In a softly lit Shanghai bar, graduate student Helen Zhao stretched out both wrists to have her pulse taken ¡ª the first step to ordering the house special, a bespoke ¡°health¡± cocktail based on traditional Chinese medicine.
¡°TCM bars¡± have popped up in several cities across China, epitomizing what the country¡¯s stressed-out, time-poor youth refer to as ¡°punk wellness,¡± or ¡°wrecking yourself while saving yourself.¡±
At Shanghai¡¯s ¡°Niang Qing,¡± a TCM doctor in a white coat diagnoses customers¡¯ physical conditions based on the pulse readings, before a mixologist crafts custom drinks incorporating the herbs and roots prescribed for their ailments.
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