Lecheng reports 3,053 overseas medical visitors and a Bulgarian patient’s care journey

Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone received 3,053 inbound medical tourists in the first quarter of 2026, according to a Hainan government report dated May 6. The report described an eightfold year-on-year increase and visitors from 14 countries and regions, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia and Canada. It also followed a Bulgarian visitor through services at local institutions.

A cardiovascular assessment during a medical visit

Bobokov Atanas Stoilov, a 67-year-old Bulgarian businessman, learned about Lecheng online and traveled there to experience medical services in China. Local institutions arranged an individual program described as anti-aging and medical aesthetics.

Alongside those services, he underwent a cardiovascular check-up at Ruijin Hainan Hospital and received the lipid-lowering medicine Leqvio, also known as inclisiran. The report says the medicine was first introduced and used in China through Lecheng’s special policy arrangements. The report does not publish his clinical results.

One-to-one language assistance

The report identifies a specific language-support provider. Bao Xiaofeng of Boao Yiling Life Care Center said it had built a multilingual service network with one-to-one assistance in English, Japanese, Korean, Russian and French. This information concerns the center’s service offering.

Lecheng had more than 40 medical institutions at the time of reporting. Its reception of international visitors was expanding after Hainan Free Trade Port began island-wide special customs operations in December 2025, a policy milestone cited as context for the zone’s development.

Innovative medicines and insurance plans

The zone reported introducing more than 560 innovative medicines and medical devices from overseas, covering fields including oncology, cardiovascular disease and ophthalmology. The Bulgarian visitor’s cardiovascular assessment and inclisiran use illustrate one individual encounter within that broader medical offering.

Fu Sheng, director of the zone administration, said Lecheng would continue upgrading its special-medicine insurance, develop international versions of products and bring in more overseas insurers to facilitate cross-border insurance payments. These were planned changes, rather than confirmation of an already completed international insurance mechanism.

The first-quarter figure counts inbound medical tourists; it is distinct from the zone’s total domestic and international medical-tourism visits.