Medical tourism in China attracts increasing number of Russians following abolition of visas

Traditional Chinese medicine is drawing more and more Russian tourists, who, from 15 September this year, are able to visit China without a visa. This was reported by Xinhua News Agency, a partner of TV BRICS.

According to a representative of one of the clinics in the city of Hunchun, located near the Russian–Chinese border, tourists arrive for the treatment of cervical spondylosis, adhesive capsulitis and other conditions. Against the backdrop of an influx of patients from Russia, the hospital in Hunchun has opened an international department and hired professional interpreters.

In Inner Mongolia, medical institutions have added physiotherapy procedures, acupuncture, traditional Chinese massages, and thermal hydrotherapy to their list of services due to demand from Russian tourists.

China introduced an experimental visa-free regime for Russian citizens from 15 September 2025 to 14 September 2026.

According to statistics, in the first two months after the introduction of the new policy, the number of people entering China by car through Inner Mongolia reached 40,000, which is 60 per cent more than in the same period last year. It is noted that Russian citizens travelling for tourism accounted for 85.2 per cent of all Russians who entered China without a visa.

Photo: chinaview / iStock