Medicinal Herb Market

BOZHOU City in northern Anhui Province wakes up every early morning to the heady fragrance of medicinal herbs. This aroma comes from the bustling Kangmei Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Market adjacent to the city’s railway station. The huge market, which is yet to be expanded to meet its planned size of 1.22 million square meters, starts its day at 3 a.m. with futures transactions of Chinese herbal medicine before the spot market opens at about seven to eight o’clock. The market trades in 2,600 different kinds of traditional Chinese medicine and attracts 20,000 to 30,000 customers per day. Its 4,300 stands conclude daily transactions of up to 6,000 tons, with the annual turnover exceeding RMB 20 billion. The market is more than a place for buying and selling; it also handles quality control and storage. Its scale and scope of operation make it the biggest TCM market in the country.