by Xinhua writers Shen Anni and Jiang Shengxiong

BEIJING/HAIKOU, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- For five years, chronic arthritis placed a burden on the life of Nicholas from Russia, leaving him in constant pain. He sought treatment in Russia and across Europe, but relief never lasted.

A chance discovery online led him to Hainan, China's southern island province, known for its tropical climate, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and longstanding visa-free entry policy for citizens of 59 countries. With few options left, he decided to take two weeks off from work and make the trip.

After just half a month of physiotherapy at the Sanya Hospital of TCM, Nicholas felt a clear improvement. "Traditional Chinese medicine is incredible," he said. "The doctors' skills, together with the warm climate, are especially effective for pain in the shoulders, neck and lower back."

Nicholas's experience is far from unique. Despite strict limits on the scale of special-needs services at public hospitals -- capped at no more than 10 percent of total medical provision -- international medical services in China have continued to expand. Official data show that approximately 850 medical institutions across 57 cities on the Chinese mainland currently offer such services.

From acupuncture rooms to state-of-the-art operating theaters, China's hospitals have, in recent years, seen a growing number of overseas patients attracted by the unique appeal of traditional wellness therapies, the country's strengths in certain modern medical specialties, and a medical tourism industry that is coming into its own.

For instance, Yuan Ailin, deputy head of the Sanya Hospital of TCM, said the hospital is currently treating nearly 100 foreign patients, mainly from Mongolia, Russia, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Canada. As of October 2025, the hospital had treated more than 100,000 overseas patients from over 40 countries.

For many international patients, traveling to China is an opportunity to experience TCM firsthand, celebrated for its unique approach to managing chronic conditions, often in ways that differ from Western treatments.

"Some patients with metabolic syndrome -- experiencing symptoms such as numbness or tingling in the limbs, excessive sweating, or insomnia -- seek out herbal remedies and acupuncture while visiting China," said Wu Qunli, director of the TCM Department at Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing.

In addition to its time-honored therapies, China's advanced medical technologies are also attracting the interest of international patients.

An official from the National Health Commission said that compared to many developed countries, China boasts richer clinical experience and leading technical expertise in certain medical specialties, and offers advanced treatments such as proton therapy and targeted drugs at lower costs.

"In targeted cancer therapy, there have been cases in clinical practice where patients from the UK and Italy came to our hospital in Shenzhen for consultation after various rounds of cancer treatments proved ineffective in their home countries," said Brian Siu, an executive director of New Frontier, a Hong Kong and Shanghai-based company builder and investor which owns high-profile private health institutions including United Family Healthcare.

"Some patients have even chosen to directly seek domestically developed cancer drugs from China under the guidance of overseas doctors," he said.

At Ruijin Hospital, affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, South African paddler and former Olympic team captain Oscar Chalupsky finally found new hope for his recovery. After doctors in several other countries described his late-stage multiple myeloma as "difficult to treat and nearly hopeless," he is now receiving CAR-T therapy at Ruijin Hospital.

"Doing all my research, Ruijin Hospital came up as the best," he said. "And now hopefully the results will show some benefits."

Some other foreign patients are drawn to China just as much by the efficiency of its hospitals as by the advanced medical expertise.

Amie from Britain, known as @amieinchina on TikTok, shared her choice to travel thousands of miles to China for medical care simply because facing the waiting list in her country felt harder than crossing an ocean.

Plagued by stomach pain for two years, Amie managed to finish a full round of tests, diagnosis, and treatment in China in just 13 days. She shared her "speedy care" experience on social media, lauding the efficiency and convenience of Chinese medical services.

In 2023, Franco Caputo from Canada received treatment at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, successfully resolving intestinal polyps, gastroesophageal reflux, and a Helicobacter pylori infection. Since then, he has made annual trips to China for medical care. "Canada has family doctors, but the wait times are long, and treatment isn't always effective," he said.

The growing influx of foreign patients has also injected fresh momentum into China's medical tourism sector.

Late last year, an international tourism cooperation agreement was reached in south China's Bama Yao Autonomous County, a region famed for its exceptionally high concentration of centenarians. The deal, concluded between Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region's Department of Culture and Tourism and the Asia-Pacific Tourism Association, aims to position Guangxi as a world-class tourist destination while boosting high-quality health and wellness tourism cooperation between China and ASEAN countries.

Further south, Hainan's Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone has already served more than 200,000 patients from around the globe. A special medical area within the Hainan Free Trade Port, the zone has become a regional hub for international pharmaceutical equipment manufacturers and innovative small- and medium-sized pharmaceutical and medical enterprises. It offers patients access to overseas-approved medical devices and pharmaceuticals that are not yet available elsewhere in China. Additionally, it provides Chinese doctors with opportunities to explore the latest international medical technologies, all without leaving the country.

In 2025, the zone recorded a total of 865,300 medical tourism visits, a remarkable 109 percent surge from the previous year.

To make it easier for foreign patients to get care in China, experts suggest building user-friendly service platforms, offering better multilingual support, and making international payments more convenient.

As the service sector opens wider and at a higher level to the outside world, medical institutions will need to place greater emphasis on strengthening their own soft power, said Cai Jiangnan, founder and executive director of a Shanghai-based research institute focusing on health development.

"For example, international departments of public hospitals need to train a cohort of highly professional medical staff with strong patient communication skills to meet the standards of high-level, high-quality international medical services," Cai said.

At the Sanya Hospital of TCM, Nicholas has just finished a 45-minute session of moxibustion and acupuncture.

"Next year, I plan to invite my parents and friends to come and experience moxibustion, acupuncture and massage," he said. "After seeing how well the treatment has worked for me, I think they'll be more than happy to come." ■