Medical travel

Statistics hide what stories reveal. Four international patients — a Pakistani engineer, an Iranian teacher, a Tanzanian businessman and a Malaysian woman — show what cancer treatment in China actually looks like, from first contact to follow-up.

In 2026 China approved the world's first CAR-T therapy for solid tumors — and a New Zealand patient became the first foreigner treated. Here's how CAR-T works in China, what the RMB 990,000 (≈US$140,000) price covers, and how overseas patients apply.

Chengdu has quietly become China's western medical capital — international visits tripling in three years, inbound tourism up 48.9%, and a healthcare cluster anchored by the world-ranked Huaxi complex. Here's how to plan a trip that treats your body well and your travel bug too.

A coronary bypass costs about US$40,000 in China and US$130,000+ in the US. An MRI costs under US$100 versus several thousand. The NHS waiting list passed 7.4 million cases. The numbers behind medical travel to China, compared honestly — including where China is not the answer.

Alongside dental work and TCM, eye care has become the third item in the "new three essentials" foreign visitors seek in China — same-day prescription glasses at a fifth of Western prices, same-week specialist exams, and pilot-zone treatments unavailable at home. The full picture, here.

Cardiac surgery shows China's value proposition at its clearest: bypass surgery at roughly a third of US prices, stent patients discharged within a week, and congenital repairs for children whose families could afford care nowhere else. Two patient stories and the full cost picture, here.

Booking China's largest western hospital from overseas is easier than it looks. This walkthrough covers the three routes foreigners actually use — the app, the international patient desk, and a coordinating service — plus the documents and timing that keep it smooth.

China received 1.28 million foreign-patient visits in 2025 — up 73.6% in three years — with visa-free entry now covering 86 countries. This is the complete picture: why patients come, what it costs, where they go, and how to plan a medical trip that works.

Joint preservation that keeps careers alive, brain stimulators at a third of Western prices with remote programming, and pediatric surgery that draws families from Europe — three stories that show what Chinese orthopedics and neurosurgery actually deliver.

Payment used to be the most frustrating part of foreign healthcare in China. It's getting dramatically better: international card acceptance is mandated across major hospitals, mobile payment works on passports, and the foreign-exchange regulator is easing insurance direct-billing. Here's the full playbook.

High-value patients now stay in China over 16 days on average — long enough for treatment plus something better: recovery in some of Asia's most restful landscapes. Here's how to pace post-treatment travel, with gentle itineraries for the cities medical patients actually visit.

When foreign consular officials toured Sichuan's traditional-medicine facilities in 2026, their verdict was unusual for a diplomatic trip: the standardized, patient-centered service "exceeded expectations." Here's what Chengdu's TCM scene actually offers visitors — and what to book, skip and expect.

When a Bangladesh executive's facial paralysis ignored six months of treatment, and a British teacher's COPD kept worsening each winter, both found relief through China's integrative rehabilitation — acupuncture, herbal medicine and structured programs. Their stories, and how the pathway works.

Before you fly, find out whether the trip is worth it. Remote consultation with Chinese hospitals — from AI-assisted image review to video MDTs — has become the standard first step of serious medical travel, and in documented cases it changed everything. Here's how it works.

How much does treatment at West China Hospital actually cost, and will your insurance cover it? This guide walks through realistic price ranges, the deposit system, international insurance direct billing, and the payment rules foreign patients should know before admission.

West China Hospital has become the anchor of Chengdu's medical-travel boom, with international visits tripling in three years. Here is what foreign patients need to know: flagship departments, how the international pathway works, what it costs, and how to prepare.

West China Second University Hospital — the women's-and-children's arm of the Huaxi complex — has watched its foreign patient volume triple from about 3,000 visits in 2023 to over 9,000 in 2025. Here is what international families actually use it for, and how to book.

West China Stomatology Hospital is the dental arm of the Huaxi medical complex — a standalone dental university hospital that ranks among the world's best. Here's how foreign patients use it: departments, realistic prices, and how it compares with private dental clinics in Chengdu.

South Korea has long been Asia's dental-tourism poster child, but China's top hospitals now rival it on quality at a competitive price — especially at institutions like West China Hospital of Stomatology. Here is the honest comparison.

Korea built its name on cosmetic surgery, Japan on precision medicine, and China on world-class public hospitals at a fraction of the price. Here is how the three actually compare for international patients.

For short treatment trips, China's visa-free transit is often enough. But for longer treatment plans, repeat visits, or patients accompanied by family, the S2 visa is the more flexible route. Here is what it is, who it suits, and what the application involves.

Chengdu has become a credible destination for dental work — strong hospital dentistry, modern implant systems, and prices well below the US and Western Europe. This guide explains what treatment actually costs, how the process is structured across visits, and what a coordination service like ours does (and does not) do.

China's private dental sector has quietly become one of the world's busiest — modern equipment, internationally trained clinicians in the major cities, and prices well below US and European rates. If you're considering veneers, here's an honest guide to types, realistic price bands, the treatment flow, and recovery.

Full-body health screening in China is fast, affordable by Western standards, and available at international-standard hospitals in every major city. If you're living here, passing through, or coming specifically for medical care, here's what an executive checkup includes, how the day runs, and how it fits visa rules.