In Shanghai, Traditional Chinese Medicine isn’t a wellness trend—it’s simply part of life. Century-old herbal pharmacies sit alongside gleaming luxury spas; a serious session of tui na can be as routine as a manicure; and some of the city’s most respected TCM practitioners work out of decidedly no-frills clinics.
It also happens to be a city we know very well. Antevorta founders Sara Jane and Annie have lived in Shanghai for well over a decade, and a few of these spots are still firmly in their rotation whenever they are back in town. From Annie’s vaginal spa to the chiropractor whose number Sara Jane is finally willing to share, consider this our little black book for experiencing TCM in Shanghai.
For the full Traditional Chinese Medicine experience:
Longhua Hospital 龙华医院
725 South Wanping Road, Xuhui District
If your experience with TCM begins and ends with gua sha, start here. One of Shanghai’s most established TCM hospitals—and a teaching hospital affiliated with Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine—Longhua is the real deal.
Patients come for everything from acupuncture and tui na (Chinese medical massage) to gynecology, dermatology, orthopedics and more complex chronic conditions. There’s also an international medical service with English-speaking support. Just don’t expect a spa: It’s a proper hospital, it’s busy, and it’s about as authentic a look at modern TCM as you’ll get.
Pro tip: Make an appointment rather than simply showing up, especially if you have a particular doctor in mind.
A vaginal spa for the efficiency-obsessed:
Everlasting Spa 艾维庭
Multiple Shanghai locations; Annie’s go-to: The Place, 100 Zunyi Road
Antevorta cofounder Annie’s regular Shanghai spot offers everything from facials and moxibustion to cupping and bone setting—but she comes for the vaginal spa. The VIP-style treatment includes an intimate examination and imaging with a specialist TCM practitioner, followed by a treatment Annie describes as surprisingly pleasurable. (Yes, some clients may even orgasm—and there’s nothing to be shy about.)
Best of all for multitaskers: They can arrange several practitioners to perform your facial, moxibustion and vaginal treatment simultaneously. Book about a week ahead—the vaginal specialist comes in by appointment.
A 140-year-old apothecary hiding in plain sight:
Cai Tong De Tang 蔡同德堂
450 Nanjing East Road, Huangpu District
Amid the bright lights and international flagships of Nanjing Road sits a very different kind of institution. Founded in 1882, Cai Tong De Tang is an old-school Chinese pharmacy lined with drawers of herbs, roots and traditional preparations.
It isn’t a heritage display, either: There’s still a functioning TCM clinic inside. Head upstairs to watch prescriptions being weighed and assembled—and take in that unmistakable aroma of dried Chinese herbs. (If you know, you know.)
A TCM pharmacy that predates the United States Constitution:
Tong Han Chun Tang 童涵春堂
33 Jiujiaochang Road, Huangpu District
Founded in 1783, Tong Han Chun Tang is one of Shanghai’s historic Chinese medicine institutions—and an easy detour if you’re already visiting Yu Garden.
Come for the rows of traditional preparations and glass jars filled with mysterious-looking ingredients; stay for the feeling that this is all still remarkably ordinary. Locals continue to shop for herbs while visitors wander around trying to decipher what, exactly, is inside those jars.
Our recommendation: Visit Yu Garden in the morning, explore the old streets, then stop here on your way out. In a city that reinvents itself at dizzying speed, we have a soft spot for places that have been taking care of Shanghai residents for centuries.
For anyone who has ever wondered what’s actually inside an herbal prescription:
Shanghai Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine 上海中医药博物馆
1200 Cailun Road, Pudong
Consider this TCM 101—only far more interesting than a lecture. Part of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the museum traces the history of Chinese medicine, acupuncture and materia medica, while the university’s medicinal botanical garden lets you see many of the plants behind ingredients you usually encounter dried, sliced or powdered.
It’s a trek out to Pudong, so don’t try squeezing this one between meetings. Give yourself half a day. You’ll never look at those tiny drawers in a Chinese pharmacy quite the same way again.
Traditional Chinese bodywork, minus the fluorescent lighting:
The Retreat at The Sukhothai Shanghai
380 Weihai Road, Jing’an District
Sometimes you want serious bodywork. Sometimes you want serious bodywork followed by a robe and a beautiful relaxation room.
The Retreat offers both, with a menu incorporating tui na, meridian massage, gua sha, cupping and reflexology. Tui na—the Chinese medical massage technique—is decidedly not your gentle vacation massage: Expect kneading, stretching, pressure-point work and a therapist who will find muscles you didn’t realize were tight.
It’s the polished, luxury-hotel version of Chinese bodywork. And sometimes that’s exactly the mood.
Ancient Chinese rituals get a very modern Shanghai makeover:
Mi Xun at The Middle House
B1/F, The Middle House, 366 Shimen Yi Road, Jing’an District
For proof that Chinese wellness can feel thoroughly contemporary, head to Mi Xun.
Treatments incorporate techniques like gua sha alongside rituals inspired by yin and yang and the time of day. We’re particularly fond of the foot bath that begins every treatment. (In Chinese households, soaking your feet is less “spa treatment” and more “something your mother has been telling you to do for years.”)
Come early, stay awhile, and don’t rush off afterward. The Middle House is worth lingering in.
The massage chain so consistent, Sara Jane doesn’t even request a therapist:
Multiple locations throughout Shanghai
Clean, professional and surprisingly reasonable, Yu Massage is a Shanghai favorite for everything from oil massage to traditional Chinese bodywork. The peaceful, courtyard-style atmosphere doesn’t hurt, either.
It’s also where cofounder Sara Jane goes for her weekly massage whenever she’s in town. Her treatments range from full-body tui na to breast massage. (Yes, breast massage.) Her Chinese friends introduced her to the practice with the traditional belief that anger and pent-up emotions can accumulate in the chest—and that massage can help release that tension.
The real endorsement? At many massage spots in China, regulars religiously memorize the number of their favorite masseuse. Sara Jane doesn’t bother at Yu Massage. In her experience, they’re all good.
First timer? Go for the full-body tui na. Expect firm pressure and serious work on tight muscles—not a gentle hotel-spa massage.
Sara Jane is finally giving up one of her best-kept Shanghai secrets:
Master Li — Shanghai Shen Ying Tang Chiropractor Clinic 上海神应堂
831 Xinzha Road, Jing’an District
+86 136 7188 9980
Call ahead to book.
When Sara Jane lived in Shanghai, a 45-minute appointment with Master Li was a weekly ritual. And this is one recommendation she’s been reluctant to share.
Each session combines intense muscle manipulation with bone and joint adjustments. Master Li loosens everything up first, then comes the cracking—and trust us when we say you wouldn’t believe some of the ways the human body can be twisted, stretched and adjusted. It’s the kind of treatment that would go viral on TikTok purely for the sound effects.
There’s no hushed hotel spa or elaborate treatment room here. Just seriously effective bodywork and the kind of address you normally only get because a longtime Shanghai resident quietly slips you the number.
Sara Jane would walk out feeling like a new person. Now you have her secret. Just one rule: Call ahead.
