The trend of foreign nationals flocking to China for medical treatment has reached the exhibition halls of the China Import and Export Fair, widely known as the Canton Fair.
As a bellwether of China's foreign trade, the ongoing 140th Canton Fair has for the first time set up an international medical services zone, with several hospitals including Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University and the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University exhibiting and offering on-site "consultations" for international patients.
At the same time, Guangzhou International Medical Tourism Center Co., Ltd., a unit of Guangzhou Lingnan Group Holdings Company Limited (000524.SZ), rolled out three "international medical experience routes" for overseas buyers, focused on high-end medical care and traditional Chinese medicine wellness.
On October 19, several staff members of the international medical departments of the participating hospitals told reporters that the number of international patients seeking treatment at their hospitals has been on an upward trend since last year.
Information from Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co., Ltd. (600196.SH) also shows that in the first half of this year, the number of overseas patients served by Fosun Health, the group's healthcare segment, already exceeded that of the whole of last year, with patients mainly coming from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Japan, Peru and other countries.
One-stop services take the lead
At the international medical services exhibition area of the Canton Fair, reporters noted that "one-stop" services have become a common approach for many hospitals and cultural tourism enterprises in developing international medical care.
"Before coming to Guangzhou, while in Guangzhou, and after leaving Guangzhou, we handle all the links outside the hospital," said Chen Yun (not her real name), a staff member of the Guangzhou International Medical Tourism Center responsible for international medical reception affairs, summarizing the company's business.
In March this year, the Health Commission of Guangdong Province announced the first batch of 25 pilot hospitals for international medical services. Chen told reporters that the center was established against this backdrop, mainly undertaking service links outside the hospital in the process of international patients coming to Guangzhou for treatment: formulating plans in the early stage, assisting with visa applications, arranging transportation, and coordinating hospital visits; after patients recover and leave Guangzhou, or during their stay in Guangzhou, needs such as family accommodation and special catering can also be handled; in addition, it covers cultural and tourism experiences after medical treatment.
"We have been operating for half a year, and there are follow-up cases involving consultation, accompanying visits, and transfers, with reception volume still growing," Chen said.
She believes that Lingnan Group's business covers commerce and trade, tourism, food, and exhibitions, and its brands such as the Garden Hotel, Dongfang Hotel, and China Hotel can form a supporting package of food, accommodation, transportation, travel, shopping, and entertainment, which precisely meets the needs of international patients for "medical treatment plus travel."
Speaking of the current international medical clients, Chen said the center's service coverage mainly includes Hong Kong and Macao, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Among them, patients from Hong Kong and Macao find it convenient to "go north for medical care," with advantages in cost-effectiveness and time cost; the Chinese communities in Southeast Asia have a relatively high degree of cultural identification; and patients from the Middle East are mainly interested in traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation.
"Treatment is still mainly for common diseases, such as senile cataracts and dental care, though there is also demand for cancer and complex diseases," Chen said, adding that international medical clients are mainly self-paying, while some buy commercial insurance to cover medical costs.
The Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University is one of the 25 pilot hospitals for international medical services mentioned above. Zeng Xin, a staff member of the hospital's international medical center, told reporters that the hospital currently provides supporting services in international medical care covering full-appointment one-on-one consultation, exclusive independent consultation rooms, multilingual reception, full-process follow-up via enterprise WeChat, direct billing with commercial insurance, standardized English medical records, and cross-border remote follow-up visits.
In addition, the hospital has an independent international medical zone of about 4,000 square meters. Zeng also introduced that the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center is globally renowned for its comprehensive strength, and its international outpatient volume has shown an obvious growth trend over the past two years. Last year, the hospital's international outpatient visits totaled about 5,000, with growth of more than 10% in the past two to three years, and patients seeking treatment came relatively more from Southeast Asia, with some also from Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
Speaking of the background of the international medical center's establishment, Zeng said that on the one hand it responds to the deployment of the National Health Commission and the provincial health commission on pilot international medical services; on the other hand, there is indeed considerable demand from international patients in clinical practice, and the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Hospital has sufficient medical conditions and service capacity.
Zeng also believes that, based on past service experience, language is not the main obstacle in international medical services; what foreign patients more often face is unfamiliarity with China's medical treatment procedures and insurance information. In addition, comprehensive consideration must be given to patients' religious beliefs, dietary needs, privacy preferences, and different inclinations toward public or private hospitals.
Hospitals are making arrangements, and patient demand is also growing. In July this year, travel services company Trip.com publicly released a report saying that a survey it conducted in May among global travel operators showed that more than 80% of overseas travel agencies, tourism groups and other institutions showed high interest in China's inbound medical care, with particular attention to products combining travel with traditional Chinese medicine experiences, health management, and wellness healing.
On October 15, data released by the Guangzhou Health Commission during the Canton Fair showed that in the first half of this year, Guangzhou's international medical outpatient volume was nearly 90,000 visits, an increase of nearly 20% year on year.
The industry is still in its early stages
Although "foreigners coming to China for medical treatment" continues to heat up, the industry is still in its early stages.
Trip.com also pointed out in the above report that although China's inbound medical care has gained notable popularity, the industry is still in the initial cultivation stage, and there is still a considerable gap compared with relatively mature international medical tourism brands such as South Korea's medical aesthetics and Thailand's wellness massage.
The report believes that at present, China's medical tourism is insufficiently promoted overseas, and international awareness has not yet been formed.
"China's overseas promotion aimed at foreign tourists is still mainly focused on traditional tourism content such as natural scenery, history and culture, and food and shopping, while systematic promotion of health consumption products such as traditional Chinese medicine, physical examination screening, and high-end medical care is relatively limited," the report said.
Irishman Li Shuqi has lived in China for nearly ten years. In early 2026, he suffered a minor fracture during a football game and, with "doubts," decided to try the general outpatient department of a top-tier hospital in Shanghai.
Li told reporters that in Ireland, when people feel unwell they usually first consult a general practitioner, and if the doctor cannot handle it, they then make an appointment to go to a hospital for treatment. "If it is not a critical or severe illness, you need to wait for a while."
"This medical experience left a very deep impression on me. The whole process was very convenient and efficient. From registration, diagnosis and treatment, to taking X-rays, everything was completed in one day, and it only cost 130 yuan," he said, adding that since then he has become enamored with China's medical services.
However, Li also said that, as far as he knows, coming to China for medical treatment is currently a "hot topic" overseas, but it has not yet become a widely popular choice.
Zhu Bilian, a doctor in the international medical department of the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University, told reporters that although discussion about foreigners going to China for medical treatment has recently heated up, overseas patients still lack awareness of China's medical conditions.
"Everyone who comes to us for treatment highly recognizes us. The key is how to get them to knock on this door and come in," Zhu said.
Zhu believes that expanding promotion of China's medical standards overseas is necessary, but ultimately it still depends on hard power and service capacity. "We are confident in providing high-quality international medical services," Zhu said.
Zeng also said that the international medical center of the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center has not yet officially begun dissemination on overseas social platforms. "We are already making preliminary preparations and will further strengthen this in the future," she said.
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