Hospitals in China for Foreigners: the two lanes
For minor issues and simple prescriptions, a local clinic is fast and remarkably cheap. For anything you want explained in English — or anything you are worried about — start with the international department. You are paying for friction reduction, not for a better doctor: the physicians are usually the same people.
What to do on the day
Large Chinese public hospitals can handle ten thousand visits a day, so the system runs on a fixed sequence. Follow it and the visit is straightforward.
Hospitals register foreign patients by passport, not by ID card. A photo or a copy will not do — bring the original and keep it on you throughout the visit.
The international department (国际医疗部) offers English and a calmer process. The local outpatient clinic is far cheaper but runs entirely in Chinese.
Your first visit creates a patient file (建档) and issues a medical card — a physical card that becomes your identity in that hospital. Without it, no lab will draw blood, no pharmacy will dispense, and no doctor can pull up your records. Guard it.
China runs on prepayment: you pay for registration, then the consultation, then each test or scan separately. No payment, no test. Expect to walk to a cashier window several times in one visit.
Simple results come back the same day; imaging and bloodwork can take 24–48 hours. Keep every itemised receipt and the printed report — these are exactly what your insurer at home will ask for.
Printed summaries, medication lists and — importantly — the original imaging files on a CD or USB stick. Chinese radiologists prefer to review the source images themselves, not just the written report.
Typical ranges (self-pay)
Local registration
RMB 50–300 for a standard specialist visit through the local, Chinese-language system.
Senior specialist clinic
RMB 300–1,000+ for a professor-level or high-demand specialist — still modest by Western standards.
International consult
RMB 600–2,500+, depending on the hospital and specialty. You are buying coordination and English, not better medicine.
Interpreter
RMB 500–1,500 per day if you need a medical interpreter arranged separately.
These are outpatient consultation figures. Inpatient stays, surgery and advanced imaging are priced separately and are substantially higher — which is exactly why travel insurance matters.
How to pay
WeChat Pay & Alipay
Accepted almost everywhere, including hospital cashier windows. Set these up before you travel — they make everything else easier.
International cards
Visa and Mastercard generally work at international departments. At local clinics they often do not, so never rely on a card alone.
Cash (RMB)
Still the safest fallback. ATMs in major cities accept international debit cards reliably, so you can top up on the day.
Keep every receipt
Ask for itemised, ideally bilingual receipts and the discharge summary. Without them, an insurance claim back home is very hard to win.
If it is an emergency
Call 120 for an ambulance, or go straight to the emergency department (急诊) of the nearest large hospital. Emergency care is given first — you are not asked to register or pay before being seen.
Save 120 in your phone before you fly, and have your hotel address written down in Chinese to read to the operator. For anything genuinely serious, skip the clinic entirely and go straight to a hospital emergency department.
Pharmacies and your own medication
Pharmacies are everywhere
Look for the green cross sign (药房). They are on most high streets and inside or beside most hospitals, and many are open late.
Much is sold over the counter
A wide range of medicines that need a prescription at home are sold freely here, usually at a fraction of the price. Bring the generic name, not the brand.
Bring your own supply
Carry your regular medication in its original packaging with a copy of the prescription. Some controlled medicines that are routine elsewhere are restricted in China — check before you fly.
Quick questions
Yes — same-day on-site registration with a passport is possible, though popular specialists may be full. International departments usually take advance bookings by phone or email, which is worth doing if your case is not urgent.
No. Chinese public hospitals are open-access — you can register directly for most specialties without a referral. That surprises a lot of visitors who are used to gatekeeping back home.
Usually for emergencies, but almost no hospital bills a foreign insurer directly. You pay at the point of service and claim it back home — so keep every itemised receipt, the discharge summary and any imaging reports.
At a local clinic you will need help, so bring someone who can translate or use a translation app. International departments have English-speaking staff and can arrange a medical interpreter, typically RMB 500–1,500 per day.
Yes — bring it in the original packaging with a copy of your prescription. A few controlled medicines that areroutine elsewhere are restricted in China, so check the rules for anything strong before you fly.
Call 120 for an ambulance, or go straight to the emergency department (急诊) of the nearest large hospital. Emergency care comes first and paperwork follows — you do not register or pay before being seen.
Don’t fly without travel insurance
Care here is affordable, but a serious hospital stay is not. Our insurance page compares the options that actually cover foreigners in China.