TCM in China for Russians: Where to Go and What a Session Costs

A session of tuina (therapeutic massage) in an ordinary clinic of a Beijing public hospital costs no more than CNY 45–100 depending on the body region, cupping CNY 20–31 and moxibustion (warming with mugwort) CNY 24–39. These are official maximum base prices, before surcharges, in force since 27 December 2025^[1][2]. International and VIP departments set their own prices, as do private clinics outside the caps' scope, and herbs are billed separately. The published figures on Russian TCM patients, however, come mainly from Sanya and the border cities of Heilongjiang, not from Beijing^[3][4]. Below are the prices with sources, where people go and what to check so that you end up with a licensed doctor rather than in a massage salon. For the therapies themselves and their evidence base, see traditional Chinese medicine; for how a first consultation runs, see your first TCM visit.

What a session costs: Beijing's official caps

Public-hospital prices in China are set regionally, so there is no single national price list^[8]. We use Beijing as the benchmark because its current table is published in full. Notice No. 15 of the municipal medical insurance and human resources and social security bureaus, dated 3 November 2025 (京医保发〔2025〕15号), sets maximum prices for moxibustion, cupping and tuina: they may not be raised, while reductions are unlimited. For these procedures the new prices apply from 27 December 2025^[1].

The figures come from Attachment 1 to the notice^[2]. The same attachment contains details that affect the bill:

• If, while treating one condition, the doctor works on several regions, for example head, neck and shoulders, only one session is charged.
• Therapeutic tuina must be performed by a licensed Chinese-medicine physician (including assistant physicians) or a Western-medicine doctor trained in TCM.
• Some variants carry surcharges on top of the base price: for example, medicated or water cupping adds CNY 20, spread moxibustion in the du-moxibustion form (督灸, also called fire-dragon moxibustion, 火龙灸) adds CNY 160 and atlanto-axial tuina adds CNY 19.
• Children under 6 also carry surcharges, and herb processing (for example decoction) is charged separately.

Acupuncture in Beijing is governed by a separate notice, No. 13 (京医保发〔2025〕13号), in force since 31 August 2025^[5]. We did not verify the per-session acupuncture figure against the primary source. Public hospitals must display prices prominently^[1], so ask for the price list on site.

On top of the procedures comes a consultation fee. Beijing re-regulated its consultation fees, including the outpatient consultation fee (门诊诊查费), under notice No. 23 (京医保发〔2025〕23号), with maximum prices in force from 11 July 2026^[6][30]; we have not checked the new amounts. International departments set their own consultation fees (see below), so ask what the appointment costs when you book.

Other regions publish their own tables. From 1 August 2025 Hainan consolidated acupuncture, external treatments, moxibustion, cupping and tuina into 124 items; the price items include surcharges tied to the chief (主任医师) and associate chief (副主任医师) physician ranks, which cannot both be charged at once^[7]. The Hainan figures themselves sit in attachments that we did not check.

Why international departments and private clinics cost more

The caps cover only basic services. Under national rules, basic services in public hospitals are paid at government-guided prices, while "special-needs" services (特需, in effect VIP) and all services at non-public clinics are market-priced; special-needs services may not exceed 10% of a public hospital's services^[8]. The Beijing Municipal Health Commission explicitly classifies the services of public hospitals' international departments as special-needs services and frees their prices from regulation^[9]. In Beijing, both the moxibustion, cupping and tuina caps and the acupuncture caps formally cover public, non-profit and medical-insurance-designated institutions^[31][5], so a private clinic that is non-profit or in the medical-insurance network is bound by them too.

Hence the practical rule: the same tuina in an international department or in a private clinic outside the caps can cost more, legally, and how much more is up to the institution.

Herbs are billed by the formula. A public hospital sells herbal pieces (饮片) at purchase price plus a markup of no more than 25%, other Chinese medicines with no markup, while herbs processed by the hospital itself and its own preparations are priced by the hospital^[10]. So the cost of a prescription depends on the number of herbs, their weight and form, and herb processing such as decoction is charged separately^[2]. Ask for an itemised bill (费用清单): it is also useful for your insurer, see paying for treatment in China.

Where Russians go

Sanya: the TCM hospital and its sanatorium

Sanya Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine is a public TCM hospital of the top grade (三甲)^[11]. It runs the Sanya International Friendship TCM Sanatorium. According to published figures, the sanatorium received 7,547 visits by international patients in 2024, 10,749 in 2025 and 8,028 in the first half of 2026^[3]. According to the trade newspaper China News of Traditional Chinese Medicine, about 80% of the sanatorium's patients in 2025 came from Russia and about 15% from Kazakhstan^[12]. In the first nine months of 2026 the hospital and sanatorium received 10,319 visits by foreigners (37.14% more than a year earlier), 80% of them from Russian-speaking countries; at peak times its wellness wards were at one point fully booked^[13].

Foreigners most often come with pain in the neck, shoulders, lower back and legs (cervical spondylosis, frozen shoulder, knee pain); digestive problems and insomnia are also common^[3]. This is a list of complaints, not of indications: whether treatment suits you is for the doctor to decide after an examination.

