Foreigners check-in to China for hospital expertise

Efficient, quick, affordable

International patients have praised the efficiency of Chinese hospitals.

On the social media platform Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, Irishman Richie Lenehan, shared his experience about medical treatment at Shanghai's Huadong Hospital after suffering ligament damage while playing soccer.

"I was shocked by the highly efficient procedures and low costs of Chinese hospitals," he said.

At the hospital, he moved from registration to receiving his X-ray results in just one hour, spending 130 yuan ($18.7) on the test.

Lucas, an exchange student from France, had a similar experience in Shanghai after fracturing his thumb. "If I cannot hold a pen anymore, my dream of becoming an architect might be over," said the 24-year-old.

After three weeks of cast immobilization following the fracture, a follow-up examination found the fracture had healed in the wrong position, necessitating corrective internal surgery.

The French student arrived at a medical branch of Parkway Shanghai on Nov 17 and had surgery within four days.

"We quickly formulated a surgical plan to precisely cut through the partially healed callus and realign the displaced bones," said Wang Anqia, who handled the case. "This is like repairing a leaning tower, where every 'brick' must be put back in place."

Wang said postoperative imaging showed that the fracture ends were precisely aligned and positioned, achieving a perfect outcome.

Parkway Shanghai saw a 15 percent increase in the number of foreign patients in 2025 compared with the previous year.

China's healthcare cost-effectiveness is also attractive to international patients.

Knee replacement surgery in China, for example, costs around 60,000 yuan, compared with $50,000 in the US, and MRI scans in China cost a fraction of those in the US.

"The breakthrough in domestic high-end medical equipment reduces proton therapy costs to 15 to 20 percent of those in Western countries," said Chen Haitao, director of the institute for medical imaging technology at Ruijin Hospital, at an event in April held by the hospital to unveil progress on proton therapy, which attacks a tumor without harming the surrounding tissues.