Tongrentang sign board at the Beijing headquarters
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Native name
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同仁堂 |
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Romanized name
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Tóngréntáng |
Public | |
Traded as | : |
Industry | Pharmaceutical |
Founded | 1669 |
Founder | Yue Xianyang |
Headquarters | Beijing, China |
Website | www |
Tongrentang, or Tong Ren Tang (Chinese: 同仁堂), abbreviated as TRT, is a Chinese pharmaceutical company founded in 1669, which is now the largest producer of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The company is headquartered in Beijing, and is engaged in both manufacture and retail sales, operating drug stores predominantly in Chinese-speaking regions.
In 1669, the eighth year of the reign of the Kangxi Emperor in the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Tong Ren Tang was established in Beijing by Yue Xianyang who served as a senior physician at the Qing imperial court. In 1702, the company relocated within Beijing to the address from which it has operated ever since. In 1723, Tong Ren Tang was appointed the sole supplier of medicinal herbs/herbal medicines to the imperial court by the Yongzheng Emperor and remained in that position until the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911.
Like many older Chinese companies, Tong Ren Tang has struggled to adapt to market changes. In recent years, Tong Ren Tang has modernized its facilities, and changed its trade name to Tongrentang. It remains one of the oldest surviving brand names for traditional Chinese medicine, and has wide name-recognition among Chinese and Asians worldwide. It is also one of the world's largest TCM companies, with products sold in countries all over the world.
Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing became a major player in Tongrentang's business dealings, becoming the second largest shareholder in the corporation in 2000, with the purchase of sixty million shares. Li's company, Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., has had two major joint ventures with Tongrentang. In 2004, Tongrentang invested 150 million Hong Kong dollars in the construction of a manufacturing plant in Hong Kong.