Bao Xin An Pharmaceutical Factory – Wong Chuk Hang
Created: 1907
Operation: Chinese patent medicine
Address: 12-13th Floor, Po Chai Industrial Building, No. 28 Wong Chuk Hang Road
Products: Bao Xin An Oil, Bao Xin An Paste and Wind Chasing Oil
摄影: Boris
Most of the local pharmaceutical companies do not have retail shops, but Po Sum On has a store at 191 Queen's Road Central in Sheung Wan. The store is not a big place, the decoration is generally traditional, and when you enter the door, you can see the colored woodcarving of the boy's trademark, which is still in good condition after years.
In the past, when I saw the boy's trademark, I naturally thought of Bao Xin's oil, but I never intended to study the history of the pharmaceutical factory. Until recently, when I sorted out the information of local pharmaceutical companies, I found that many century-old Chinese patent medicine factories were originally born in other places, such as Li Zhongsheng Tong founded in Foshan, Er Heaven from Vietnam, Lingnan Pharmaceutical Factory started in Singapore and Ho Chi Gong Pharmaceutical Factory opened in Guangzhou.
Founded in Hong Kong in 1907 by Kwok Siu Shu, the main shop is located at No. 3 Lee Yuen Street West, Central, with a ground floor and a sales hall for all kinds of medicines.
Pharmaceutical factories manufacture medicated oils and ointments, among which the most famous is Bao Xin An, which can be described as a "universal application", which can be described as a "universal application", which is effective for muscle soreness, joint pain, motion sickness, dizziness and headache, chest tightness, mild abdominal pain, mosquito bites, itchy skin, cold and nasal congestion, etc. However, in the early days, the pharmaceutical company produced not only Baoxin Anyou, but also "Premium Hair Growth Water", "Emergency Diarrhea Pill", "Qinghua Cinnamon Oil" and "Ji'an Peppermint Oil", etc., which were eventually withdrawn from the market for different reasons. The drug has significant efficacy, and the market must not be bad, but it is easy to become a target for counterfeiting, so the products have a Tongzi trademark for public identification.
The medicines are manufactured at the Po Sum On Factory, which is located at 162 Causeway Bay Road (adjacent to the current site of Queen's College) and is divided into a arcade and a factory, which are actually separate buildings.
The former is a three-storey building with a market on the ground floor, while the second and third floors are residential, with the words "Bao Xin An Manufacturing Yard" engraved on the street side. The workshop is located at the back of the arcade and must be reached by means of a ground floor. According to the information provided by the factory, the location of the factory was the current private residential village Zhuangyuan, where there were about 40 workers at that time, producing medicated oil and ointment, as well as making laxative pills and hair growth oil.
Any products produced by Bao Xin An Pharmaceutical Factory are sold at the gate of Lee Yuen West Street and the arcade shop of the factory. Sales performance is related to the development of pharmaceutical companies and must not be taken lightly. In the early years, the founder, Kwok Siu-shu, hired some young girls to visit houses and teahouses to sell them, and now they are Promoters to "wash the building" (sweep the building) to increase the sales of medicinal oil. Kwok's also attaches great importance to local export sales, and has verified that the number of overseas sales agents of Bao Xin'an is very large, in addition to Eu Yan Sang and Sincere Company in various ports, Guangdong Province agents are located in Xinhui, Foshan, Jiangmen, Dongguan, Zhaoqing, Zhongshan and Qingyuan. Shanghai, Guangxi, Yunnan, Jiangxi and Hunan have agents to sell Baoxin Anoil. Early receipts show that the sales network has reached as far as Thanh Ratchasima (Singapore), Kuala Lumpur, Lok King (Bangkok) and Tokyo (Hanoi).
In the 70s, the fourth son Guo Wenxun and the youngest son Guo Wenzhong took over the family business. Among them, Kwok Wenzhong began to explore overseas markets, laying the foundation for the popularity of the products in various countries, and now has distribution in the United States, Canada, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia. As early as 1998, the pharmaceutical factory in Wong Chuk Hang has obtained GMP certification from Australia, and currently produces three products: Bao Xin An Oil, Bao Xin An Paste and Chaifeng Activating Oil.
Among them, the number of Baoxin Anan oil specifications is the largest, in addition to 4ml, 5.6ml, 18.6ml and 30ml, there is also 10ml of ball-on Baoxin Anoil, which is convenient for customers to choose according to their preferences and Xi. The packaging ointment has not changed much, the difference is that the paper bag is replaced with an aluminum film, making it more durable.
As for GMP, the requirements for the pharmaceutical process are very strict, covering a very wide range, from the internal decoration interval of the pharmaceutical factory, the quality control of pharmaceutical materials, the size of the production process, the personal hygiene requirements of employees, the dust and dirt prevention of internal and external packaging, and the storage of finished products of various materials, etc., there is a set of applicable standard requirements; Striking a balance between these compliance requirements on the one hand to ensure the quality of finished products and on the other hand inevitably drive up operating costs.
The pharmaceutical factory has been operating for many years, and the production standard is very stable, and users have a good reputation, but Guo Ziming, the third-generation helmsman, pointed out that the current shortage of space in the pharmaceutical factory restricts the business development of Bao Xin'an. As the pharmaceutical process becomes fully automated, machines will only take up more space in the future, and new production lines will be required to make new products in the future, which means that the demand for land will only increase, and sooner or later we will need to move to a larger factory for development. However, as we all know, the supply of industrial buildings in Hong Kong is scarce, and it is not easy to find suitable places, for example, the size of some factory buildings meets the requirements, but the floor is too low, and the ceiling cannot be fitted with pipes, which cannot meet the GMP requirements. Even if we find a suitable place as we wish, as the transition between the old and new factories takes time, it will inevitably cost a lot of money to balance the operation of the two pharmaceutical factories, and may even require the recycling of products on the market.
The factory is not enough for application, and it needs to be brainstormed by all the dignitaries of the pharmaceutical factory. The fourth generation of Bao Xin'an has joined the company, and with new thinking and traditional wisdom and experience, big and small problems can always be solved, and the pharmaceutical company has been inherited, and the prospect of Bao Xin'an is indeed reassuring.
Price reference list:
Oil:
- No. 1 Comfort Oil $57
- No. 2 Comfort Oil $40
- No. 3 Oil: $17
- 四号保心安油 $13.5
- Ball oil $48
Peace of mind ointment
- 保心安包膏 $13.5
- 保心安樽膏 $32.5
Chasing the wind and activating oil
- 追风活络油(细) $10
- 追风活络油(大) $53
(17 October 2023)
Reference - A traditional Chinese medicine factory in Hong Kong with a ground floor shop
Bao Xin An Pharmaceutical Factory (1907)
Address: 191 Queen's Road Central, Sheung Wan
Wong Cheung Wah Ruyi Hall (1858)
Address: Yau Ma Tei Canton Road 808 ground floor
Lingnan Pharmaceutical Factory (1919)
Address: 467 Shanghai Street, Mong Kok
Ma Bailiang Pharmaceutical Factory (1822)
Address: 306 Queen's Road Central, Sheung Wan
Tenjudo Medicine Store (1880)
Address: Shop A, G/F, Sun Kai Building, 46 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai
Huang Liguang Pharmaceutical (1952)
Address: 93A Fuk Wa Street, Sham Shui Po