Booking a hospital appointment in China as a foreigner

Your passport is your ID at the hospital

Foreign patients register with their passport (National Health Commission, Mar 2019). Hospitals have registration counters and self-service machines, and staff help if you can't use a machine (Beijing government, Jun 2020; NIA guide, Aug 2026).

Book ahead where you can. Beijing's health commission says hospitals at level two and above see non-emergency patients by appointment and under their real name (Beijing Municipal Health Commission, Jun 2024). Shanghai's government guide accepts walk-ins but recommends booking, especially to see a specialist (Shanghai government, Aug 2025).

In Beijing, Jingtong books in English

The International Service Beijing mini program (京通, Jingtong), inside WeChat or Alipay, books hospital appointments in English and accepts passports. It began in 2025 with eight international pilot hospitals (Beijing Big Data Centre, Jun 2025; Chinanews, Jun 2025). In November 2025 the Beijing Municipal Health Commission said 28 institutions offered full English booking there, after you log in and verify your identity.

Beijing's general booking platform, 114, works through its website 114yygh.com, its WeChat account and the phone line 010-114 (Beijing government, Apr 2023; Beijing government medical guide, Oct 2025). Our Beijing guide lists the city's 17 international medical services.

In Shanghai, book in the Suishenban app with a passport number

Shanghai's government guide says to open the Suishenban app, register, tap Healthcare and choose Make an appointment (Shanghai government, May 2026). Overseas visitors have been able to log in to the city's hospital booking system with a passport number since a 2020 trial (Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, Oct 2020). A China Daily guide says online booking asks for your passport number. In December 2024 the city said it would build a foreign-language version of its booking platform (Shanghai government, May 2025).

For international departments, the Shanghai government's Find a Hospital directory gives each hospital's contacts and service languages, and our Shanghai guide has the official lists.

International departments book by phone, email and app

International departments publish their own booking channels, and some take bookings by email from abroad. Examples from official pages:

• Peking Union Medical College Hospital: a booking phone line, the hospital's official app, and online booking on its English website (PUMCH, Oct 2025)
• Peking University People's Hospital: booking by email, WeChat or a hotline, or through your insurer (Beijing government medical guide, Oct 2025)
• Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, in Shanghai: booking by email, with a reply within one working day (Shanghai government)
• Jiahui International Hospital in Shanghai: phone, email, WhatsApp and a contact form, and a video consultation before you arrive (Jiahui Health; Shanghai government)

What to ask the department

We found no hospital that publishes how far ahead to book. Ask the department, and ask whether English is available at each step, from booking to the written report. Ward & Way is not affiliated with any hospital named on this page.

Guangzhou has a new centre for international patients

Guangzhou opened an International Medical Tourism Service Center in April 2026. It works with the city's 17 pilot hospitals and says it offers visa help, remote pre-consultation before arrival and translation (Yicai Global, Apr 2026; China Daily, May 2026). We found no public booking contact for it yet.

Touts and appointment scalpers

In March 2024 ten national departments, the police and health authorities among them, told local officials to check for hospital touts (医托) and appointment scalpers (号贩子) in and around hospitals (Yicai, Mar 2024). Shanghai's health commission passed the order on in December 2024 and says suspected crimes will be prosecuted (Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, Dec 2024). Ward & Way does not book or sell appointments. Use the hospital's own channels or the official city platforms.

Before you book

• Your passport, and your name written exactly as it appears in it
• The hospital's name, address and the department in Chinese, saved on your phone
• Whether you want the international department or a regular clinic, and what each charges
• Whether the hospital bills your insurer directly: see insurers that bill directly