Many people reckon that dishes cooked with Chinese medicinal herbs are both nourishing and healing.
It is therefore not surprising that medicinal herbs sold over the counter are immensely popular. Many people are familiar with the effects of medicinal herbs such as ginseng, notoginseng, cordyceps sinesis, Chinese lycium and liquorice, which are all often used in cooking or as tonics. Some of these herbs are now sold in department stores and supermarkets, in addition to drugstores, primarily targeting local consumers. However, in a major tourist city like Kunming, tourists account for an important source of revenue in the local medicinal herbs market. Many shops in large tourist commercial areas in downtown Kunming offer these indigenous herbal medicines.