Exploring Baoding | A Temple That Laid the Foundation for a Millennia-Old Medicine Capital
The World’s Number One Medicinal Market
Walking through the streets and lanes of Anguo, you’ll see it everywhere:
“Herbs only become medicine when they reach Anguo, medicine gains its fragrance after passing through Qizhou.”
This is both a tribute to Anguo’s traditional Chinese medicine processing skills
and a recognition of its medicinal market’s pivotal role nationwide.
Why is Anguo called “the world’s number one medicinal market”?
If you trace it back to its roots,
it all has a deep connection with a single temple.
Anguo, known as Qizhou in ancient times, is one of China’s most famous historical distribution centers for Chinese medicinal herbs. It has long been known as the “Medicine Capital” and “the world’s number one medicinal market.” The flourishing of Anguo’s medicinal market began with the Yaowang Temple (Medicine King Temple). Everyone who came to the market would pay a visit and worship at the temple.
The Yaowang Temple is located in the south of Anguo city (formerly Nanguan). It was first built during the Jianwu period of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the Taiping Xingguo period of the Northern Song Dynasty, the site was expanded and a new temple was established. Over successive dynasties, it was expanded and renovated, incorporating architectural features from the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties. The structure is rigorous and well-integrated. It is the largest ancient temple complex in China dedicated to commemorating medical sages, with a history of over a thousand years. It is a national key cultural relics protection unit.
The temple was originally called the “Pi King Divine Pavilion,” enshrining Pi Tong, one of the 28 celestial generals who served under Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu. Pi Tong, a native of Xindu in the Western Han (present-day Jizhou, Hebei), once served as the governor of Quyang (present-day Jinzhou, Hebei). He assisted Liu Xiu in conquering the realm, was brave in battle, loyal, resourceful, and made immortal contributions to establishing and defending the Eastern Han Dynasty. He was an upright official, skilled in medical theory, often practiced medicine among the people, and was deeply loved. After his death, he was buried in Nanguan, Anguo.
The Yaowang Temple complex covers about 3,200 square meters. It faces west and is arranged with strict symmetry. It includes over ten structures such as a memorial archway, the Horse Hall, bell and drum towers, the Medicine King’s tomb pavilion, stele rooms, and the Hall of Ten Famous Physicians. The plaque above the main gate reading “Yaowang Temple” was inscribed by Liu Yong, a Grand Secretary of the Eastern Cabinet during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty.
The wooden memorial archway in front of the gate is 8.4 meters high, with four columns and three bays, a hip roof, glazed tiles, bracket sets, and upturned eaves. It features lifelike reliefs, exquisite wooden openwork patterns, and masterfully crafted Suzhou-style polychrome paintings, exuding an elegant and dignified style. On the front of the archway is inscribed “Manifesting Power in Hebei,” and on the back, “Honored by the Southern Song.”
On either side of the archway stands a pair of stone lions, and outside the lions, two iron flagpoles rise 24 meters high, each weighing 15 tons. Cast on the flagpoles are two coiling dragons, three-tiered dou (bracket sets), and a flying phoenix on top. Suspended in the middle are iron couplets: “The twin flags of the iron tree shine with light beams upon the dipper; the divine favor widely shelters, virtue reaching the heavens.” Wind chimes hang from the iron flagpoles, ringing in the breeze, evoking a sense of distant solemnity.
Entering the main gate, you come to the Horse Hall, where two warhorses—one red, one white—stand on the north and south sides. Legend has it that the Medicine King would “manifest” and ride these horses to treat patients.
The Medicine King’s tomb pavilion is in the middle courtyard. The tomb is pavilion-style, with a wooden arch ridge and a glazed tile roof, delicate and charming in appearance, full of ethnic character. The tombstone reads: “Tomb of the Imperially Bestowed Manifestly Effective and Benevolent King.”
The tomb lies before the main hall—a layout rarely seen. The tombstone in the pavilion is a dragon-pierced openwork tablet made of jujube wood. Wooden tombstones are rare, and even rarer is one positioned above the tomb itself.
On either side of the tomb pavilion are the Halls of Famous Physicians, with statues of ten ancient medical masters. The north hall enshrines Hua Tuo, Sun Lin, Zhang Zihe, Zhang Jiebin, and Liu Hejian; the south hall enshrines Bian Que, Zhang Zhongjing, Sun Simiao, Xu Wenbo, and Huangfu Mi.
