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And this is Story in the Story.

According to the Chinese National Tourist Administration, the number of inbound travelers reached 139 million in 2017.  And out of that number, millions had come to China for medical reasons, marking a significant rise in the nation’s medical tourism industry. 

As a key hub for the Belt and Road Initiative, the island province is now a medical tourism pilot zone. In Southern China’s Hainan Province opportunities for healthcare tourism are expected to bring in $678 billion worldwide, according to a US research report.

From January to September this year, Hainan hospitals generated $33 million in revenue, a 200 percent increase from the previous year.

The Hainan Tourism Development Commission said over a quarter of a million Russians alone visited the island province in 2017, a 380 percent increase in Russian visitors, while many were in search of a cure, rather than a tan. 

From 2015 to 2017, more than 21 million inbound and domestic health-related trips were booked in China, according to the Global Wellness Institute.

At the World Medical Tourism and Global Healthcare Congress in Boao, Hainan Province, Dr. Hong Sun, president of the China Health Management System said, “Medical tourism is a comprehensive system of engineering, requiring collaboration among multiple sectors.” 

Today’s Story in the Story looks at how breakthroughs in medical science, technology, and healthcare have boosted China’s inbound medical tourism sector as more people are traveling to the country in search of treatment unavailable anywhere else.  

View of the Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in Qionghai, South China's Hainan Province. (File Photo: VCG)

In Northeastern China’s Heilongjiang Province sits the town of Heihe, the largest border town in China, right across from Blagoveshchensk, Russia, separated by the Black Dragon River.

Efforts are underway to bolster local healthcare services aimed at the town’s Russian visitors.

"It will greatly improve medical services for the Russian tourists and neighboring areas," Sun said. "For example, they can be sent to the hospital for proper treatment in case of emergency."

The Heihe China-Russia Friendship Hospital will have 600 beds and is expected to become a top international hospital. It will provide a platform for medical exchanges and cooperation between the two countries, local government officials said.

Hospitals in Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang Province, have been receiving a high number of Russians with cerebral palsy.

According to representatives from Heihe’s publicity department, over 8,000 elderly Russians visited during the first half of the year for healthcare services.

Tao Wei, director of the department of oral medicine at a local hospital, said last year they received 600 patients with dental problems who were in search of medical treatment.

"Compared with some hospitals in Russia, we offer more convenient services," he said. "A patient can finish a dental implant within five days at our hospital, while in a hospital in Russia it may take weeks or even longer."

Russian experts visit the Sanya Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Hainan. (File Photo: China Daily)

In China's Northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Russians are joined by Kazakhs and other Central Asians traveling across the border. 

Xinjiang has positioned itself as a regional hub that offers services to the region, including health care, thanks to the developments of the Belt and Road Initiative. 

At the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University in Urumqi, signs are written in three languages -- Chinese, Uygur, and Russian. 

The hospital established an international department last October. In the first three months, it received more than 80 patients from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, and 90 percent of beds were occupied, according to hospital president Han Rong. 

Wu Yue, a top hospital official, said the demand across the border is so strong the hospital plans to build an Asian Orthopedic Center. 

"In addition to countries such as Germany and South Korea, a growing number of patients from Kazakhstan are choosing China as their new destination for medical treatment," said Wu. 

An online consultation service allows foreign patients to consult with Chinese doctors for free. The system also helps with booking air travel and arranging hotel accommodations.

"Impressed by our considerable services, many foreign patients tell their relatives and friends about our hospital after they return home," said Han.

(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Lance Crayon, Brian Lowe, and Da Hang. Music by: bensound.com. Text from Global Times, Xinhua, and China Daily.)