NEW YORK, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Tongjitang, a well-established Chinese medicine brand dating back to 1888, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Friday.

    "This is a historic day for Tongjitang as we join leading companies from around the world on the New York Stock Exchange," said Wang Xiaochun, chairman and CEO of Tongjitang Chinese Medicines Company, the first Chinese medicine company listed on the Wall Street stock exchange.

    Tongjitang is a vertically integrated and profitable specialty pharmaceutical company focusing on the development, manufacturing, marketing and selling of modernized traditional Chinese medicine in China.

    Earlier, the company had offered 9,865,000 American Depositary Shares, with an IPO price of 10 U.S. dollars per share.

    "As a leading Chinese manufacturer and provider of modernized traditional Chinese medicine, it's the next logical step on our growth path to join the NYSE, the world's premier listing marketplace," added Wang, who owns 57 percent of Tongjitang.

    The initial public offer by Tongjitang Chinese Medicines Company follows in the footsteps of several recent successes by China-based private companies on the NYSE.

    "We are privileged to welcome Tongjitang Chinese Medicines Company to the NYSE Group, Inc.," said NYSE Group, Inc. CEO John A. Thain. All the Chinese companies that are floated on the NYSE have been well received by investors.