The main hall of the Medicine King is the principal structure, grand and magnificent in appearance. In the main position sits a statue of the Medicine King, robed in yellow with a golden face, radiating an auspicious aura of “bringing happiness and health to the world.” Flanking the King are eight civil and military officials, further enhancing his divine majesty. At the rear is the Medicine King’s chamber, with a casual-attire statue of the King in the center, accompanied by his two wives (locally called the Medicine King Grandmothers) and maidservants. The murals in the rear hall are remnants from the Ming Dynasty, still clear as if freshly painted—truly precious.
Anguo, known as Qizhou in ancient times, is one of China’s most famous historical distribution centers for Chinese medicinal herbs. The establishment of the Yaowang Temple gave rise to Anguo’s enduring and unbroken Chinese medicine industry. Since ancient times, the temple has been a place for the elite of the medicinal world to offer sacrifices and for common people to pray for blessings and peace. As the incense burned ever more vigorously, an incense fair gradually formed. Merchants from various regions brought their medicinal materials to Anguo for trade, and the incense fair evolved into a temple fair for medicinal herb trading. “Two fairs a year, in spring for five days and in autumn for seven” eventually developed into the nation’s largest distribution center for Chinese medicinal herbs, earning the titles “Medicine Capital” and “the world’s number one medicinal market.” The prosperity of Anguo’s market began with the Yaowang Temple. Everyone who participated in the market would visit and worship at the temple.
“From thousands of miles away, wheels and hooves converged, racing to Qizhou.” This was the scene when national herb merchants were drawn to Anguo’s market during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. In the mid-Qing period, merchant guilds like the “Thirteen Gangs” and “Five Great Assemblies” appeared, especially the Anguo Merchant Hall (Anketang), a pharmaceutical management agency whose establishment marked the market’s entry into a flourishing period.
According to the “Anguo City Chronicles,” Anketang was the earliest documented pharmaceutical management body in the Anguo area, founded around the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty. It was located in the north courtyard of the Yaowang Temple in Nanguan. Anketang adhered to an enduring principle: whenever a dispute arose between a local and an outside merchant, regardless of whether the local was in the right, the local merchant would first apologize to the outsider, demonstrating respect for and protection of foreign traders.
“During the late Qing and early Republican periods, whenever the temple fair was held, herbal merchants from all over the country would throng here with their precious medicinal materials. Even merchants from as far away as Southeast Asia, Japan, and Korea would not hesitate to undertake the arduous journey to participate. The fair featured over 1,000 varieties of herbs, and nearly 2,000 merchants engaged in trading,” described Yu Panzhan, director of the Anguo City Local Chronicles Office. “The roads were lined with an endless stream of large and small vehicles carrying medicinal herbs, stretching for miles. In every street and lane, herbs were piled like mountains, filling courtyards and overflowing halls.”
According to the 1934 (Republic of China era) “Hebei Monthly,” Volume 2, Issue 12, “Survey of Counties”: “The pharmaceutical market in Anguo within the territory is extremely developed. It is a famous drug market in northern China. On the 28th day of the fourth lunar month, the Yaowang Temple fair is very grand. Winter is the period for buying and selling herbs. Merchants gather in crowds, and the trading volume is robust and thriving.”
The market’s prosperity drove the refinement of herb processing and preparation techniques to ever-greater perfection. The “Four Ultimate Processing Techniques of Qizhou” (hundred-knife betel nut, cicada-wing Pinellia, cloud-sliced deer antler, and ground rhinoceros horn) became the pinnacle of knife skills in the industry. Numerous Chinese patent medicine workshops could produce over 500 varieties, including pills, powders, plasters, elixirs, tinctures, wines, and more. The flourishing Qing Dynasty market also featured close ties with Tongrentang, which, as an imperial pharmacy, set up a branch in Anguo and sourced most of its herbs there. Tongrentang’s status, influence, and power could sway the prices of certain herbs, giving rise to the saying, “If Tongrentang hasn’t arrived, the market won’t open.”
In 1992, Anguo launched a “Three Hundred Million Project,” and within two years, built the nation’s largest specialized market for Chinese medicinal materials—the Oriental Medicine City. Entering the 21st century, the time-honored Anguo pharmaceutical industry burst forth with new vitality. Oriental Medicine City offered over 2,000 product varieties, with a daily visitor flow of 20,000, a daily handling capacity of over 1,000 tons, over 400 operating enterprises, and more than 4,000 stalls. During this period, merchants from South Korea, the United States, Japan, and other countries came to invest and start businesses in Anguo.
