TCM tourism takes off in Suifenhe
“Show me your tongue. So do you have any other trouble?” Zha Minghui, a doctor at Suifenhe People’s Hospital, asked his Russian patient while taking her pulse.
“Your cervical spondylosis caused your dizziness. You need traction and moxibustion therapy,” he told her through a translator employed by the hospital. “Since you are leaving this week, there is no time to do a CT scan for you.”
By mid-October, more than 6,000 Russians had visited the hospital — close to the Russian border in Heilongjiang province — this year for traditional Chinese medicine treatment, compared with about 7,000 in 2016. Patients from Russia have access to green channel at Suifenhe customs, Zha said.
“Since the climate of Russia is extremely cold, people there enjoy high-calorie food and alcohol a lot,” Zha said.
“So they usually have conditions like hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Some come here for regular healthcare while some come to cure their ailments. They usually stay in China for about a week.”
Initiated in 2013 by the city’s mayor and hospital’s director, the medical tourism project is becoming better known in nearby Russian cities after years of promotion.
“At first, no one knew us,” Zha said. “We went to Russia and lived in a resident’s house to ask them what medical service needs they had. After that we learned the skill of flyingneedle acupuncture from Henan province and tai chi from Tianjin. We also have free Chinese tea and calligraphy classes for them.”
Zha and his colleagues have staged promotional activities at universities and workplaces in Russian cities such as Ussuriyysk and Vladivostok.
“Though the citizens there were interested in TCM, I have the feeling that those local governments didn’t welcome us because citizens would be disappointed with the local hospitals
after experiencing better facilities and services in China,” Zha said.
To serve Russian tourists better, the hospital prepared a prayer room and a Russian-style waiting room decorated with warm, soft light, a fireplace and a TV showing Russian news.
“Despite the advantage of closeness to Russia, our city still can’t compete with well-developed and resourceful cities such as Seoul in South Korea and Dalian in Liaoning province,” Zha said. “They have hot springs and better service. Many wealthy Russians go there for TCM treatment.”
What they need to do now is to introduce more TCM skills and attractive Chinese culture programs, he said.
“The ultimate goal of the medical tourism project is to boost tourism in the whole city,” he said.