Traditional Chinese medicine has long been closely related to people's life in Guangzhou, as evidenced by the continuous operation of Chenliji (used to be called Chan Li Chai, 陈李济), Caizhilin (采芝林) and Pangaoshou (潘高寿)，the city's three time-honored herbal medicine shops born in the neighborhood of Beijing Lu,  one of the major shopping streets of Guangzhou, in the past four centuries. 

With its first shop set up in 1600 in Shuangmendi (today's Beijing Lu)of Guangzhou city, Chenliji boasts a longer history than Tongrentang Chinese Medicine(同仁堂), a Beijing-based renowned TCM brand established in 1669 during the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty. Chen and Li were surnames of the two founders.

明万历二十八年（1600），陈李济药厂在双门底，也就是今天的北京路开业，这一扎根儿就是400多年，比北京的同仁堂还早69年，是我国现存历史最悠久的制药企业之一。因为创办人分别姓陈和姓李，故得名“陈李济”，寓意“陈李结缘，同心济世”。

Chenliji has been famous for treating patients with benevolence. 陈李济以“医者仁心”在平民间闻名 

Medicine was not easy to preserve in the hot and humid Lingnan region. To solve the problem, Chenliji invented a new way to package pills by covering them with white wax, which helped prolong the shelf life of the medicine to several decades and led to a major revolution in the packaging of TCM back then.

康熙年间，陈李济首创蜡壳药丸剂型，这一形式引发了当时中药包装的重大革命：岭南地区天气潮湿，它可以有效防潮、防霉变、防虫蛀，使药物保质数十年。

Chenliji invents a new way to package and preserve pills by covering them with white wax.  陈李济首创有助于药物防潮保质的蜡丸。 

The manufacturing process of making white wax-covered pills is filmed by UNESCO in 1981. 1981年，联合国教科文组织将陈李济蜡壳生产工艺拍成电视录像片 

Medicine of Chenliji also was effective. It's said that the Emperor Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty caught a cold and was soon cured by taking a special pill produced by Chenliji.

陈李济不仅在包装上注重创新，药效也很显著。清同治年间，同治皇帝偶感风寒，服用陈李济的“追风苏合丸”后不久痊愈，遂钦赐“杏和堂”封号。

The emperor therefore spoke highly of the brand and granted it the name Xinghetang(杏和堂), which was registered as a trademark along with Chenliji in the Republic of China era.

民国年间，“杏和堂”随“陈李济”一同被正式注册为商标，沿用至今。

By virtue of its ancient prescriptions, Chenliji was listed as intangible cultural heritage of China in 2008 and was verified as the world's oldest operating pharmaceutical factory by Guinness World Records in September, 2010.