If your trip to mainland China is already planned, prepare the contacts, insurance details and documents you may need before departure. Save the essentials somewhere you can open without an internet connection. This checklist concerns practical arrangements; discuss personal medical preparation with a qualified healthcare professional.
Before departure: prepare one contact sheet
- Your accommodation name and full address in Chinese, including the city and district.
- The official medical contact information for your destination, including mainland emergency contacts.
- Your insurer’s assistance number, policy reference and instructions for getting help from abroad.
- Any appointment confirmation and the correct campus address.
- The official contact for your own country’s consular assistance in China, if needed.
Use your destination’s official information rather than assuming a service described in one city operates everywhere. If Shanghai is on your itinerary, start with the Shanghai resource guide. Update the saved address when you change accommodation or city.
Confirm the insurance arrangements
Ask your insurer what applies to the purpose and length of this trip. Confirm any advance authorization, excluded activities or conditions, your share of a bill, and how to reach its assistance team. If you already intend to seek a particular service, describe it explicitly when checking coverage.
The UK government’s China health advice tells its readers to check destination healthcare and appropriate travel cover, including medical evacuation. That source is written for UK travellers; consult the corresponding current advice for your own country and circumstances. UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: China health advice.
- Record the answer for your policy and your dates of travel.
- Ask how direct billing works at a proposed facility, if available.
- Ask what to do if you must pay first and which records a claim needs.
- Confirm a payment option for any amounts you may need to pay yourself.
Check communication and appointment access
If you plan an appointment, check whether its booking route accepts your identity document and phone number. Ask about SMS verification, how the appointment will be confirmed, and language support at the visit. Keep the answer and confirmation together.
Make sure you can access the official contact details and your own booking record while travelling. Where a website or app requires an account, complete the relevant setup through that service before depending on it. Our passport appointment guide separates identity, account and phone requirements.
Set up a payment option before you need it
Use the payment methods guide to prepare an app, a physical card and a cash fallback. Set aside time for registration, identity checks and any bank approval; keep access to the phone number used by your card issuer.
- Download and set up Alipay
- Download WeChat and activate Weixin Pay
- Check UnionPay card and app options
Confirm the payment method and any deposit directly with the hospital. A successful wallet setup does not establish hospital booking eligibility or insurance coverage.
Prepare documents and medication questions
- Ask the receiving clinician which existing documents are relevant and which language and format are needed.
- Ask your own healthcare professional about individual health preparation for your itinerary.
- Check medication carriage questions with the appropriate Chinese official authority or embassy and your healthcare professional. Use the exact medicine and travel details when asking.
- Keep important documents secure and available to you. Send sensitive files directly through the intended recipient’s approved channel.
The UK advice notes that medicine rules can differ between countries and directs its readers to their doctor and the Chinese Embassy. It does not create a universal permitted-medicines list for every traveller. Avoid relying on a generic packing list for a specific medicine.
After arrival and before you move on
- Confirm the address and meeting point for any planned visit.
- Ask how to reach the facility if the schedule changes.
- Before leaving a facility, confirm which reports, receipts or records are outstanding.
- Before leaving the city, agree how and when remaining documents will be delivered, and how you can access them from abroad.
You can print this page or keep a saved copy. Review it again when your destination, insurer or appointment changes.
Your next step
Sources and scope
Public information checked on 31 October 2026. This is a guide to administrative arrangements. The checklists are questions to use with the relevant service; published information has not been tested through an appointment.