Folklore has it that during the SARS year, a young boy was not even infected, against all odds that everyone around him was and died, because he drank BanLanGen (板蓝根) everyday. Since then, whichever year a nasty cold or flu sweeps the city, Beijingers rush to the store and stockpile this Chinese herbal medicine. They drink it so that they can resist the bug better or recover faster. BanLanGen is the miracle drug. When in doubt, have one.

Similarly, the herbal recipe for cold (清热解毒冲剂) from TongRenTang (同仁堂) can sell out few times a year. TongRenTang is a century-old drug store. There are miracle-level anecdotes on its many herbal recipes. It is also the most profitable herbal drug dealer that the emperor's family use it exclusively.

An informal survey showed about a third of Sun's engineers believe these herbal medicines work and take them during the cold season. Chinese medicine, being herbal and natural, is thought to do no harm and always safe.

BanLanGen is also known as Chinese Woad. It is naturally anti-bacterial. Chinese medicine books believe it relieve heat — the leading cause for cold is excessive heat — from the body. TongRenTang's recipe includes about a dozen ingredients. It is a classic and stocked in many families. If you have a fever, stuffy nose, and any of the standard cold symptoms, drink it twice a day and they go away in few days. Grandma did this to mother, and you are going to do it. No argument!

I feel blessed as a Chinese in this modern medical world. If I have a appendicitis, I will go to the hospital and get my surgery. If my shoulder is bothering me, I will have few the bone-setter master to rub it into disappearance. If I have this discomfort than cannot be described, I can have a herbal tea for general de-toxication. And if I got a cold, something western medicine is absolutely useless about, I will have my TongRenTang recipe and chicken soup too.

No matter what, I am taken care of.