The best unusual massages and therapies in Shanghai

Being set on fire, floating naked in the dark and other unusual therapies

Feel like being set on fire? How about floating naked in the dark for an hour? Time Out hunt down some of the more unusual therapies available in Shanghai.


Fire treatment

What is it? A traditional Chinese treatment that’s become particularly, err, hot in the past year or so, with practitioners claiming it can cure everything from back pain to the flu.


What happens? We spot Quanjian Natural Health Centre as soon as we step out of the lift on the 16th floor of a tower block opposite Grand Gateway in Xujiahui thanks to the large pull up banner featuring pictures of people being set on fire, decorated with a background of firework graphics. Quanjian is set in a converted apartment and to begin with we’re ushered into the bathroom to strip naked and change into single-use paper underwear (we’re not given a dressing gown) before being taken to the ‘treatment room’. We walk in to find another patient lying on her back with her face on fire. Well, the towel lying on top of her face is on fire at least. It’s a little unnerving.


Having opted for treatment on back pain, we’re instructed to lie down on the second massage bed in the room, head down, and the centre’s founder, Helen Feng, covers our back with warm towels. It’s then that we realise that being unsighted may actually make the experience even more nervewracking. We hear a squirting noise – roughly akin to the sound made when someone in a bad crime thriller covers a car in lighter fluid shortly before it combusts – then the click of a lighter (in our mind it’s one of the cheap ones sold at the counter in Alldays) and the unmistakable sound of a lick of flames running across the towels on our back.


The flames are allowed to spread for around 30 seconds before Feng covers them with another fire retardant towel and pats it down across our body, causing the heat to seep into our skin. We begin sweating, which Feng tells us is part of the intention though we’re unsure if it’s due to the heat, nerves, or a mixture of both.


The process is repeated six times, and after a particularly thorough final fire session, where Feng goes over and over the towel with the lighter to ensure it’s all been lit, we’re given a herbal rub and wrapped in clingfilm, which we’re instructed to keep on for the next six hours. The whole thing is over in around half an hour, though we’re then given a drink of water and told to lie down and relax for the next 45 minutes, which just about allows us to recover some semblance of composure.


What’s the verdict? Despite our initial misgivings, the treatment is professionally carried out and there’s not the slightest hint of pain. Feng is careful to check with us regularly whether we’re feeling too hot and to see how much we’re sweating; she also reassures us that we seem generally healthy, which helps. She’s knowledgeable and friendly, suggesting that we shouldn’t be too quick to strip down to shorts and T-shirts as soon as the weather gets a little warm as this can impact upon our health.


At its root, the treatment bears similarities in sensation to hot stone massages and saunas, but whether you believe the medical benefits or not, it makes for a much better story to tell your friends afterwards. How often can you start a conversation with ‘So, I got set on fire today’?


How much does it cost? 78RMB.


Quanjian Natural Health Centre is at 28 Caoxi Bei Lu, near Hongqiao Lu. See full address details


Lady Breast Care

What is it? Based on traditional Chinese therapy, this is a series of massages and herbal treatments that’s supposed to treat minor illnesses and prevent soreness during PMS.


What happens? This one is (obviously) just for the ladies – and yes, the therapist is female too. It starts simply enough, with a back and neck massage, before rolling over to have moisturising and exfoliating creams applied around your chest. Heated herbal pouches are then placed over your breasts (we let out a high-pitched yelp when these are applied, resulting in a towel being placed between the herbal pouches and our skin), and left to work their magic. We suspect this treatment is designed for slighter frames, as the hot pouches have a tendency to roll off more curvaceous shapes, despite being put back in place with determination several times.


The treatment ends with a relaxing and thorough cleanse, shoulder and neck massage, and some deliciously comforting warm tea.


What’s the verdict? Green Massage is a lovely, relaxing spa that instantly makes you forget the outside world, and every visit is a treat. But it’s not the cheapest place in town and frankly, it feels pretty odd to lie on your back with two large heated pouches on your boobs – afterwards we can’t feel any real difference. It feels, frankly, pretty bizarre. We recommend putting your hardearned cash towards one of their exceptional back or head massages, and treat yourself to something a little less odd.


How much does it cost? 480RMB.


Green Massage is at 300 Huaihai Zhong Lu, near Huangpi Nan Lu. See full address details


Floatation therapy

What is it? Basically, floating in a tub of salt water for an hour, wearing ear plugs and not a lot else. Supporters say it helps a range of conditions, including stress, muscular pain, insomnia and weight loss. The water in the flotation pod is over 40 percent Epsom salt (shipped in especially from Europe), meaning it is very sterile and works to detoxify the body during floating.


