A lucid ganoderma. [Photo/thehour.cn]

The Zhejiang Chinese Medicine Museum, located on the campus of the Zhejiang Chinese Medical University in Hangzhou, is possibly the best place for average people to learn about traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Zhejiang province.

The museum has around 5,000 square meters in floor space and boasts a complete set of TCM ingredients, rare TCM-related books, centuries-old commemorative plaques, medicine cabinets, and medicine bottles, as well as more than 100 detailed prescriptions handwritten by numerous famous TCM doctors in the 20th century.

Each of the prescription records features the date of the diagnosis, the patient's name, age, and symptoms, and the usage and dosage for each ingredient in the medicine, making them a valuable resource for TCM students.

Most of the commemorative plaques date back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and many were gifted by grateful patients and inscribed with eulogies for doctors and drugstores, reflecting the reverence toward medical personnel back then.

The TCM ingredients on display come from a large variety of plants, animals, and minerals. One particularly impressive exhibit is a large closet that shelves samples of more than 100 flower varieties, each of which is used in traditional Chinese medicine.

A large closet on the third floor of the Zhejiang Chinese Medicine Museum shelves samples of more than 100 flower varieties that are used in traditional Chinese medicine. [Photo/thehour.cn]