One Root. Two Nations. 241 Years of Friendship.
When I took the stage at the First China International Ginseng & American Ginseng Industry Conference on June 15, 2026 in Shanghai, what stirred inside me was not merely reverence for this ancient herb — it was a profound sense of gratitude for a bond between two peoples that has endured for 241 years.
As recalled by President Trump in his recent state visit to Beijing in May, On February 22, 1784, the first American merchant vessel to sail for China after independence — the Empress of China — departed New York Harbor. In her hold: thirty tons of wild American ginseng. It was a young nation's first gift to an ancient civilization. The voyage was financed by Robert Morris, financier of the American Revolution. It was led by Samuel Shaw, who would become America's first Consul to China. In that single journey, American ginseng became the living thread connecting two great peoples.
Two hundred and forty-one years later, in September 2024, a descendant of Robert Morris — Attorney James McClintick from Chicago — came to Monk Garden in Marathon County, Wisconsin, and harvested wild American ginseng by hand from the same land where this story continues to unfold. History had come full circle.
Wisconsin's 125 Years: A Century Built, An Industry at Risk
Marathon County, Wisconsin, is the heartland of American ginseng. John Koehler pioneered commercial cultivation here in 1900, followed by the Fromms. The Monks, the Hsus, the Baumanns — generation after generation of farming families buried their life's work into this glacier-mineral soil.
At the height of the industry in the 1990s, more than 1,400 ginseng farms operated in Wisconsin. by 2010, Chinese demand was surging. The land was alive.
Then came the trade war in 2018 — and it nearly tore out 125 years of roots.
The tariff trajectory tells the story bluntly: 7.5% before WTO accession; 32.5% in 2018; a peak of 145% in April 2025; and today, still at 32.5% in an uneasy truce. The number of Wisconsin ginseng farmers has fallen from over 200 to fewer than 60, which was made worse by the travel freeze between US and China for 3 years during Covid-19 pandemic.
I said at the conference what I believe with all my heart: American ginseng is not a bargaining chip in a trade war. It is a shared cultural treasure — one that belongs to both our nations. Every root grown in Wisconsin carries 241 years of goodwill.
An Academician's Words That Changed a Life
At this conference, I had the honor of sharing the stage with Dr. Zhang Boli — one of China's most distinguished scholars of traditional medicine. I credited him for his reference of a case in which Du-Shang Tang or strong doses of American Ginseng ( 50 gram per day) which helped saving a critically ill COVID-19 patient.
I rose to thank him publicly.
Because it was precisely that kind of precedent — that kind of scholarly courage — that gave me the confidence to act on the darkest night of July 2022, when a child in Minnesota had been given up for dead, and I administered high-dose American ginseng Du-ShangTang by nasogastric tube.
Bubu's Three Miracles: The Living Proof
Her name is Anja. We call her Bubu.
She is a mixed-heritage girl from Minnesota — a leukemia patient, a child whom doctors have declared lost three times, and a child who has defied those declarations three times.
The first time — January 2018. Chemotherapy overdose damaged her brain. Doctors declared brain death. We introduced a concentrated American ginseng flower and rare ginsenoside preparation. One month later, Bubu woke up. By June 2018, she was back in school.
The second time — July 2022. Severe pneumonia cascaded into multi-organ failure and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Her mother called to say they were preparing for her funeral. I initiated the Du-Shen Tang Protocol for Critical Care — high-dose American ginseng administered by nasogastric tube, 30g per day. Two weeks later, her cardiopulmonary function began to recover. The Western medical team was stunned. That Thanksgiving, Bubu came home.
The third time — gratitude. In December 2023 in Minneapolis, Bubu's parents asked me to become her godfather. Her stepfather Jeff Alvord said the words I will carry with me for the rest of my life:
"She proved the doctors wrong. Twice."
— Jeff Alvord, Bubu's stepfather, Minneapolis, December 2023
Bubu's story is the most powerful testimony I know to the life-force of American ginseng. And it is the reason we press on.
DST-PCC: From a Bowl of Broth to a Clinical Protocol
Bubu's case was not an isolated event.
The Du-Shang® Protocol for Critical Care — DST-PCC — now has six documented clinical cases from critical Pneumonia to Coma, in conjunction with regular medical care.
The protocol centers on 5-year American ginseng root (30g/day) with wild American ginseng (10g/day), prepared by traditional decoction to preserve its integrity, administered orally or by nasogastric tube, under regular medical care.
The proposed mechanisms: ginsenosides → NO synthesis → mitochondrial KATP channel activation → cardiopulmonary protection; polysaccharides → MAPK/NF-κB pathway → immune modulation and anti-inflammation.
A Single Patient Expanded Access IND application is being applied for to the U.S. FDA. The DST protocol and its successes are now part of the official record of the 119th United States Congress and thus the National Archives
Never underestimate the innate vitality for survival. Never underestimate the power of ginseng. The key is the dosage — and the courage to use it.
Monk Garden®: From the Laboratory to the Field
I am a cardiac physiologist. In 2009, I collapsed in Marathon County, Wisconsin. A wild American ginseng root — twenty or thirty years old — was simmered into broth for me. By the third day, I walked out the door and ran a mile. Ginseng saved my life.
In 2010, Marathon Ginseng International Inc. was born.
Monk Garden® American ginseng is grown in the glacier-mineral soils of Marathon County, cultivated for three to seven years using traditional methods. Our primary ginsenoside Rb1 content reaches 3.9% — three times China's national standard. In February 2024, Monk Garden wild American ginseng was presented at the White House as a national gift to the President and Vice President of the United States. In May 2026, Dr. Jiang received a formal commendation entered into the Congressional Record of the 119th U.S. Congress.
American Ginseng: Making the World Healthy, Happy, Harmonious Again!
This is Marathon Ginseng's mission. And it is this root's calling.
Healthier — grounded in science, rooted in nature, bringing the nourishment of premium American ginseng to people who need it most.
Happier — the sound of Bubu's family laughing again; the diary she keeps writing; ginseng gives life more than health alone.
More Harmonious — carrying 241 years of goodwill between the United States and China, one root at a time, one life at a time.
In 1784, American ginseng was the first gift America gave to China. Two hundred and forty-one years later — at a moment when that relationship faces real strain — she can still play that role. She should.
Disclaimers: These statements have not been approved by the FDA and for information only. Our products are not designed to diagnose, treat or prevent any diseases in the US. In Asia, American Ginseng is regarded as Food as Medicine. Please consult with your Physician before taking ginseng or consult with our Medical team.
Dr. Ming Tao Jiang, MD, PhD
Founder & Chief Science Officer
Marathon Ginseng International Inc.
Marathon, Wisconsin, USA · 3Mginseng.com