Electroacupuncture, Traditional Massage & More at Xingying Chinese Medicine Clinic

Traditional Chinese Medicine has jumped in and out of favour in the West, with many suggesting that it is nothing but a placebo, and others touting the benefits of practices like acupuncture. However, in Taiwan Chinese Medicine is widely respected, and even covered by national health insurance. There are countless Chinese Medicine clinics spread throughout the country, and many hospitals even have Chinese Medicine departments. And while most people nowadays rely on Western medicine (especially for the serious stuff), Chinese Medicine is still integrated into society in a way that you will rarely see outside of Taiwan.

Xingying Clinic near Technology Building is one of these NHI-covered clinics that focuses on treating ailments that can be cured with physical treatments. These treatments include physical massage, acupuncture, electroacupuncture, and cupping. They also use herb medicine to treat sore muscles. The clinic is clean and well-maintained, and upon entering you can view the various certificates of the doctor and therapists on the walls. Since the facility is covered by health insurance, don’t forget to bring your health insurance card — you will need it for registration, which you can do as soon as you enter.

The first thing the doctor will do upon consultation is check your pulse and discuss your symptoms. This part must be done in Chinese, although he does speak a little English. We asked him if non-Chinese speakers could come if they wrote down their symptoms in Chinese, and he said it would be fine. And anyway, in our case he was able to tell where are muscle pain was with a single look — no language needed.

Once the doctor has examined you, he will recommend certain changes you can make in your life and prescribe treatments. For our tense shoulders, he recommended that we do more swimming, but only breast-stroke. He also said if our neck started to hurt we should move it up and down, never side-to-side. Then, he prescribed 35 minutes of electroacupuncture and a 30-minute massage. After the doctor’s consultation, we were given the bill — since we were so tense (true) we were charged $700 (with insurance), but usually, you can expect to pay anywhere between $500-$700.

First, we were ushered into chairs in the waiting room for the electroacupuncture. The nurses attached an electric pad to each shoulder, covered them with a warm towel, and set the timer and voltage on the control panel of the machine. The purpose of this kind of acupuncture is very similar to traditional acupuncture, albeit without the needles, which is supposed to restore the balance of your body by unblocking energy pathways. The feeling of electricity was strange at first, but we quickly sank into our chairs and soon found that our muscles were indeed starting to relax.

Just before we could get too comfortable, though, the doctor came up to us and surprised-jabbed us in the arm with acupuncture needles. We had no idea it was coming, nor why he chose that particular spot in our arms. No explanation was offered, and he was gone as quickly as he arrived. If you’re wary of needles or surprises, you may want to keep our experience in mind!

Next, we were taken into a different section of the clinic for a traditional massage. The clinic also offers walk-in massages without a doctor’s consultation for $400, but we prefer to see the doctor because it feels like a better deal. The massage lasted 30 minutes and was only enjoyable for about two, but once it was done we felt incredible. While painful at the time, all those jabs did an amazing job of removing tension and easing knots. We were especially impressed with how light the front of our neck felt, which is something we had never experienced before.

Last, one of us got the cupping treatment. The therapist works some magic by lighting a fire in little jars that are placed on your back, sucking up the skin in a vacuum for about five minutes. The treatment looks gross and leaves a mark for up to ten days, but is supposedly particular good for detoxifying the skin and the respiratory system, among other things. We didn’t notice an immediate difference, but at least the cups didn’t hurt too much.

In total, our visit lasted just over an hour. While the process was a little stressful at times — it’s pretty overwhelming at first, and the massage hurt — we left feeling relaxed and culturally richer. The doctor was awesome, and his many wisecracks in English were a big bonus. We hadn’t really known what to expect when we first arrived since this was our first encounter with Chinese Medicine, but our experience was definitely a positive one.

What’s the vibe?

Small and busy local Chinese Medicine clinic offering various treatments for minor ailments. You won’t see seriously sick people here. The staff don’t speak English, but the doctor speaks a tiny bit and loves to crack jokes.

Worth it?

We think so! Not everyone believes in the benefits of Chinese Medicine, and while we can’t say that we particularly do, we did feel great after the treatments that we had. The massage was aggressive and painful, but our therapists really knew what they were doing. $500-$700 isn’t much more expensive than a regular massage, and the whole experience was worth paying for.

Would you go back?

Definitely, especially to bring visitors! If we were in the mood for a relaxing massage this wouldn’t be the place, but we can’t wait to see how other people take to the surprise acupuncture.

Last visited July 2018.

To read more about Traditional Chinese Medicine in Taiwan, check out this article by Just Landed.

Xingling Chinese Medicine Clinic

Chinese Name: 杏霖中醫診所

Hours: Mon, Wed, Fri 8:30am - 9:30pm Tues & Thurs 2pm - 9:30pm Sat 8:30am - 6pm Sun CLOSED

Phone: 02 2700 1598

English Address: No. 101, Section 2, Heping East Road, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106

Chinese Address: 106台北市大安區和平東路二段101號