A Russian tourist experiences TCM massage in Haikou. [Photo by Wang Kai/Hainan Daily]

Besides beach and sunshine, an increasing number of overseas tourists are attracted to Hainan province for various kinds of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) healthcare services. 

A series of policies such as the new visa-free entry policy benefitting people from 59 countries has helped enhance the province's internationalization level and made foreign people's trips to Hainan easier and more convenient.

The International Healthcare Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine established on Sept 28 last year has so far received around 100 Russian visitors. Acupuncture, moxibustion, and massage therapies rank top on the list of TCM services that have gained popularity among overseas tourists.

The launch ceremony of the International Healthcare Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine on Sept 28 last year [Photo/hkhtcm.com]

According to Sa Ren, director of the acupuncture department of the Sanya Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, who is often invited to Russia to introduce and promote the TCM culture, more and more international visitors have come to the hospital to experience TCM. Last year, the hospital's TCM health tourism project welcomed nearly 10,000 overseas visitors, which generated revenue of over 5 million yuan ($769,400).

To attract more international residents and offer better services, different healthcare treatments are offered to people from different countries due to differing climate characteristics and dietary habits. The Sanya Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital even adds health preservation music, tai chi and calligraphy into TCM healthcare services to enrich the cultural connotations.

A doctor takes a foreign visitor's pulse to diagnose her health condition. [Photo by Zhuang Xiaoshan/hinews.cn]

According to the Health and Family Planning Commission of Hainan Province, the TCM health promotion tour has developed rapidly in recent years and a health tourism industrial development pattern has been gradually formed. Hainan has organized exhibitions, lectures, and academic symposiums in such countries as Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrghyzstan to boost international communication and enhance treatment capacities of health tours.

Furthermore, Hainan will give full play to the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, which is China's only national development zone approved by the State Council dedicated to international medical tourism services, low-carbon eco-communities and support of international organizations. It focuses on old-age care, medical treatment and scientific research, and enjoys nine of the most favorable policies granted by the Chinese central government, including available permission for setting up medical institutions owned by overseas capital.

The unique regional advantages and superior natural conditions will also help popularize Hainan's health promotion tours in countries along the Belt and Road and develop the island province into a high-end health tourism destination.