What happens? We’re brave enough to admit to being terrified ahead of this treatment. Bobbing in a dark, enclosed tank full of saltwater sounds akin to a watery grave. Luckily, the staff at Floatessence are very friendly and reassuring, and from their professional handling we can tell they’ve seen plenty of nervous claustrophobes before.


First, we’re shown a video about the treatment and its benefits, and then given a selection of small bottles of scent to smell. These interpret (with worrying accuracy) any ailments you might have, and inform the scents used in the treatment. Next we’re taken for a thorough shower and cleanse, before being bundled into a fluffy dressing gown and escorted to our tomb – sorry, room. The fact the door locks automatically behind us doesn’t really alleviate our fears.


There are several different types of tank you can choose from, ranging all the way up to an open pool. Ours is an enclosed tank and is decked out with lights on the top designed to resemble stars. We lie back and wait for a sense of Zen. Despite being given instructions on how to avoid getting salt in our eyes, within about 30 seconds we’ve failed completely and managed to pour what feels like piles of salt into our eyes and nose. After scrambling about for a towel, we lie back again and stare at the stars through salty eyes. We’re aware of our heartbeat, a vague motion sickness, and a feeling of just how enclosed we are.


It’s recommended that you turn off all the lights via a button inside the tank, and after a deep breath (more salt water), we switch off the star lights. And then – nothing. No light, no sound, no gravity. We can hear our heart racing, and the walls closing in (probably, although we can’t actually see them). Has it been 10 minutes or 50? It’s hard to tell, or to know exactly how to feel. Quite frankly it’s not every day that you find yourself rendered deaf, blind and naked in Gubei.


What’s the verdict? After we manage to get over the initial sense of panic, which might have gone on for two seconds or 20 minutes (we can’t really tell), we do manage to achieve a pretty calm frame of mind. So calm, in fact, that we’re pretty sure we dozed off at one point. The room, air and water are all heated to body temperature, and it’s increasingly hard to even tell where the water ends and the air begins. But afterwards we feel very relaxed, very clean, and our skin feels fabulous.


Manager Wan Chenchen tells us that one hour of floating is equal to eight hours sleep, and that studies have shown that the space between being awake and asleep is where the brain repairs most effectively. We certainly feel a deep sense of serenity afterwards that floats us through the rest of the day – at least until we get on metro Line 2 at rush hour. Overall, this is definitely an outof- your-comfort zone therapy that’s well worth trying.


How much does it cost? 380RMB for a one-hour float.


Floatessence is at 96 Ronghua Dong Dao, near Gubei Lu. See full address details


Spinal Cord Conditioning

What is it? A therapy that draws on elements of both Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine, which is designed to focus on the meridians (energy channels) of your back, readjust your spinal cord and treat an imbalance of spinal muscular tension. This reconditioning and realignment of the spine is believed to cure a broad range of different ailments.


What happens? First, the doctor assesses us by getting us to perform a number of bends, twists and stretches. After his examination, the doctor tells us our spine is a little twisted, probably due to bad posture, and that this could be responsible for a whole range of symptoms including headaches, stomach aches and back pain.


To treat this, we lie face down on a somewhat complicated piece of furniture that resembles a massage bed but with a number of collapsable shelves. The doctor probes our back, massages certain areas and asks whether they are painful. When we reply in the affirmative, he slams our back with his hands, making the shelf beneath us collapse. As part of our body falls in a rather undignified slump, the spine is supposed to be nudged back into the right place.


This process continues up the back from shoulders to hips; painful, tense areas are moved back into place via the collapsing bed and a fair amount of the doctor’s heft. It’s a somewhat exhausting process (probably more so for the doctor), and each area is firmly massaged after being ‘adjusted’; the treatment really is a blend between a chiropractic treatment and a firm back massage.


Afterwards, we are bundled up in towels and told to lie on top of a heated bed for 20 minutes, to prevent soreness from our newly adjusted spine.


What’s the verdict? For all that it feels a little strange – particularly at one point where we lie face down with only our backside elevated into the air – we can’t deny that our back pain feels significantly alleviated afterwards, and the warm bed rest is spot on for aching muscles and joints. To get the full benefit, the doctor recommends a 10-week course of readjustment, but even after one visit we can feel that our back is less tense.


The medical centre is clean, sleek and professional; most doctors speak both English and Chinese, and we would recommend this treatment for anyone looking to tackle back pain.


How much does it cost? 800RMB for a 40 minute treatment.


Din Hang TCM Clinic is at 1602 Zhongshan Xi Lu, near Liuzhou Lu. See full address details


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