# China Healthcare Info > Independent, plain-English guides for foreigners and international visitors seeking healthcare in mainland China: emergencies, hospitals with international departments, paying, visas, medicines and hospital Chinese. Every guide is available as clean Markdown by replacing the trailing slash with ".md" (for example /guides/emergency-care-in-china.md). Each guide begins with a short answer, then key facts, details, FAQs and sources, and states when it was last reviewed. Content is general information, not medical advice. You may quote and cite these guides; please link to the canonical URL. ## Emergency - [Emergency care in China: what to do in the first hour](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/guides/emergency-care-in-china.md): How foreigners get emergency medical help in mainland China: calling 120, getting to an emergency department, what to bring, and how paying works. - [What happens when a foreigner has a medical emergency in China?](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/guides/foreigner-medical-emergency-in-china.md): What really happens when a foreigner has a medical emergency in China — where patients go, registration and payment, language, what to bring, documents to collect and discharge logistics — drawn from patient accounts. ## Seeing a doctor - [How to see a doctor in China as a foreigner](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/guides/how-to-see-a-doctor-in-china.md): Public hospital, international department or private hospital? How foreigners choose where to go in China, book, register with a passport and get through a visit. - [Public, VIP or international hospital? How foreigners should choose in China](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/guides/public-vip-or-international-hospital-china.md): How foreigners should choose between a standard public hospital, a public hospital's VIP or international department, a private international hospital, and Hainan's Boao Lecheng zone. - [How to book a Chinese hospital appointment without a Chinese ID or phone number](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/guides/book-chinese-hospital-appointment-without-chinese-id.md): A seven-step method for foreigners to book a Chinese hospital appointment with a passport and no Chinese phone number: international departments, WeChat booking, Beijing and Shanghai services, walk-ins and coordinators. - [Fast tests, confusing system: what patients really say about Chinese hospitals](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/guides/what-patients-say-about-chinese-hospitals.md): What foreign patients consistently praise and struggle with in Chinese hospitals — fast tests, low prices and expert specialists, but multi-step visits, Chinese-only apps, privacy and language gaps — and how to reduce the friction. ## Health checkups - [China's $100 full-body checkup: good value or too many tests?](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/guides/china-full-body-checkup-value.md): What a "full-body checkup" in China includes, why viral US$100 prices vary so much, when screening helps, when more tests cause harm, and six questions to ask before you buy a package. ## Paying & insurance - [Paying for healthcare in China: mobile payment, cards, deposits and insurance](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/guides/paying-for-healthcare-in-china.md): How foreigners pay hospital bills in China: Alipay and WeChat Pay with foreign cards, card acceptance, inpatient deposits, insurance direct billing and the receipts you need to claim. - [The real cost of medical treatment in China, beyond the viral TikTok prices](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/guides/real-cost-of-medical-treatment-in-china.md): Why viral prices for Chinese hospital care can be genuine but misleading, what costs they leave out, how insurance really works, and how to get a useful written quote. ## Visas & entry - [Visas and entry for medical travel to China](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/guides/china-visa-and-entry-for-medical-travel.md): Which entry route fits a medical trip to China: 30-day visa-free entry, 240-hour visa-free transit, or a visa for planned treatment — and what to do if treatment runs past your permitted stay. ## Medicines - [Medicines in China: pharmacies, prescriptions and bringing your own](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/guides/medicines-and-pharmacies-in-china.md): How foreigners buy medicine in China, how to ask for the right drug by its generic name, and the rules for bringing prescription and controlled medicines into China. ## Hospital Chinese - [Hospital Chinese: phrases and signs to show staff](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/guides/hospital-chinese-phrases.md): Mandarin phrases for Chinese hospitals and pharmacies — registration, symptoms, allergies, emergencies and paperwork — set large enough to show on your phone, plus the hospital signs you'll need to recognise. ## Medical travel - [Why foreign patients are going to China for MRIs, checkups and specialist care](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/guides/why-foreign-patients-go-to-china-for-medical-care.md): Why some foreign residents and visitors use Chinese hospitals for MRIs, checkups and specialist care — what is driving it, who it suits, and where the system still falls short. - [Medical tourism in China: 15 things to arrange before you fly](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/guides/medical-tourism-china-checklist.md): A 15-point checklist for planned medical travel to China: clinical suitability, doctor verification, case acceptance, records, visas, estimates, payment, insurance, interpreters, scheduling, companions and follow-up. - [Your Chinese medical report may be useless at home, unless you collect these records](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/guides/medical-records-to-collect-in-china.md): The ten records to collect before leaving a Chinese hospital so a doctor at home can continue your care: clinical summary, generic medication list, lab results, DICOM imaging, pathology, procedure notes and more. - [Is China the next medical-tourism hub, or is social media exaggerating the trend?](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/guides/is-china-a-medical-tourism-hub.md): What the evidence says about China as a medical-tourism destination: rising visa-free travel, viral patient videos and new city services — versus missing data, fragmented service and stronger competitors. ## About this site - [About China Healthcare Info](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/about.md): Who writes these guides, who they're for, and how to reach us. - [Editorial policy](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/editorial-policy.md): How China Healthcare Info researches, reviews, corrects and discloses its content. ## Optional - [All guides in one file](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/llms-full.txt): Full text of every guide, for single-request ingestion - [Guide index as JSON](https://chinahealthcareinfo.com/api/guides.json): Titles, summaries, dates and URLs