Wellness Services Workers

How to become a Traditional Wellness Therapist

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 保健调理师

Also called: Gua Sha Therapist, Moxibustion Therapist, Cupping and Stone Therapy Therapist, Tibetan Medicine Wellness Therapist

Uses knowledge of the meridians and acupoints of Chinese medicine, with the tools and media of gua sha, cupping, moxibustion and stone therapy, to give wellness treatments on specific parts of the body.

Main tasks

Greeting customers, asking about their health and assessing their condition
Choosing treatment methods and areas to suit the customer's needs and condition
Preparing and disinfecting treatment tools and media
Doing gua sha on the body or acupoints with horn, jade and other scrapers, using scraping, bleeding and pinching methods
Applying moxibustion to specific areas or acupoints with moxa cones, moxa sticks and herbal cakes, by cone, stick or warming device
Cupping on the body or acupoints with glass, bamboo, ceramic and suction cups, using static, flash and moving cupping
Applying stone therapy on the body or acupoints with shaped or heated stones by rubbing, rocking, pressing, tapping or warm compresses
Cleaning the treated areas and tidying up
Suggesting changes to diet, sleep, exercise and other habits to suit the customer's health
Telling customers what to watch for after treatment, planning follow up treatment and teaching everyday wellness habits

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Elderly Health Care and Management (520803). Vocational major 520803 Elderly Health Care and Management (老年保健与管理), 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: Elderly Care; Dementia Care for Older People; Elderly Fitness and Wellness Guidance.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Traditional Chinese Medicine Wellness and Health Care (520417). Vocational major 520417 Traditional Chinese Medicine Wellness and Health Care (中医养生保健), 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: Home Health Massage; Traditional Chinese Medicine Constitution Assessment and Application; Sports Nutrition Consulting and Guidance.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Traditional Chinese Medicine Rehabilitation Technology (720408). Vocational major 720408 Traditional Chinese Medicine Rehabilitation Technology (中医康复技术), 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: Traditional Chinese Medicine Constitution Assessment and Application; Dementia Care for Older People; Home Health Massage.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Traditional Chinese Medicine Wellness and Health Care (720409). Vocational major 720409 Traditional Chinese Medicine Wellness and Health Care (中医养生保健), 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: Home Health Massage; Traditional Chinese Medicine Constitution Assessment and Application; Aromatherapy.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥49,000 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥36,000 to CN¥65,000. One in ten earn less than CN¥28,500 and one in ten more than CN¥89,500.
This is the figure for the mid group Residential Services 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¥59,147 a year (2025), middle half CN¥55,450 to CN¥61,800.
This is the figure for the minor group Wellness Services 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 Residential Services Workers holds 1.98% of everyone employed in China; 69.4% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
38% are under 35, 48.2% are 35 to 54 and 13.9% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 40 to 44.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Traditional Wellness Therapist?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Elderly Health Care and Management (520803); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Traditional Chinese Medicine Wellness and Health Care (520417).

How much does a Traditional Wellness Therapist earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥49,000 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 Residential Services Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥59,147 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Traditional Wellness Therapist?

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