throat Wind Relief Powder" (Double-ingredient Throat Wind Relief Powder), "Gujing Shenrong Wan" (Solid Essence Ginseng and Antler Pill), and "Longnao Gao" (Borneol Ointment), presenting the unique charm of Hakka medicine to the world.
At present, companies such as Jiaying Pharmaceutical in Guangdong, China, are actively advancing the industrialization of Hakka medicine through industry-academia-research collaboration, dosage-form improvement, and supply-chain integration. Meanwhile, Hakka medicine is also striving to re-enter overseas markets, aiming to build internationally influential health brands.
Millennia of Heritage: The Historical Depth and Unique Value of Hakka medicine
Hakka medicine originated from the southward migration of Han people from the Central Plains and gradually developed a distinctive theoretical system through the integration of indigenous southern medical knowledge. Throughout Chinese history, Hakka medicine witnessed the emergence of many representative figures and classic formulations. During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, Lu Zengxiong, a senior Hakka physician from Yongding, Fujian, developed Wanying Tea by integrating folk prescriptions from traveling physicians in Jiangxi. In 2008, Wanying Tea was listed as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage; in 2012, it obtained National Geographical Indication Product Protection, becoming an iconic representative of Hakka medicine in Fujian.
Aw Boon Haw became known as the "King of Tiger Balm" and the "Newspaper King." In 1910, he successfully developed five portable proprietary medicines, including Tiger Balm and Eight Diagrams Pill. With a low-profit, high-volume strategy, Haw Par Tiger Balm quickly became popular across Southeast Asia. Through newspaper promotion and public welfare projects, Hu enhanced brand credibility and successfully brought Haw Par medicine to the international market, becoming one of the pioneers of Hakka medicine's global expansion.
Technology Empowerment: The Pathway to Industrialization
The core of industrializing Hakka medicine lies in transforming traditional formulations into modern pharmaceutical products, with technological improvement and innovation being especially critical.
Take Jiaying Pharmaceutical's Double-ingredient Throat Wind Relief Powder as an example. Originating from a verified Qing Dynasty prescription, this product has a history of more than 170 years. Containing ingredients such as pearl and artificial bezoar, it provides heat-clearing and detoxifying effects. During industrialization, the company optimized the extraction process and converted the powder into a spray formulation, significantly improving user experience.
In research and development, domestic Hakka medicine companies actively collaborate with universities and research institutions.
Industrial Chain Integration: Comprehensive Industrial Layout
The industrialization of Hakka medicine relies on full-chain integration and coordinated development. As the "World Hakka Capital," Meizhou has already taken significant steps in this process.
In the planting stage, Meizhou has leveraged its selenium-rich soil and abundant traditional Chinese medicinal resources, comprising more than 1,800 medicinal herb species, including 282 nationally and provincially designated key varieties, accounting for 61% of all surveyed species, to establish multiple industrialized cultivation bases for Chinese medicinal materials.
In the research and development stage, Meizhou has built a relatively comprehensive scientific research platform system, with seven provincial-level traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) engineering technology research centers, nine municipal-level engineering technology research centers, three national master TCM heritage studios, and three innovation and entrepreneurship team projects related to traditional Chinese medicine introduced under Guangdong Province's "Sailing Program."
In the production stage, Hakka medicine enterprises have actively enhanced quality control through GMP certification and have developed digital factories that integrate automation, informatization, and intelligent manufacturing in traditional Chinese medicine production.
In the sales stage, Meizhou Jiaying Pharmaceutical's Double-ingredient Throat Wind Relief Powder has been vigorously expanding its presence in offline pharmacies, now covering more than 300,000 retail terminals across China and capturing one-half of the national terminal market share.
In terms of cultural promotion, Hakka medicine is actively exploring an integrated "medicine + tourism" model.
Cultural Globalization: International Experience and Strategies
A century later, Hakka medicine companies, represented by Jiaying Pharmaceutical, are actively expanding into international markets by establishing the wholly owned subsidiary Jiaying International to strengthen commercial channels. In February 2025, the first batch of Double-ingredient Throat Wind Relief Powder was successfully exported to Hong Kong, marking a crucial step in the overseas expansion of this patented TCM. In the second half of 2024, under customs supervision, a batch of Chinese medicinal materials, including chrysanthemum, rhizoma anemarrhenae, and lalang grass rhizome, totaling three varieties and weighing 100 kilograms, was successfully exported by a local Meizhou enterprise, marking the first export of Meizhou's Chinese medicinal materials.
The industrialization of Hakka medicine not only represents the inheritance and innovation of TCM but also embodies the continuation and promotion of the Hakka cultural spirit. Today, Hakka medicine enterprises are advancing industrialization through technological upgrades, dosage-form innovation, and supply-chain integration, while also developing a "product + culture" dual marketing model to actively enter Southeast Asian and Western markets. Hakka medicine continues to demonstrate renewed vitality throughout its historical evolution.
In its future development, Hakka medicine is poised to become an important bridge for cooperation in the health sector between China and the rest of the world, contributing more "Chinese wisdom" to global health. Hakka medicine is embarking on a uniquely distinctive path toward industrial development, giving full play to the value of traditional wisdom in modern society.
SOURCE Guangdong Jiaying Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
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