How China mixes HEA, traditional medicine and alcohol

In China, a new trend is gaining popularity, which the young people themselves call "punk wellness " - this is when you live on stress, stay up late, eat whatever you can, but at the same time try to "get healthy" in quick ways. One of the most striking examples is TCM bars (bars with elements of traditional Chinese medicine), which are opening in various cities.

In one such place in Shanghai - Niang Qing - everything starts like in a doctor's office: the visitor has his pulse measured on his wrists, after which a TCM specialist tells him what is "wrong" with his body. And then the barman makes the cocktail "as prescribed " - he adds herbs and roots to the drink, which are usually used in traditional recipes. The interior has crates of ingredients like goji berries and angelica root instead of the usual shelves of alcohol, and the room smells like an apothecary.

a 26-year-old visitor describes it this way: she still wants a drink after work, but here it feels like you've "checked your health" and caught a little "hope for the best" at the same time. The doctor working in the bar emphasises that this is not a cure, but rather a way of reminding people about health. He adds that mixing alcohol and herbs in TCM is not a new idea: there used to be a concept of "medicinal wine".

Why is this catching on? They link the trend to pressures on young people: competition in the labour market, "996" -inspired recycling (9am to 9pm six days a week) and a sense of chronic fatigue. The piece also mentions a survey where more than 60 per cent of young people rated their condition as "not very good".

The creators of Niang Qing - students at the University of Traditional Medicine - say that young people are interested in anything "traditional" but find conventional formats boring. So they made an entrance into TCM culture through entertainment and socialising. The bar opened recently and has already expanded to several locations.

Experts note that such places work as a "bridge" from social networks to real life: people come not only for a drink, but also for social experience and emotional release - and this, in fact, is not only a problem in China.