Updated October 29, 2026 · 8 min
Shanghai and Beijing International Medical Pilot Hospitals: The Official Lists
Which public hospitals in Shanghai and Beijing are officially designated for international patients, what the designation does and doesn't mean, and how to make first contact.
By Medvoyal Research. Independent, non-clinical planning research based on the official sources cited in this guide. Listing is not a recommendation or a partnership.
Read the research methodology and commercial-independence policy.
Quick Answer
Both cities run official programs that designate certain hospitals for international patients.
- Shanghai named 13 public hospitals as "international medical tourism pilot units" (上海市公立医院国际医疗旅游试点单位) in September 2024, for a two-year first cohort. All 13 have set up a dedicated international medical department. A separate 2020 list covered 20 private institutions; that pilot period formally ended in December 2022.
- Beijing has run an international medical service pilot since 2020. Official reporting puts the count at 18 institutions as of June 2025, mixing public hospital international departments and private providers. Beijing has not published one consolidated list; below we show the names we could confirm from official and state-media sources.
A designation tells you the hospital has an international department and is allowed to do certain things, such as set its own prices for international services and bill some commercial insurers directly. It is not a quality ranking, and it does not mean the hospital will accept your case. Contact the international department directly to confirm.
What the Designation Means (and Doesn't)
What it means. Under Beijing's 2020 work plan, pilot hospitals may set their own prices for international medical services within the rules, pursue international management and commercial-insurance accreditation, offer one-time payment for tests, treatment and medicines, and expand their international department within permitted limits (Beijing Municipal Health Commission, 2020-09-22). In Shanghai, all 13 pilot hospitals have completed setting up an "international medical department" with a dedicated clinical area (Shanghai Municipal Government, 2024-09-20).
What it doesn't mean.
- It is not a ranking of clinical quality. Hospitals were selected for having international patient infrastructure.
- It does not guarantee English-speaking doctors in every department. Language support is usually strongest inside the international department itself.
- It does not mean Medvoyal has a relationship with the hospital. We list these hospitals because the designation is official and public.
- Prices in international departments are typically higher than in the general outpatient clinic, and the hospital sets them.
Shanghai: 13 Public Pilot Hospitals (September 2024)
Shanghai launched its public-hospital pilot in September 2023 across 13 municipal public hospitals (Shanghai Municipal Government policy interpretation, 2025-01-08) and awarded the plaques on 19 September 2024. A Shanghai local standard, the Specification for International Medical Services (《国际医疗服务规范》), took effect in 2024 (Jiefang Daily via Shanghai Municipal Government, 2026-02-27). In the first quarter of 2024 the 13 hospitals handled 133,900 international outpatient and emergency visits and 8,700 inpatient stays (Shanghai Municipal Government, 2024-09-20). The Shanghai Municipal Health Commission said the first cohort would operate for a two-year period; the city's official English portal published the full roster, reproduced below (Shanghai Municipal Government English portal, 2024-09-23). Reported expansion: in January 2026 the director of Xinhua Hospital's international department told Yicai that "after the expansion in the second half of last year, Shanghai's public-hospital international medical tourism pilot units have increased to 22" (Yicai via East Money, 2026-01-20). We have not found an official list of the additional nine, so this page keeps the 13 confirmed in 2024 and will add the others when the Health Commission publishes them.
| Hospital | Type | Medvoyal profile |
|---|---|---|
| Huashan Hospital, Fudan University (复旦大学附属华山医院) | General | Profile |
| Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University (复旦大学附属中山医院) | General | Profile |
| Huadong Hospital, Fudan University (复旦大学附属华东医院) | General, geriatrics | Profile |
| Children's Hospital of Fudan University (复旦大学附属儿科医院) | Pediatric | Profile |
| Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (瑞金医院) | General | Profile |
| Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (仁济医院) | General | Profile |
| Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (新华医院) | General | Profile |
| Shanghai General Hospital (上海市第一人民医院) | General | Profile |
| Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital (上海市第六人民医院) | General, orthopedics | Profile |
| Shanghai Children's Medical Center (上海儿童医学中心) | Pediatric | Profile |
| Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of TCM (龙华医院) | Traditional Chinese medicine | Profile |
| International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital (国际和平妇幼保健院) | Maternity | Profile |
| Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital (上海市第一妇婴保健院) | Maternity | Profile |
Each Medvoyal profile shows the international department's official page, phone or email where the hospital publishes one, and the date we last checked it.
Shanghai's 2020 private-sector list
Before the public-hospital pilot, Shanghai's Health Commission named 10 private "pilot institutions" and 10 "seed cultivation institutions" on 12 August 2020, with a pilot period running to the end of December 2022 (Shanghai Municipal Government, 2020-08-20). The 10 pilot institutions were: Shanghai Taikuntang TCM Hospital, Shanghai Aier Eye Hospital, Shanghai Huashun Hospital, Jiahui International Hospital, Shanghai DeltaHealth Hospital, Shanghai Proton and Heavy Ion Center, Shanghai International Medical Center, Shanghai Hexin Hospital, Shanghai Xinrui Medical Center and Shanghai Donglei Brain Hospital.
No standalone notice renewed or ended this list after December 2022. The city's January 2025 policy interpretation describes the 2020 private pilot as a completed first stage and the 2023 public-hospital pilot as the next (Shanghai Municipal Government, 2025-01-08). Treat the 2020 list as historical context; the institutions on it continue to operate under the 2024 local standard rather than the 2020 pilot designation.
Beijing: Pilot Institutions Since 2020
Beijing's pilot started with its 2020 work plan, which named the following as pilot scope: Peking Union Medical College Hospital, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Guang'anmen Hospital (China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences), Beijing United Family Hospital, Beijing Shanfang Hospital, the International Travel Healthcare Center (Beijing) of the General Administration of Customs, "international community hospitals and similar providers, and newly built international hospitals" (Beijing Municipal Health Commission, 2020-09-22).
