How to become a Chinese Herbal Medicine Processor

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 中药炮制工

Also called: Herbal Material Cleaning, Softening and Cutting Operator, Herbal Medicine Roasting Operator, Tibetan Medicine Processor

Prepares Chinese medicinal materials into ready to use herbal slices (yinpian) by cleaning, cutting and traditional processing (paozhi).

Main tasks

• Weighing raw materials and additives
• Washing and sorting plant, mineral and animal medicinal materials
• Softening materials by soaking them in water or liquid additives while controlling amount, temperature and time
• Cutting materials into slices, sections, shreds or pieces, or making them into granules or powder
• Adding processing agents and controlling temperature, pressure and time to carry out traditional processing
• Drying herbal slices at controlled temperature and time
• Portioning and packing herbal slices
• Filling in records to the rules and clearing the area

Ways in

• Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Chinese Materia Medica (520410). Vocational major 520410 Chinese Materia Medica (中药学), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Licensed Pharmacist; Pharmaceutical Formulation Production; Pharmaceutical Purchasing and Sales.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Chinese Medicinal Herb Production and Processing (520414). Vocational major 520414 Chinese Medicinal Herb Production and Processing (中药材生产与加工), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Pharmaceutical Purchasing and Sales.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (520415). Vocational major 520415 Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (中药制药), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Licensed Pharmacist; Pharmaceutical Formulation Production.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Chinese Materia Medica (720403). Vocational major 720403 Chinese Materia Medica (中药), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Pharmaceutical Formulation Production; Pharmaceutical Purchasing and Sales.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (720407). Vocational major 720407 Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (中药制药), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Pharmaceutical Formulation Production.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (320401). Vocational major 320401 Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (中药制药Ḥ), 4 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Licensed Pharmacist; Pharmaceutical Formulation Production.

Pay · AI and this job

• Median pay in China: CN¥60,400 a year (2025).
• Middle half: CN¥45,500 to CN¥81,000. One in ten earn less than CN¥36,000 and one in ten more than CN¥110,900.
• This is the figure for the mid group Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Workers, not for this job alone.
• National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
• Guangzhou only: median CN¥89,399 a year (2025), middle half CN¥61,843 to CN¥115,729.
• This is the figure for the mid group Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Workers, not for this job alone.
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

• The census group Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Workers holds 0.11% of everyone employed in China; 47.4% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
• 43.3% are under 35, 50.2% are 35 to 54 and 6.5% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 35 to 39.
• Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz

Questions people ask

How do I become a Chinese Herbal Medicine Processor?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Chinese Materia Medica (520410); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Chinese Medicinal Herb Production and Processing (520414).

How much does a Chinese Herbal Medicine Processor earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥60,400 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥89,399 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Chinese Herbal Medicine Processor?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
• Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau: Guangzhou 2025 labour market wage prices (P10 to P90 annual CNY by occupation) (2025 (enterprise pay survey)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.

Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.

Updated 5 October 2026