Guides
Understand the system before you commit
Long-form, sourced guides to China's healthcare system, costs, visas and practicalities. Written for patients, not for search engines — though we do aim to be findable.
Practicalities
Medical Travel to China: The 2026 Cost GuideProcedure prices vs the US and UK, cost by specialty, the hidden-cost budget, and how to get an accurate quote.China's Visa-Free Entry for Medical Treatment: 2026What visa-free entry does and does not permit, why treatment usually needs an M visa, and what to do about a longer course.Using a Foreign Passport at a Chinese Hospital: 2026 GuideRegistration with a foreign passport, why you pay self-pay prices, how payment clears, and the records Chinese doctors actually need.China vs Thailand, Korea and India: 2026 GuideAn honest comparison — including the three things China does worse.Payment and Money Safety in China: 2026 GuideHow payment works for foreign patients, and the specific red flags of a deposit scam.Insurance and Direct Billing in China: 2026 GuideHow to verify your cover before you travel, and what direct billing does not include.China Entry Routes by Nationality: 2026 GuideA lookup table: entry route, maximum stay, and what each route does and does not allow.The Pre-Booking Checklist: 2026 GuideThe questions we think you should hold us — and any hospital — to before you pay anything.Records and DICOM: What to Send in 2026The exact file list a hospital needs, including the detail most patients get wrong.
Conditions & procedures
Dental Implants in Chengdu: 2026 Cost GuideImplant, crown and full-arch pricing, the two-trip timeline, and what actually drives the cost.Health Check-Ups in China: 2026 GuidePackage tiers from basic to VIP, what a tumour marker does and does not tell you, and report turnaround.CAR-T Therapy in China: 2026 GuideApproved products, what they treat, cost in China vs the US, eligibility and the realistic timeline.Proton Therapy in China: The 2026 GuideHow many particle centres China runs, which cancers it genuinely suits, cost, and whether it is worth travelling for.Heart Surgery in China: 2026 Cost GuideBypass, valve and stent pricing vs the US and UK, waiting times, and how to judge a surgeon's real experience.Knee Replacement in China: 2026 GuideTotal vs partial replacement, implant choice, the rehabilitation timeline, and when you can fly home.Cataract Surgery in China: The 2026 GuidePhaco vs laser-assisted surgery, and why the lens you choose changes the price more than anything else.IVF in China: 2026 Cost and Eligibility GuideCost per cycle, the marriage and indication rules that decide eligibility, and honest success rates by age.Stem Cell Therapy in China: What Is Real in 2026What is approved versus experimental, and how to tell a registered trial from a clinic selling a miracle.Robotic Surgery in China: 2026 GuideWhat China's surgical robots genuinely do, what "autonomous" means in an approved device, and when it matters for you.Acupuncture in China: 2026 Evidence GuideThe indications with real evidence, how it works inside a public hospital, cost, and the genuine risks.Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine: 2026 GuideA state-supported, evidence-based integration — what it means administratively and where the evidence actually sits.Traditional Chinese Medicine in China: 2026 GuideHow TCM works inside public hospitals, what it is genuinely used for, cost, and where the evidence is thin.
Hospitals & places
West China Hospital for Foreign Patients: 2026The exact route for international patients — record pre-review, remote consult, arrival, visit day, direct billing and follow-up.Sichuan (Chengdu) Recovery Travel Guide: 2026What you can realistically do during a recovery stay — with a week-by-week activity intensity ladder.Chengdu TCM and Wellness Stays: 2026 GuideWhat a TCM wellness stay in Chengdu actually involves, what it costs, and Baduanjin as a home practice.
Destinations compared
China vs TurkeyWhere China wins, and the two places it clearly loses.China vs MexicoThe US patient’s two alternatives, honestly weighed.Chengdu vs Beijing vs ShanghaiCost, waiting time and which hospital is strong where.