A “体检” (tǐjiǎn — health checkup) is one of the most normalised medical activities in China: office workers do one annually, hospitals run dedicated checkup centres, and prices are published. For a foreign visitor, it is also the easiest medical product to buy in China — fixed packages, fixed prices, no treatment relationship needed. Here is what the packages actually contain, what they cost at published prices, and how to book one as a short-term visitor.
What published prices actually look like
Public hospitals publish checkup package prices on their official websites and checkup-centre pages. The published tiers we documented on the health checkup page give the honest shape of the market:
| Package tier | Typical contents | Published price range |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Physical exam, blood panel, urine test, chest imaging, ultrasound, ECG | ≈ ¥640 – 1,500 |
| Comprehensive | Basic items plus tumour-marker panels, thyroid ultrasound, more imaging, specialist reviews | ≈ ¥2,000 – 4,600 |
| VIP / international | Comprehensive items with dedicated staff, longer consultations, sometimes same-day reports | ≈ ¥4,800 – 8,600 |
Read the ranges correctly. These are published prices from named public hospitals — not a market average. Exact contents and prices differ by hospital and city; the only quote that matters is the one on the checkup centre’s own page or booking system for the specific package you choose.
What is actually inside the day
- Book a named package, not “a checkup”. Checkup centres sell itemised packages; the item list is the product. Get it in writing (or screenshot the booking page) before paying.
- Fasting is standard. Blood draws happen in the morning; the centre will tell you the cutoff for food and drink. Schedule accordingly.
- The circuit takes 2–4 hours. You move between stations — blood, imaging, ultrasound, ECG — with a checklist. Busy centres issue queue numbers per station.
- Reports take days, not minutes. Standard turnaround is several working days; results arrive as a printed booklet or in the hospital app. If you fly home soon after, ask about report delivery options and whether an English summary is available.
- Follow-up is on you. An abnormal finding generates a recommendation to see a specialist — in the same hospital if you can, or with your doctor at home. Bring the report booklet home; it is your medical record.
Booking as a foreign visitor
✓Works in your favour
- Checkup centres are used to one-off customers — no referral needed
- Prices are published and fixed — no negotiation needed
- Passport is sufficient ID at registration
- Payment runs through every channel in our payment guide
×Friction points
- Booking systems are mostly Chinese-language apps — international departments can book for you by phone or email
- Reports default to Chinese; English summaries are not universal
- Weekend slots fill fast in big cities — book days ahead
- Insurance: checkups are usually not covered by travel policies at all
A note on the visa-free route: China’s 240-hour transit-visa-free policy allows entry for permitted activities that can include wellness-style visits, but it is a transit scheme with its own conditions. If the checkup is the main purpose of your trip, it still fits the “no treatment relationship” pattern — but confirm current entry rules for your nationality against official embassy guidance rather than blog claims, ours included.
Choosing a package without overbuying
Two questions sort the market quickly. What do you actually need screened? Age, family history and symptoms determine that — a doctor’s question, not a price-list question; the package menu cannot answer it for you. What does the item list contain? Compare the list, not the tier name: a “premium” label with a short item list loses to a mid-tier package with the items you need. That is the entire selection method — and it is why the published item lists, not the marketing names, are what we reproduce on this site.
Comparing checkup prices?
The full page carries the itemised, sourced version: