Pan'an, Zhejiang: The fragrance of medicine spreads across the south of the Yangtze River, and the "Oriental food nutrition wisdom" is inherited with ingenuity

China News Service, Jinhua, October 3 (Zhang Yuhuan) The aroma of medicine spreads over Pan'an, Jinhua. As the pots and spoons rise and fall, the flavors of authentic medicinal materials and fireworks blend. From September 28 to October 2, the 2026 Zhejiang Traditional Chinese Medicine Expo and the 19th Pan'an Traditional Chinese Medicine Expo were held in Pan'an, Jinhua, the "Jiangnan Medicine Town". As the highlight of this pharmaceutical expo, the finals of the second "Zhejiang Traditional Chinese Medicine·Food Nutrition and Taste" Medicinal Diet Vocational Skills Competition were held here. Contestants from all over the country competed on the same stage, interpreting the Oriental dietary wisdom of "integrating medicine with food" in one spoonful and one dish.

Xu Yongmin is in the Pan'an Taoist medicinal seed and seedling breeding base. Photo by Zhang Yuhuan

As the representative inheritor of Jinhua Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage of Pan'an Medicinal Food, Xu Yongmin, a member of the Democratic National Construction Association, is one of the on-site referees. He stood on the side of the field, quietly observing the players' operations, and leaning over to comment from time to time.

From the person holding the spoon in front of the stove to the messenger of the medicinal diet industry, Xu Yongmin, who has been deeply involved in medicinal cuisine for more than 30 years, has witnessed the growth of Pan'an medicinal cuisine from a folk home-cooked taste to a characteristic industry that increases the income of the people.

Pan'an is known as the "Hometown of Chinese Medicinal Materials", and authentic medicinal materials such as Panwuwei are rooted in the mountains. But in the early years, medicinal herbs from the mountains were mostly put into medicine jars, and it was difficult for them to be used on ordinary dining tables.

"Many Chinese medicines taste bitter, and people think that medicinal diets are just bitter medicinal soups, which are not delicious and are naturally difficult to popularize." Xu Yongmin said that he hopes to turn bitter herbs into dishes that are full of color, fragrance and suitable for public consumption, so that the concept of medicine and food having the same origin can be introduced into thousands of households.

During his career as a chef for more than thirty years, Xu Yongmin dived into Pan'an's ancient medicinal and dietary books and folk prescriptions, visited old Chinese medicine practitioners and local chefs in the countryside, and refined his dishes through countless food trials and adjustments. Huang Jing, Polygonatum odoratum, Poria cocos, and Dendrobium officinale, these medicinal materials produced in the mountains of Pan'an, were combined with his ingenuity and turned into medicinal diets with both flavor and nutritional value, such as Polygonatum odorifera, black rice dumplings, Polygonatum odoratum duck soup, and Poria cake. The ratio of ingredients is accurate to the gram, and the compatibility of medicinal properties is repeatedly considered. Deliciousness and health cannot be neglected. This is the principle he has always adhered to.

Xu Yongmin demonstrates the process of making medicated meals to students. Photo by Zhang Yuhuan

Not only does he devote himself to the research and development of dishes, Xu Yongmin is also one of the drafters of the "Technical Regulations for the Production of Pan'an Medicinal Diet". He told reporters that in the past, medicated diet relied on oral and mental teaching, and the formulas and methods varied from person to person, making it difficult to promote on a large scale. In order to break the bottleneck of the industry, he and his team sorted out more than a hundred medicated diet recipes, standardized the selection of medicinal materials, cooking time, and compatibility principles, and transformed traditional experience into standardized texts that can be replicated and taught, laying a solid foundation for the professional development of the medicated diet industry.

"Medicinal diet can't just stay at the banquet. Only by cultivating more talents can the industry come alive." As a member of the Democratic National Construction Association, Xu Yongmin used his professional advantages to build a training base at the Pan'an County Vocational Education Center, opened a medicated diet skills training class, and turned the stove into a classroom.

He taught his skills step by step and conducted skills training for villagers, returning youth, and B&B practitioners, and batches of herbal diet masters emerged from here. Up to now, he has trained 165 senior skilled talents in medicinal diet. In 2026, Xu Yongmin was awarded the Jinhua City Model Worker.

Relying on this talent training system, Pan'an medicated diet chain stores have been launched one after another, driving more than 200 local families and thousands of people to gain employment and increase their income. Many people in mountainous areas have found a way to get rich with a spoonful of medicated diet at their doorsteps.

This Medicinal Diet Competition of the Pharmaceutical Expo is a concentrated display of the results of this talent cultivation. On the competition field, the contestants took local medicinal materials from Pan'an and stewed, steamed or boiled them, taking into account the appearance, taste and nutritional benefits of the dishes. As a senior in the industry, Xu Yongmin not only looks at the quality of the dishes, but also values ​​the contestants’ understanding of the concept of the same origin of medicine and food.

"The competition is held as a matchmaker, not to judge the winner, but to build a communication platform to attract more people to pay attention to medicated diet, learn medicated diet, and spread the skills of Pan'an medicated diet." In his view, the competition is a window that can promote Pan'an local medicinal materials and consolidate the professional foundation of the medicated diet industry. The ultimate goal is to benefit more ordinary people from the nutritional culture.

Xu Yongmin demonstrates the process of making medicated meals to students. Photo by Zhang Yuhuan

In addition to being upright, he and his team have also been exploring modern expressions of medicinal diet. In recent years, many Pan'an herbal chefs have jumped out of the traditional banquet dishes and developed medicated snacks, pre-medicated meals, and ready-to-eat medicated snacks. They have integrated medicated meals into Dragon Boat Festival rice dumplings and daily tea drinks to adapt to the pace of contemporary people's lives. Pan'an medicated diet flagship stores have been opened in Hangzhou and other cities one after another, and online pre-medicated medicated diet products are sold all over the country... Pan'an medicated diet is gradually leaving the mountains and entering the dining tables of urban families.

From mountain medicinal materials to standardized dishes and health and wellness cultural tourism experiences, Pan'an Medicinal Food has built a complete industrial chain integrating medicinal material planting, R&D and processing, skills training, chain operations, and health and wellness experiences. It has integrated development of medicine, food, medicine, health care, and tourism.

Each herbal plant, transformed by the skillful hands of craftsmen, comes from the mountains to the public dining table. In Pan'an today, the output value of the medicated diet industry is growing steadily, medicated diet stores are located in many places, and medicated diet training continues to be carried out. Groups of medicated diet inheritors adhere to their craftsmanship, educate talents, and establish standards, and use a small plate of medicated diet to connect a new picture of cultural inheritance, talent cultivation, and rural prosperity.