Seeing a doctor in China

A walk-through of the standard outpatient process at a Chinese public hospital: registration, the visit, tests and pharmacy, and payment. Chinese hospitals do not require referrals for most departments — you choose the department your symptoms point to and register directly.

1. Pick the hospital and department

• Minor illness → a community health centre (社区卫生服务中心) or a general outpatient clinic; fast and cheap.
• Suspected serious or specialized condition → a top-tier (“Grade IIIA”, 三甲) hospital, and within it the relevant specialty department. Our city pages list each hospital's Fudan-ranked specialties so you can match department to condition: Beijing · Shanghai · Guangzhou · Shenzhen.
• Large hospitals see enormous volume. If your destination hospital has an international department (marked on every hospital page here), starting there usually means English-speaking staff and a calmer pathway — normally at a higher, self-paid fee.

2. Register (挂号 guàhào)

• Registration opens a “slot” with a specific doctor at a specific time. Same-day slots at popular hospitals sell out early — locals queue or book from 7 days in advance on the hospital's official app / WeChat account (each hospital runs its own).
• Channels, in order of convenience: hospital's official WeChat mini-program or app → on-site self-service kiosks (bring your passport) → the registration window (挂号窗口). International departments often take bookings by phone or WeChat directly.
• You will need your passport (foreigners cannot use the national ID-based systems) and, on first visit, to create a hospital record (建档 jiàn dàng) — see step 3.
• Fee: a few RMB to ~¥100 for senior specialists (专家号); international departments typically charge a bundled consultation fee of roughly ¥300–1,000. Amounts vary by hospital — confirm on the hospital's own page.

3. First visit: build the record (建档)

On your first visit you register your passport at the patient-service or registration desk and receive a hospital card / QR code (就诊卡). This links your future visits, prescriptions and test results inside that hospital. Each hospital keeps its own record — bring your passport to every visit.

4. The consultation

• Watch the queue screens; your number (e.g. “内科 27 号”) is called in the consultation area. The doctor's visit itself is short by Western standards — bring a written list of symptoms, medications and, if you have one, a translator or translation app.
• The doctor prints prescriptions and test orders; you pay first (see step 5), then do the test or collect medicine.

5. Pay as you go

Chinese hospitals charge per step: registration → consultation → each test → treatment/pharmacy, paid at cashier windows, kiosks or in the hospital app (WeChat Pay / Alipay / bank card; international cards are accepted in some kiosks and international departments — not reliably). Keep every receipt (发票) for insurance reimbursement. See our insurance & payment guide for direct billing vs. pay-and-claim.

6. Medicines and follow-up

• Collect prescribed medicines at the hospital pharmacy after payment; the prescription is digital and tied to your record.
• Results of lab tests and scans appear in the hospital app/mini-program, usually the same day; printed copies need the self-service report machines.
• For follow-up, register again (the same doctor's slots open 7 days ahead).

Official reference pages

• National Health Commission: en.nhc.gov.cn

Process descriptions reflect standard practice at Chinese public hospitals, checked 2026-11-04 against hospital official pages (linked on every hospital page). Steps and fees vary by hospital — confirm with yours.

Last reviewed / data verified: 2026-11-04. All facts on this page link to their official sources.