Traditional Chinese Medicine experiences in China for foreigners and expats — acupuncture, cupping, and herbal therapy
Our Traditional Chinese Medicine services for foreigners in China include acupuncture, customized herbal medicine, cupping therapy, moxibustion, pulse diagnosis, and holistic consultations with licensed TCM doctors who are experienced in working with international visitors and expats.
A Traditional Wellness Experience in China
For travelers seeking something quieter in their journey
Chinese Medicine,
Slow Travel Style
A private, gentle experience rooted in 5,000 years of practice—unhurried sessions with licensed practitioners in calm, intimate settings
Available in Beijing • Fully customized • Small groups or private
For Travelers Seeking Something Different
Not everyone wants to fill every moment of travel with sights and movement.
Some of us arrive in a new place carrying something we'd like to set down—
even just for a day or two.
Wanting something slower in a fast journey
Curious about wellness traditions beyond what's familiar
Choosing an experience that feels personal, not programmed
Seeking presence, not performance
Drawn to spaces where care is given without rush
If any of this sounds like you, this experience was designed with that feeling in mind.
What to Expect
A personal wellness experience rooted in Chinese medical tradition.
Focused on awareness, balance, and how your body feels—
guided by licensed practitioners in calm, private settings designed for reflection and care.
Personalized Assessment
A thorough, unhurried consultation where a practitioner observes, listens, and creates a wellness plan specifically for you.
Gentle Therapeutic Practices
Techniques like acupuncture, massage, and herbal therapy—applied with skill, explained with clarity, never rushed.
Knowledge You Take Home
Practical understanding of your body's patterns and simple daily practices you can continue long after you leave.
All practitioners are licensed in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
This experience complements—never replaces—your regular healthcare.
What You May Feel
This isn't about what happens to you—it's about what you notice.
Small shifts. Quiet realizations. Space you didn't know you needed.
In Your Body
- •Warmth where there was tension
- •A sense of release you can't quite explain
- •Grounded—more aware of breath, of weight, of presence
- •Lighter, as if something unnecessary fell away
In Your Mind
- •Quiet focus
- •The rare gift of undivided attention—given to you, and by you, to yourself
- •Mental space opening where it had been crowded
- •Permission to simply be, without agenda
In Your Journey
- •A pause that becomes a turning point
- •A moment you return to later, when other memories fade
- •Something you feel rather than photograph—though the memory stays just as vivid
- •The realization that travel can restore, not just excite
Not everyone feels the same thing. That's not the point.
The point is feeling at all—in a world that often asks us not to.
The Practices We Offer
Each session is tailored to you. These are the techniques your practitioner may suggest.
You'll always understand why, and you'll always have a choice.
Acupuncture
Fine needles placed at specific points on your body. Most feel a tiny pinch, then warmth or tingling. Many drift into a peaceful, half-asleep state during the 20–30 minute session.
Best for:
Tension, stuck energy, pain relief, stress
Tuina (Therapeutic Massage)
Firm pressure along specific body pathways using hands and fingers. More therapeutic than Western massage—you leave feeling deeply worked on but energized, not depleted.
Best for:
Deep tension, circulation, those who prefer touch therapy
Cupping
Smooth cups create gentle suction on your back and shoulders. Feels like a strong pull, then release—oddly satisfying. Temporary circular marks fade within days.
Best for:
Deep muscle tightness, athletes, chronic tension
Moxibustion (Warming Therapy)
A smoldering herb held near specific points—not touching, just warming. You feel gentle, penetrating heat with an earthy, calming scent. Deeply soothing for cold sensitivity.
Best for:
Feeling depleted or cold, low energy, non-needle option
Most people try 2–3 practices across their sessions.
Your practitioner will recommend what suits you—but you always decide what feels right.
What a Session Feels Like
Every session is different because every person is.
But the rhythm is always the same: unhurried, observant, and entirely focused on you.
Arrival & Quiet Assessment
You arrive to a calm, private space. A practitioner will spend time simply observing—your energy, your tongue, the quality of your pulse. They'll ask questions about sleep, digestion, how you feel in your body.
This isn't a checklist. It's a conversation designed to understand you as a whole person.
The Session Designed Around You
Based on what they've learned, the practitioner designs a session. This might include acupuncture, therapeutic massage, warming herbs, or gentle techniques you've never encountered before.
Each choice is explained. Nothing happens without your comfort and consent. You're guided, not directed—this unfolds with you, not to you.
Time to Rest and Integrate
After the session, you're given space. Not rushed to the next thing. Just time—to sit with tea, to notice how your body feels, to let the experience settle.
Some people feel immediate shifts. Others notice changes hours or days later. Both are normal. Both are respected.
The entire experience is designed to feel spacious, not scheduled.
You're never made to feel like the next appointment is waiting.
Sample Itinerary: Medicine, Culture & Transformation (5 Days)
Where Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Beijing
Five days to transform your relationship with your body, your health, and what wellness truly means. Experience Beijing through 5,000 years of medical wisdom—where imperial palaces reveal longevity secrets, where families share healing traditions, where you don't just learn about Chinese medicine—you begin to practice it.
