Getting ready for your trip to China
What to sort out at each stage, from checking your entry rules to the drive from the airport. Your coordinator goes through all of this with you, so use this page as a checklist.
Before you book: visa and entry
Check how you can enter China before you book flights. We confirm it for your passport and plan.
Visa-free entry and transit
China offers visa-free entry and a 240-hour (10-day) visa-free transit option to many nationalities. Which one applies depends on your passport and travel plans.
When you need a visa
For longer treatment, two visits close together, or a passport not covered above, you apply for a visa. The hospital can issue an invitation letter, and we help you prepare it. Your passport should be valid for at least 6 more months.
Rules change often, so always follow the latest official policy from the National Immigration Administration or your nearest Chinese embassy. Tell us your passport country and we'll help you check.
Before you fly: money, phone and medicines
Payments
Most shops, taxis and restaurants in China are paid by phone. Install Alipay or WeChat and link your Visa or Mastercard before you leave, while you still have your home phone number for the text code.
- Small payments are usually free; larger ones can carry a fee.
- Bring some cash in Chinese yuan as a backup.
- Your coordinator helps with hospital payments.
Getting online
Many foreign apps and sites, including Google services and WhatsApp, do not work on Chinese mobile networks or hotel Wi-Fi.
- A roaming plan or travel eSIM from a provider outside mainland China usually keeps them working.
- Test it before you fly, and save our number +86 189 8777 1234.
- Download offline maps and a translation app in advance.
Medicines and records
Pack what the hospital and your own health need.
- Regular medicines in their original packaging, with a prescription or doctor's letter.
- Some medicines, such as sleeping tablets, may be controlled in China. Tell us what you take and we help you check.
- Earlier reports, scans or dental X-rays your coordinator asked for.
- Travel insurance details.
Arrival: immigration and airport pickup
Immigration
Fill in the arrival card, on paper at the airport or online in advance. At the border, officers take your fingerprints and a photo and may ask where you are staying, so keep your hotel address and onward or return ticket on your phone.
Airport pickup
Your coordinator meets you in the arrivals hall at Kunming Changshui or Chongqing Jiangbei airport, helps with a SIM or payments if needed and takes you to your hotel. Send us your flight number once it is booked.
Your passport
Keep your passport with you. Hotels register foreign guests with it, and hospitals need it to register you as a patient. If you stay in a private home instead of a hotel, you must register at the local police station within 24 hours; we help with that.
During your stay: food, prayer and getting around
Halal food
Halal restaurants show the word 清真 (halal) on their sign. Kunming has a long-established Hui Muslim community, with mosques and many halal restaurants; Chongqing has fewer, but there are some. Tell us about your diet and we plan meals and hotels around it.
Prayer and quiet time
Ask your coordinator for the nearest mosque, and we leave room for prayer times when we schedule appointments.
Getting around
Your coordinator comes with you to every appointment and books taxis through local apps. On free days, cars and guides are arranged with our licensed partner travel agency.
Going home
Records and follow-up
You leave with your reports and records, translated into English. We stay in touch after you fly home and arrange online follow-ups with your doctor.
Bringing medicines home
Rules for carrying medicines and herbal products differ from country to country. See the notes on our TCM wellness page and check your own country's rules before you fly.
Not sure which rules apply to you?
Tell us your nationality and travel dates. Your coordinator checks your entry options and sends a checklist for your trip.