Shanghai · China
Getting treatment in Shanghai as a foreigner
Shanghai has the deepest bench of public international departments in mainland China, two airports, and a private hospital sector that bills insurers directly. None of that removes the two decisions you actually have to make: which department treats your problem, and whether you go public or private. This page is about those two decisions, and about what happens between landing and being seen.
The case for the city
What Shanghai actually has that other cities don’t
Three things, and only three, are worth planning around.
International departments with history. Huashan Hospital’s international medical centre opened in 1989 and reports patients from more than 100 countries. Ruijin Hospital’s international department dates from 1998 and publishes a list of roughly 20 insurers it bills directly. These are not new services bolted on for medical tourism — they are long-running units inside large public teaching hospitals, and their staff are used to foreign patients who do not speak Chinese.
Two airports, both connected. Pudong (PVG) takes most long-haul international arrivals; Hongqiao (SHA) is closer to the city and handles many domestic and regional flights. They are about 60 km apart, which matters more than people expect — check which one your ticket actually says before you book a hotel.
A private sector that speaks insurance. Jiahui International Hospital and the Shanghai United Family hospitals are built around direct billing and English-first service. They cost several times what a public international department charges, and for a straightforward problem that premium buys convenience rather than better clinical outcomes.
Option one
Three public international departments
All three sit inside large public teaching hospitals. All three see foreign patients as a matter of routine. The difference between them is mainly which specialties they are known for.
| Hospital | Known for | International channel | Official site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huashan Hospital 复旦大学附属华山医院 |
Neurology, dermatology, neurosurgery | International Medical Center, since 1989 | huashan.org.cn |
| Ruijin Hospital 上海交通大学医学院附属瑞金医院 |
Endocrinology, cardiology, general surgery | International Medical Department, since 1998; direct billing with about 20 insurers | rjh.com.cn |
| Zhongshan Hospital 复旦大学附属中山医院 |
Cardiovascular disease, liver disease, transplantation | International Medical Center | zs-hospital.sh.cn |
On addresses and phone numbers: we deliberately do not print street addresses on this page. Hospital campuses in Shanghai are large, departments move between buildings, and a wrong building number costs you a morning. Get the current address and the international desk’s direct line from the hospital’s own site, or from the appointment confirmation.
Why Ruijin is often the first call
It is the one Shanghai public hospital whose international department publishes both its insurer list and its service languages — Mandarin, English and French — on its own website. If your treatment is likely to be covered by a commercial policy, that published list is the single most useful page to read before you call anyone.
Why Huashan is not interchangeable
Its reputation sits in neurology and dermatology, not in everything. Turning up at a hospital because it is famous, for a problem outside the department that made it famous, is one of the most common and most expensive mistakes foreign patients make in China. Match the department first, the hospital second.
Source: huashan.org.cn
Option two
Private international hospitals
Two names come up consistently. Jiahui International Hospital in Xuhui is a full-service private hospital built with foreign patients in mind, with a 24-hour English line and direct billing for many international policies. Shanghai United Family Hospital runs family-oriented facilities in Changning and Pudong with the same model: English-first, insurer-friendly, appointment-driven.
What you are buying is predictability — a Western-style consultation length, a doctor who explains in English without an interpreter, a single bill, and a waiting room that does not require a queue number at 7am. What you are not necessarily buying is a better clinical result for a complex problem. If your case needs a rare subspecialty, a high-volume surgical team, or equipment that only a handful of centres in the country maintain, the public teaching hospital is usually where that expertise sits.
Before you fly
How to book, and what to have ready
The booking sequence that works
- Call or email the international department directly — not the general switchboard, which will transfer you in circles and may not have English.
- State the problem, not the diagnosis — symptoms, duration, what has already been done. They route by department.
- Ask what to bring — imaging on disc, pathology slides, and a medication list matter more than a referral letter.
- Confirm the fee structure in writing — consultation, imaging, and whether a deposit is required before admission.
- Get the appointment confirmation in the app or by SMS — you will be asked to show it at the gate.
What to carry on the day
Passport, original — not a photo, not a copy. Registration for foreign patients runs on the passport number.
Insurance card and policy number — if direct billing is arranged, bring the authorisation reference, not just the card.
Prior imaging on disc — DICOM files. Phone photos of a screen cannot be measured.
Cash or a working payment app — see the payment guide for what actually works at a Chinese hospital cashier.
Realistic timing: a specialist consultation at a public international department is typically obtainable within days, sometimes same-week. Imaging slots are the constraint — MRI and CT queues can add several days. Build that into how long you plan to stay, using our stay-length guide.
Getting in
From either airport to the hospital districts
Shanghai’s two airports are not interchangeable, and the difference is about an hour of your life plus a taxi fare.
| From | Best option | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pudong (PVG) | Maglev to Longyang Road, then Metro Line 2 | 8 min + metro | RMB 50 single, RMB 40 with same-day boarding pass |
| Pudong (PVG) | Metro Line 2 all the way | 75–90 min to People’s Square | Around RMB 8 |
| Pudong (PVG) | Taxi or ride-hailing | 50–60 min | Roughly RMB 150–250 |
| Hongqiao (SHA) | Metro Line 2 or 10 from the terminal | About 30 min to People’s Square | Around RMB 5 |
| Hongqiao (SHA) | Taxi | 20–30 min | Roughly RMB 60–100 |
Two things that trip people up: some Line 2 trains from Pudong terminate at Guanglan Road, where you change to the train across the platform — watch the destination display. And the maglev drops you at Longyang Road, which is not the city centre; you still need a metro connection from there.
