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Portraits Erika Schultz

Yuan Sheng Hang | Beyond the barrels of herbs, tea and talk offer medicine for the spirit

The little shop in Seattle's Chinatown International District is filled with the stuff of traditional Asian medicine. Deer bones. Mushrooms. Dried fish stomachs. Barrels of ginseng and numerous glass jars of flower-petal tea.

Ya Mei Xie and her husband, Xin Pei Zhang, opened Yuan Sheng Hang on South Jackson Street about a year ago. They sell the herbs and medicines, of course, but there is more.

Xie and Zhang invite customers to sit on low-lying stools around a traditional wood tea table in the back of the store, sample a selection of infusions and share a little conversation. They take turns brewing and refilling small, ceramic teacups. Zhang doesn't speak much, but smiles often. His bright-eyed wife asks many questions and tries to share what she knows.

The couple learned the benefits of traditional medicine from their kin. Back in China, Xie's family owns seven herb and tea stores around China and Hong Kong. They left their homeland seven years ago.

Together, Xie and Zhang are creating a life for themselves and their two sons here now. And in their small store, they treat customers like family.

Mark Bansemer from Reno, Nev., stepped through the doors of Yuan Sheng Hang this winter. He's explored Chinatown districts around the globe, he said, but this shop was distinctive. "It's a real warm and friendly atmosphere, and she does a really good job of telling you about her teas. I've never had an experience like that before."

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