The Food Safety and Technology Research Centre under the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has developed a new method for rapid authentication of Chinese herbal medicines, including Ganoderma (known as Lingzhi in Chinese), and Gastrodiae Rhizoma (known as Tianma in Chinese). The new method is quick and simple, taking around 10 minutes to analyse one raw sample, achieving authentication of genuine and counterfeit species, classification of wild types and cultivated types, as well as differentiation of geographical origins. This method can be further applied to other herbal medicines.