In 2012, Hebei Province proposed comprehensively upgrading the TCM industry and building a strong TCM province, making the major decision to construct the Anguo TCM Capital. Eight years later, Anguo has undergone a magnificent transformation. Centered on a development strategy of “Three Zones” (a green circular industrial zone, a warehousing, logistics, and trade zone, and a health and wellness cultural zone), “Three Bases” (a TCM research and development base, a TCM export base, and a TCM planting demonstration base), and “Three Systems” (a planting standards system, a circulation standards system, and a quality traceability system), a comprehensive platform for investment and development covering planting, research, processing, extraction, warehousing, inspection, and trading has taken shape.
On March 17, 2015, the “Cooperative Investment Agreement for the Anguo Medicine Capital Health and Wellness Park Project” was officially signed. According to the agreement, the project covers a total planned area of approximately 3,300 mu (220 hectares) and is divided into three parts: the Medicine Capital Ancient Town, a wellness theme park, and an eco-community, with a total investment of 11 billion yuan. Upon completion, it will center on Yaowang Temple Square, supplemented by several distinctive commercial, dining, and cultural projects, further promoting and carrying forward the history and culture of the Anguo TCM Capital.
“The Yaowang Temple is inseparable from Anguo’s TCM industry. It was the temple that gave birth to Anguo’s thousand-year pharmaceutical history. And Anguo has always been striding forward on the path to building a modern medicine capital,” said Wang Zhi, director of the Anguo Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau.
Today, Anguo’s TCM planting area consistently remains above 150,000 mu (10,000 hectares). It is named by the State Council as the “Hometown of Chinese Medicinal Herbs” and one of the first batch of national demonstration counties for pollution-free TCM planting, annually supplying nearly 53.4 million kilograms of medicinal materials, accounting for over 70% of Hebei Province’s total output. Its specialized market network radiates across the country and reaches more than 20 countries and regions including Europe, America, and Southeast Asia. In 2019, the transaction volume of medicinal herbs reached 35 billion yuan, making it one of the largest distribution and export bases for Chinese medicinal materials in the nation.
On September 27–28 this year, Anguo successfully hosted the Hebei Provincial Conference on the Inheritance, Innovation, and Development of TCM. It invited academicians, national medical masters, experts, scholars, and renowned TCM entrepreneurs to discuss the living inheritance, innovation, and development of TCM culture, building a high-level platform for TCM industrial cooperation and innovative development, and boosting the innovative, green, and high-quality development of Hebei’s TCM sector.
In the future, on 1,200 mu (80 hectares) of land east of Angtai Street and west of the Yaowang Temple, filled with the fragrance of herbs, a cluster of Ming- and Qing-style architecture will emerge. The scenic area will feature “Eight Grand Landscapes,” including statues, a sacrificial altar, and a square. It will highlight services based on TCM culture, including complementary therapies, Chinese medicine, Miao medicine, Tibetan medicine, and more. Visitors can pay homage to the Medicine King, explore the medicine city, admire medicinal flowers, enjoy herbal scenery, savor medicinal cuisine, and watch medicinal-themed operas.
Additionally, Anguo plans to create the Hot Sea Health Town, themed around TCM cultural tourism. Leveraging the brand of the millennium medicine capital and five major local resources—rivers, geothermal energy, salt mines, and natural gas from the West-East Gas Pipeline—it aims to build a world-unique 5A-level leisure and wellness resort and a comprehensive TCM health tourism demonstration base.
Only with time can such a scene emerge. Through visionary planning, bold design, and high-starting-point construction, today’s Anguo TCM Capital is richer in essence and broader in scope, displaying a trend of full-industry development. The construction of the TCM Capital has also achieved continuous strategic upgrades—from a provincial governor’s project to a joint provincial-ministerial initiative, and now to a demonstration zone for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development.
Now, the Yaowang Temple has become a cultural symbol reflecting Anguo’s pharmaceutical civilization. Anguo, positioned as a national-level hub of the TCM industry, a land of health culture and wellness, and a green, eco-friendly, livable city, continues to write the glorious chapter of its pharmaceutical legacy and strides confidently forward.
Crossing a millennium, returning to the present day, this temple still shines brightly, and the “world’s number one medicinal market” remains before our eyes. While the winter sun is warm, let’s set out with our Huimin Card~