If you are connecting between the two airports, the airport link line covers the roughly 60 km in under 40 minutes for RMB 26 — faster and more predictable than a taxi at rush hour.
Where to base yourself
Pick the district by the hospital, not by the skyline
We publish no hotel prices, because we cannot verify them from a source that stays true for more than a week. What we can tell you is which district puts you close to which hospital.
Jing’an — for Huashan
Central, on Metro Line 2 (the line that reaches both airports), and walking distance to Huashan’s main campus. The practical choice if your treatment is at Huashan and you want to keep taxi use to a minimum.
Huangpu — for Ruijin
The old city centre, close to Ruijin’s campus and to the French Concession edge. Dense with hotels at every price point, and the most walkable district for a patient who wants to be outside between appointments.
Xuhui — for Zhongshan and Jiahui
Covers both the public teaching hospital in Xuhui and the private option on Guiping Road. Quieter than Huangpu, greener, and the usual choice for families staying several weeks.
Changning or Pudong — for United Family
Only worth it if you have already chosen a private hospital. Pudong in particular is far from the public hospital cluster and will add taxi time to every appointment.
One booking detail: since 2024 hotels in China are not supposed to refuse foreign guests for lack of special accreditation, but some cheaper hotels away from the centre still do. Book somewhere that explicitly states it accepts foreign passports, and avoid arriving after midnight for your first night.
The practical layer
Language, payment, and the card that works
Language. Inside an international department, English is standard, and Ruijin also lists French. Outside it — registration counters, the cashier, the pharmacy, the ward — English is hit and miss. Bring a translation app, and write your key sentences down in Chinese characters before you go.
Payment. Public international departments accept international credit cards more reliably than ordinary hospital cashiers, but not universally. Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay with a foreign card before you fly, because a hospital cashier that only takes a QR code is a common and avoidable dead end. Our payment guide walks through the setup.
Getting around. Shanghai’s metro accepts contactless Visa, Mastercard, Amex and JCB directly at the gate — you do not need a local transit card to move around the city. Announcements and signage are in English, and station names are shown in pinyin.
The sequence
Your first 48 hours, in order
Day one — land and set up
1. Get a local SIM or eSIM at the airport before leaving the terminal. You will need a working local number for hospital apps and for the hotel to reach you.
2. Install and fund Alipay or WeChat Pay. Do it at the airport, on wifi, not at a hospital cashier under pressure.
3. Check in and confirm your appointment by phone or in the hospital app. Confirm the building and floor, not just the hospital name.
4. Eat and sleep on local time. Jet lag on the morning of a consultation is a real handicap — you will be asked detailed questions about your history.
Day two — be seen
1. Arrive early, with your passport. Registration for foreign patients takes longer than the local queue, not shorter.
2. Bring every prior record you have — imaging discs, lab reports, medication names and doses.
3. Ask for the plan in writing — what is being tested, what it costs, when results arrive.
4. Before you leave, request the records described in our records guide. Getting them later, from another country, is far harder.
Questions we get
Short answers
Will my US or European insurance work?
Only if the hospital bills your insurer directly, or if your policy reimburses you afterwards. Ruijin publishes a list of about 20 insurers it bills directly; the private hospitals bill far more. Check the list before you assume. See how US insurance works in Chinese hospitals.
Do I need an appointment, or can I walk in?
Walk in for an ordinary public outpatient clinic and you will queue from early morning, in Chinese, for a slot that may not exist. Book the international department. It costs more and saves the day.
Can I bring someone with me?
Yes, and for a visa you will need to plan it — the medical visa rules allow a limited number of accompanying family members. See the visa and invitation letter guide.
Is Shanghai cheaper than going private at home?
Usually, for procedures; not always, for consultations. Compare against a real quote from home rather than against a headline, using our comparison method.
What if I need surgery?
Then the choice of hospital matters more than the choice of city, and the deposit matters more than the consultation fee. Ask about the surgical team’s volume for that specific operation, and get the itemised estimate before you consent.
Related guides
Read next
City guides
The same guide for other cities
- Beijing — PUMCH, China-Japan Friendship and the Chaoyang district option
- Guangzhou — the 1979 Huqiao wing, Sun Yat-sen First and Clifford
- Shenzhen — HKU-SZH’s international centre and the border-city advantage
- Chengdu — West China’s international centre and the deposit rule
- Chongqing — a purpose-built international ward in Jinshan, and forty specialties behind it
- Wuhan — Hubei’s first international outpatient department, on the ninth floor
- Changsha — three separate Xiangya hospitals and which one to pick
- Zhengzhou — a 2018 international centre, and the country’s biggest hospital next door
- Jinan — the provincial hospital’s appointment-only international floor
- Qingdao — a 2003 international clinic and a Korean-speaking nursing team
- Nanning — the ASEAN medical centre, and the cheapest gateway from Southeast Asia
- Fuzhou — heart and blood at the top level, an hour from Taipei
- Xiamen — a 2025 international department, Taiwan NHI paperwork, and an airport on the move
Not sure which city? Start with the hospital library, or read the travel guide before booking anything.
Sources for this page:
Huashan Hospital ·
Ruijin Hospital international department ·
Zhongshan Hospital ·
Jiahui International Hospital ·
Shanghai airport and metro operator timetables for transport figures.
Airport times and fares are operator-published ranges and change; treat them as planning figures, not quotations. Sources verified 1 November 2026.