“The key to physical beauty and a long life is keeping your system in balance”, Professor of Traditional Chinese Medicine TCM, Dr Ke, tells me after he’s peered intently at my tongue. I am sitting in his office at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, where he offers a TCM Longevity Reset as part of the hotel’s new curated wellness journeys. While the packages may be recent, Professor Ke has been advocating for and teaching TCM in the UK for the past 40 years. Of course, the system of medicine is believed to be at least 23 centuries old, but it’s only within the last few years that it has seen an overwhelming swell of interest in the West.
Scroll through TikTok, and you’ll likely notice thousands of creators posting videos about “How to become a ‘Chinese Baddie’”. Like all trends, it’s simplistic and boils down the ancient practice to a few pithy lifestyle changes, largely involving drinking warm water and using a gua sha. But it does speak to a rapid shift of awareness—estimates from Mordor Intelligence project that the TCM market will reach a whopping $92.67 billion in 2026.
