Boao Lecheng Opens Its Doors to Medical Tourists

Haikou, Hainan, China, October 26, 2026 -- The "Tianya Teahouse" session of the "Let's Hainan" Media Salon kicked off on Oct. 23 in the atrium of the "Never-Ending" International Innovative Medical Devices Exhibition in Boao Lecheng. Guests sat among display cases of the latest approved medicines and devices, and between panels, tried singing-bowl healing and TCM diagnosis — the kind of wellness experience people now fly to Hainan for.

This time, the talk was medical tourism: what Boao Lecheng offers international patients, and why travelers are adding it to their itineraries. The numbers frame it. Lecheng is China's only "medical special zone": 43 hospitals have gathered here, with over 620 innovative medicines and devices approved elsewhere but available for the first time on the Chinese mainland under a pioneering pilot policy. In the first nine months of 2026, the zone hosted 863,500 medical tourists, up 84.59 percent year on year — including 10,700 international medical tourists from more than 20 countries and regions.

No Wait, Just Wellness

Dr. Timothy Stephens, deputy director of the International Medical Department at Haikou People's Hospital, has worked in Hainan as an American family physician since 2013. At the salon he brought a patient story: a US citizen who had been on a six-month waiting list for cataract surgery back home came to Lecheng, had the procedure, and "saw beautifully immediately after," then spent his recovery weeks in a tropical climate he did not have at home.

The international patients he sees fall into two camps — those stuck at home in Canada, the UK or Australia, where elective procedures routinely take months, and the wellness crowd: middle-aged travelers who want to optimize, not just treat. What sets Lecheng apart, he said, is not the latest scanner but the integration: "Here there is a well-integrated platform for combining top Western technology and treatment options with a TCM approach. You move beyond a passive way of treating illness, and go to a proactive approach to health." That means an approved oncology treatment in the morning and an acupuncture session — or a singing-bowl healing, or the the Chenxiang (agarwood) ancient-formula therapy that first-time visitors keep raving about — in the afternoon.

The zone offers premium check-ups, chronic disease management, TCM wellness and rehabilitation — treatment in Lecheng, recovery in Qionghai, extended stays across Hainan. And the TCM therapies are always the surprise no one sees coming.

One Number to Call Before You Go

For first-time visitors, the hard part is not the medicine — it is the logistics: language, booking, hotel, what happens next. Zhang Yanning, who runs Lecheng's official LeCare International Medical Tourism Service Center, said the center is built as a single point of contact: staff match patients with the right hospital, handle appointments in several languages, and tie the visit into local hotels, transport and cultural experiences.

"The point is to take the anxiety out of it," she said. "People should be able to consult with confidence, get treated without worry, and actually enjoy being here."

What Travelers Are Saying

Damien, a French engineer who has lived in Qionghai for five years and fixes medical and wellness equipment for a living, was asked at the salon what he would tell friends back home. Two things, he said. First, Lecheng's licensed-device policy means you can walk in for advanced technology — including Cardiospec cardiac shockwave therapy — that is hard to find even in France, all under one roof. Second, the whole-family model works: one person gets treatment while relatives take the tropical vacation, something he says Europe still does not do well.

Olga, a Russian bilingual host based in Sanya, brought the marketing perspective. Most Russian speakers know Sanya, she said; almost nobody knows Lecheng, even though it is less than an hour by train. And when they do come, the deciding factor is not a brochure. "If my friend or family has been here and it really helped them, you don't have to say anything more. They will come."

The Math

Hainan offers visa-free entry for 30 days to travelers from 88 countries. Direct flights connect Haikou and Sanya to major cities across Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East. From either airport, Lecheng is within an hour by train.

Put it together: skip the six-month wait at home, use a visa you already have, get a treatment approved where you live but you have been denied anyway, then recover where the beach is. As Stephens put it, Lecheng is where you can "combine the best of Western and Chinese medicine to optimize your health," and leave with a tan.

Contact Info:
Name: Shuaichen Lin
Email: Send Email
Organization: Hainan Broadcasting Station
Website: https://www.hnntv.cn

Release ID: 89207329

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