Bianque Group Empowers Comprehensive Revitalization of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Tai'an through Digital Transformation

On July 25, the Tai'an Municipal People's Government and Bianque Group signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement.

It is reported that both parties will launch the project to build a highland for the development of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) causes and industries. By establishing the Bianque TCM Health Industrial Park, they aim to create measures such as the Tai’an Sub-center of the Internet-based TCM (Herbal Materials) Trading Center, an in-house preparation center, a quality-assured supply warehouse for herbal materials, “origin warehouses” for authentic medicinal herb cultivation, and smart shared TCM pharmacies. These initiatives will digitally empower Taian City’s TCM industrial chain, provide convenient and high-quality TCM services to the public, and promote the high-quality development of TCM causes and industries in Taian City.

 Figure | Tai'an Municipal Government and Bianque Group Sign Strategic Cooperation Agreement

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a treasure of the Chinese nation, holding immense value in disease prevention and treatment, as well as in safeguarding public health. As a mainstay in the revitalization and development of TCM in Shandong Province, Tai’an City has consistently attached great importance to TCM initiatives. It has successively issued key policy documents, including the Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Inheritance, Innovation, and Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the 14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Tai’an City, and the Development Plan for the Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry in Tai’an City (2021–2025). The city has implemented strategies to strengthen TCM services and drive the growth of the Chinese herbal medicine industry. By taking pioneering steps in the construction of the National Comprehensive Reform Demonstration Zone for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tai’an is striving to create a new, comprehensive pattern for TCM development across all sectors.

It is understood that Bianque Group, a subsidiary of the digital healthcare platform WeDoctor and headquartered in Shandong Province, is a leading domestic innovation platform for the digital Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) health industry. The group is committed to leveraging digital technologies to facilitate the inheritance and innovation of TCM, establishing a closed-loop TCM service system from source to patient, comprehensively promoting the integrated development of the medical and wellness industries, and driving the transition from old to new growth drivers.

Within less than three years since its establishment, Bianque Group has formed a strategic business layout featuring the “Shandong Internet Traditional Chinese Medicine (Herbal Materials) Trading Center” as the main body, and the authentic herbal medicine planting bases with origin warehouses and the TCM Internet Medical Consortium as the two wings. In October 2020, the Tai’an Municipal People’s Government and Bianque Group signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement for the “Internet + Traditional Chinese Medicine” demonstration project. Currently, positive progress has been made in collaboration on smart TCM pharmacies, initially establishing a closed-loop service system for TCM pharmaceutical care that includes prescription circulation, prescription review, decoction services, personalized customization, home delivery, and pharmaceutical consultation.

 Figure | Dispensing Area of the Smart TCM Pharmacy at Bianque Traditional Chinese Medicine Industrial Park

Building on their prior collaboration, the Tai’an Municipal Government and Bianque Group have once again joined forces to launch a project aimed at establishing a highland for the development of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) industry. The initiative will involve the construction of the Bianque TCM Health Industrial Park, featuring core components such as an Internet-based TCM (herbal medicine) Trading Center, an In-House Preparation Center, a Quality-Assured Herbal Medicine Warehouse, a Geo-authentic Herbal Medicine Origin Warehouse, and a Smart Shared TCM Pharmacy, thereby digitally empowering the development of Tai’an’s entire TCM industrial chain. It is reported that the project will also leverage Tai’an’s advantages as a production area for geo-authentic herbs by establishing origin warehouses for the “Four Famous Herbs of Mount Tai”—Polygonatum sibiricum (Huangjing), Polygonum multiflorum (Shouwu), Arnebia euchroma (Zicao), and Adenophora tetraphylla (Siyeshen)—to promote modernization at the source of geo-authentic Chinese herbal medicines.

Meanwhile, leveraging the Tai’an Sub-center of the Shandong Internet Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Materials Trading Center, we will facilitate the convergence of TCM industry resources and factors in Tai’an and streamline supply and demand channels for TCM. Building on smart shared TCM pharmacies, we will further enhance integrated TCM services, including TCM prescription circulation, decoction services, customized traditional herbal pastes, pharmaceutical distribution, and pharmaceutical care consultations. In addition, Bianque Group will leverage its technological advantages in AI-driven TCM to improve the diagnostic and treatment capabilities as well as service capacity at the primary care level, promoting the development of a comprehensive TCM service system that integrates preventive healthcare, treatment, and rehabilitation.

Overall, by establishing a new digital traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) system that covers the source cultivation of authentic medicinal herbs at the front end, facilitates TCM herb trading at the midstream, and extends to the terminal stage by providing patients with smart diagnosis and treatment, decoction, and home delivery services, Bianque Group will help Tai’an’s TCM industry achieve high-quality development across the entire service process and industrial chain, from “the field” to “the stomach.”

 Figure | Digital Services for the Entire Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry Chain

At the signing ceremony, Li Lanxiang, Deputy Secretary of the Tai’an Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and Mayor of Tai’an City, emphasized that in recent years, Tai’an City has continuously deepened exchanges and cooperation with WeDoctor Group and Bianque Group, focused on advancing the “Internet + Medical Insurance + Healthcare + Pharmaceuticals” integrated reform, vigorously implemented actions for the regional revitalization and development of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and made solid progress in the development of healthcare services. The signing of the strategic cooperation framework agreement between Tai’an City and Bianque Group should be guided by the establishment of a National Demonstration Zone for Comprehensive TCM Reform, with concerted efforts to enhance TCM service capabilities, upgrade the TCM industry, strengthen the TCM talent workforce, and promote scientific research and innovation in TCM, thereby accelerating the transition from a major TCM city to a leading TCM powerhouse.

Liao Jieyuan, Chairman and CEO of WeDoctor Group, stated that Bianque Group will leverage its advantages in platform, resources, and business model to collaborate with relevant departments, accelerate project implementation, and expedite the creation of the “Tai’an Model” for the Shandong National Comprehensive Traditional Chinese Medicine Reform Demonstration Zone, thereby benefiting the public, boosting the industry, and ensuring government satisfaction.

In the future, taking the Taian Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Industry Highland Construction Project as a benchmark and demonstration, Bianque Group will continue to promote the replication and implementation of its TCM innovation paradigm in more regions producing authentic medicinal herbs. This initiative aims to benefit TCM herb growers, TCM enterprises, and medical institutions across more areas, ultimately improving public health.