A second selection round in late 2023 added public hospitals; Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital announced it was one of 12 public hospitals selected (Beijing Municipal Health Commission news, 2023-11-06). By July 2024 the city reported 17 pilot institutions, 12 public and 5 private (Beijing Daily, 2024-07-12). By June 2025 the count was 18, and eight pilot hospitals were live on the English version of the city's 114 booking platform: Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Xuanwu Hospital, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital and Beijing Delcony Orthopedic Hospital (China News Service, 2025-06-20). The count of 18 was repeated in October 2026 (Beijing News via Qianlong, 2026-10-19).
Beijing has not published a single consolidated list of all 18. The table shows only institutions named in the official or state-media sources above.
| Institution | How it is sourced | Medvoyal profile |
|---|---|---|
| Peking Union Medical College Hospital (北京协和医院) | 2020 plan; 114 platform 2025 | Profile |
| China-Japan Friendship Hospital (中日友好医院) | 2020 plan | Profile |
| Beijing Friendship Hospital (北京友谊医院) | 2020 plan; 114 platform 2025 | Profile |
| Beijing Tiantan Hospital (北京天坛医院) | 2020 plan; 114 platform 2025 | Profile |
| Guang'anmen Hospital (广安门医院) | 2020 plan; named as pilot in 2026 report | Profile |
| Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital (北京清华长庚医院) | Health Commission news 2023; 114 platform 2025 | Profile |
| Peking University Third Hospital (北京大学第三医院) | 114 platform 2025 | Profile |
| Xuanwu Hospital (宣武医院) | 114 platform 2025 | Profile |
| Beijing Jishuitan Hospital (北京积水潭医院) | 114 platform 2025 | Profile |
| Beijing Delcony Orthopedic Hospital (北京德尔康尼骨科医院) | 114 platform 2025 | Profile (private) |
| Beijing United Family Hospital (北京和睦家医院) | 2020 plan; Beijing Daily 2024 | Profile (private) |
| Beijing Shanfang Hospital (北京善方医院) | 2020 plan | Profile (private) |
| Peking University International Hospital (北京大学国际医院) | Opened international center July 2024; pilot status not stated in source | Profile |
Beijing Children's Hospital's international medical department was unveiled on 31 December 2025 with 18 single rooms and commercial-insurance direct billing; reporting does not describe it as a pilot institution (Health Sector News via Tencent, 2026-10-10).
Public vs. Private International Options
Public pilot hospitals are large teaching hospitals with international departments inside them. Expect deep specialist capacity, Chinese-language general wards, and an international department that handles booking, interpretation and billing at a premium price.
Private international hospitals (Jiahui, United Family, DeltaHealth and others) are built around English-speaking service from the front desk onward. They tend to refer complex cases to public hospitals and cost more for routine care.
Neither is better by default. For a planned visit, the question is which one has the department you need, will accept your case, and can document it in a form your insurer or home doctor can use.
How to Make First Contact
- Use the international department's own channel. Each Medvoyal hospital profile links to the official page we found. Do not rely on third-party booking sites claiming to represent the hospital.
- Write in English, keep it short. State who you are, where you are, what department you need, and when you could travel. Do not send full medical records in the first message; ask how the department prefers to receive them.
- Ask the questions that decide the visit: Do you accept international patients in this department? Is passport registration enough? What is the consultation fee in the international department? Can you issue a written cost estimate and, if needed, a hospital letter for a visa?
- Expect a reply in days, not hours. International departments are small teams.
If you want help preparing that first message, that is non-clinical planning work we do for free.
FAQ
Is a pilot hospital safer than a non-pilot hospital? The designation is about international patient infrastructure, not a safety ranking. Shanghai described the 13 as hospitals with "strong innovation awareness, high technical level, significant disciplinary strengths and an international medical foundation" (The Paper, 2024-09-19) and said the two-year pilot would focus on raising service standards (Shanghai Municipal Government English portal, 2024-09-23); many non-pilot Grade 3A hospitals are equally established.
Can a pilot hospital bill my foreign insurer directly? Some can, for some insurers. Shanghai's pilots settled 48,000 commercial-insurance visits in Q1 2024. Whether your policy is covered depends on your insurer's network; confirm with both sides before you travel. See our guide on international health insurance in China.
Do pilot hospitals charge more? International departments generally charge more than the general clinic, and Beijing's plan explicitly allows pilot hospitals to set their own international service prices. Ask for a written estimate. See how a China hospital bill is built.
Is this list complete and current? Shanghai's 13 are the hospitals named in 2024; an expansion to 22 was reported in January 2026 but the added names are not yet published. Beijing's list is partial because the city has not published all 18 names in one place. We re-check this page every three months; the review date is at the top.
Next Step
If you are choosing between cities or hospitals for a planned, non-emergency visit, tell us the department you need and your rough dates. We will show you which international departments publish a contact route and what to ask them. We do not make clinical recommendations or guarantee acceptance.
This guide is for planning purposes only and is not medical advice. Listing a hospital is not a recommendation or an endorsement, and Medvoyal has no partnership with the hospitals named. In an emergency in China, call 120.
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Share only the minimum practical context needed for a non-clinical scope review. Hospital fees remain separate and are paid directly to the hospital.
Last verified October 29, 2026. Next review due January 29, 2027. We re-check the official sources cited here on that cycle and update the page or mark it stale.
Medical disclaimer
The information on this page is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment. Medvoyal does not endorse any specific hospital, clinic, physician, or treatment.
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