Awakening
Your body starts speaking a language you can understand
- ✓Dawn at Temple of Heaven—join Beijing's tai chi ritual
- ✓90-minute TCM diagnostic journey with licensed physician
- ✓Afternoon treatments: acupuncture, tuina, cupping, or gua sha
- ✓Medicinal dinner designed for your specific constitution
Imperial Wisdom
Discover how emperors lived to 89 when life expectancy was 39
- ✓Morning tai chi practice—deepen your understanding
- ✓Forbidden City through a wellness lens: longevity halls & imperial gardens
- ✓Visit centuries-old traditional pharmacy
- ✓Explore historic hutong neighborhoods at gentle pace
The Human Story
The day that transforms understanding into connection
- ✓Visit multi-generational TCM family in their courtyard home
- ✓Hear authentic stories spanning decades of practice
- ✓Learn family recipes and remedies in their kitchen
- ✓Afternoon at 798 Art District—traditional meets contemporary
Nature's Lessons
The mountain teaches what the city cannot
- ✓Great Wall at Mutianyu—dramatic views, manageable crowds
- ✓Mountaintop breathing exercises and qi circulation practice
- ✓Authentic countryside lunch that sustained wall-builders
- ✓Evening: your choice to explore or rest deeply
Integration
Taking it home
- ✓Summer Palace at dawn—moving meditation through beauty
- ✓Practical skills workshop: acupressure, gua sha, breathing techniques
- ✓Create your personal medicinal tea blend and healing balm
- ✓Closing ceremony with your Chinese Medicine Passport
Fully Inclusive Package
From $5,800 per person
Accommodation & Meals
- •4 nights premium 4-star Beijing hotel
- •All meals (14 total) including medicinal cuisine
- •Family-style meal with TCM practitioners
Medical Program
- •90-minute TCM diagnosis with licensed physician
- •3-4 therapeutic treatment sessions (your choice)
- •Custom herbal formula for home use
- •Professional English medical interpretation
Cultural Experiences
- •Tai chi instruction across multiple days
- •TCM family home visit with meal
- •Forbidden City with wellness-focused guide
- •Great Wall at Mutianyu with cable car
Take-Home Kit
- •Custom tea blend you create
- •Complete home practice kit
- •Chinese Medicine Passport (beautifully bound)
- •Gua sha tools with instructions
Private comfortable transportation • All entrance fees • Maximum 8 guests • Pre-trip consultation • Post-trip support
Single supplement: $700 | Group discounts available (3+ people)
Prices shown are for reference only. Actual costs vary based on group size, season, and services included.
All journeys and cultural experiences are fully customized to your preferences and schedule.
Moments That Stayed
Not reviews. Not testimonials. Just honest reflections from travelers
who chose to include this experience in their journey through China.
Rachel, 52, from Portland
Visited Beijing for 6 days, included a 2-day TCM experience
"I'm the person who plans everything. Every hour accounted for. My husband suggested adding the TCM experience. I said yes but secretly worried it would feel like wasted time—time I could spend seeing more. That first morning at Temple of Heaven, watching people practice Tai Chi—I realized I'd been *moving* for three days straight but hadn't *felt* anything. The session itself was quiet. Gentle. I cried a little during the acupuncture and couldn't explain why. It wasn't wasted time. It was the time that made the rest of the trip matter."
David, 48, from London
Solo traveler, skeptical about TCM
"I'm a data person. Evidence-based. I almost didn't book this. But I was curious—and Beijing felt relentless. I needed a break. The practitioner spent 20 minutes just looking at my tongue and wrists. Told me things about my stress, my sleep, my digestion that were eerily accurate. I don't know if I 'believe' in qi. But I believe in observation. And I left feeling—lighter? Clearer? Something I couldn't measure but could feel. Sometimes that's enough."
Lin & Mark, 60s, from Sydney
Celebrating their 35th anniversary
"We wanted to do something together that wasn't just sightseeing. The family visit was the highlight. Sitting in their courtyard, learning recipes their grandmother used—it felt like being welcomed, not toured. After our session, we spent the afternoon just walking. No map. No plan. We talked more than we had in months. The TCM experience gave us permission to slow down. Turns out, that's what we needed—not just from Beijing, but from each other."
Anonymous
First-time visitor to Asia
"I was nervous about everything—the language, the food, being so far from home. This experience felt safe. Private. Someone took the time to understand me, not just process me. I didn't expect to feel emotional. But when the practitioner said, 'Your body has been working so hard. Let's give it rest'—I realized no one had said that to me in years. It wasn't about the treatments. It was about being seen."
These are just four stories. Yours will be different.
That's the nature of something personal—
it unfolds uniquely, every time.
Learn Before You Book
For those who like to understand before choosing.
We've created a collection of short, clear articles about Chinese medicine—
what it is, how it works, and what to expect.
What Is Traditional Chinese Medicine?
Discover the 2,000-year-old healthcare system that treats your body as a whole.
Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine
A comprehensive guide for visitors exploring TCM in China.
Benefits of Acupuncture
How acupuncture can relieve pain, stress, and chronic conditions.
The Five Elements
Nature's blueprint for health: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.
Food as Medicine
Transform your diet into healing medicine by eating for balance.
The Yin-Yang Balance
Learn how opposite forces in your body create health when balanced.
Want to go deeper?
Explore Our Complete TCM LibraryQuestions You Might Have
We've tried to anticipate what matters most.
If your question isn't here, we're happy to answer directly.
Absolutely. Many of our guests have never been to Asia before. Everything is explained clearly, conducted in English (with professional medical interpretation), and designed to feel welcoming rather than foreign. You don't need any prior knowledge of Chinese medicine—curiosity is enough.
Have more questions about healthcare in China?
View Complete FAQReady to Explore This Experience?
This isn't a decision to rush.
Take time. Read more. When you're ready—or if you'd like help deciding—we're here to listen and answer honestly.