According to China News Service, the hospital has interpreters and translation devices, including for Russian, direct billing with overseas insurers, payment from US-dollar accounts and translation of medical documents; as part of a standardised process for foreign patients, the hospital has set out clear prices and billing rules for acupuncture, tuina and similar services^[13]. We did not find those prices published, so request them in writing before you travel. Address: 三亚市凤凰路106号 (106 Fenghuang Road), general phone +86 898 8827 5345^[11].

Visa: Hainan's visa-free regime for Russian citizens (up to 30 days) explicitly allows travel for treatment, but only if you arrive on the island on a direct international flight, and you may not travel on to other regions of China^[14]. More in treatment in Hainan for Russians, visa and entry and on the Sanya city page.

Border Heilongjiang: Heihe, Suifenhe, Dongning

In the first half of 2026, medical institutions in Heilongjiang province received 19,100 visits by foreign patients, 16,300 of them by Russian citizens. More than 10,000 visits were for Chinese medicine, with revenue of about CNY 6.57 million^[4]. Dividing revenue by visits gives an average of under CNY 660 per visit. This is our rough calculation, which mixes single procedures with multi-day courses.

According to the same report, more than 40 Russia-facing medical institutions have put up Russian-language signs, guidance and price lists, Mudanjiang and Heihe run Russian evening classes for medical staff (more than 1,100 participations so far), and key border cities and provincial hospitals accept foreign cards such as Mastercard^[4]. But Visa and Mastercard cards issued by Russian banks have not worked abroad since March 2022^[32], so Russians need other ways to pay — a UnionPay card, QR payments or cash; see paying for treatment in China from Russia.

• Heihe. The city TCM hospital has opened an international department with acupuncture, tuina, gua sha and check-up packages; most of the city's medical institutions have Russian interpreters. From 15 September to the end of November 2025 the city's medical institutions recorded more than 3,000 visits by Russians, nearly three times the level before the visa-free regime. Health inspectors regularly check bilingual signs and price displays^[15].
• Suifenhe. The city is a national export base for Chinese-medicine services; the city people's hospital, which has a TCM treatment area, has full-time interpreters who accompany patients to examinations^[4].
• Dongning (part of Mudanjiang). In November 2025 the provincial press reported that the city TCM hospital was building a rehabilitation area with new equipment, producing Chinese-Russian service handbooks and training Russian-speaking patient guides^[16].
• Harbin is the regional centre with large hospitals; our directory includes, for example, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine; see also the Harbin city page.

Our directory does not yet have pages for individual clinics in Heihe, Suifenhe or Dongning: we have not checked specific institutions there.

A warning sign: the market clean-up in Hunchun

Hunchun (Jilin province, on the border with Primorye) is another city where Russians go for treatment. On 28 February 2026 the city authorities held a meeting on the quality of medical services for Russians. They demanded compliance with licensing requirements and treatment standards, announced a 100-day campaign to restore order in the market for medical services for Russians, with joint inspections, and pledged to punish violations strictly^[17]. This says nothing about any particular clinic, but it shows that the authorities see problems in this market. The Russian Consulate General in Shenyang separately warns that Russian-language advertising by Chinese dental clinics may not reflect reality, and advises finding out the official name, address and the real names of the doctors in Chinese in advance^[18]. The warning is about dentistry, but the same approach makes sense when choosing a TCM clinic.

Beijing and Shanghai

In Beijing, 21 medical institutions have launched 40 TCM medical-tourism packages. Medical records can be submitted online for advance assessment; the packages advertise a clear course and transparent pricing, direct billing with insurers, payment in several currencies and consultations after you return home^[19]. The announcement does not give prices. The international department of Guang'anmen Hospital works in Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean (Russian is not listed), accepts self-pay and commercial insurance, enquiries and appointments +86 10 8800 1248^[20]. In Shanghai, our directory lists the TCM hospitals Longhua, Shuguang and Yueyang.

Keep two limits in mind. The consulate warns that a Russian-speaking doctor is extremely hard to find in China and advises a professional interpreter for anyone who does not speak Chinese or English^[18]; see language and interpreters. And the mainland visa-free regime for Russians (up to 30 days) lists tourism, business, exchanges, visiting relatives and transit, but does not name treatment separately^[14].

Hospital or salon: how to check

Both hospitals and massage salons use the words "TCM" and "wellness" (养生). Rules issued by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (NATCM) forbid non-medical wellness businesses from treating patients. They may not use needles, scarring or blistering moxibustion, traction or manipulation (扳法), minimally invasive techniques or herbal enemas, write prescriptions, give herbs by mouth that are not on the food and health-food ingredient lists, practise "medical qigong" or advertise therapeutic effects. Such a business must display its business licence (营业执照), service prices and staff details prominently^[21].

A medical institution works differently. Diagnosis and treatment are allowed only with a medical institution practising licence (医疗机构执业许可证), or, for a small clinic (诊所), after filing with the county health authority. The institution must display its licence, permitted specialties, opening hours and fees prominently, staff wear badges with name and title, and the bill must be itemised with a receipt^[22].

How to check the clinic and the doctor:

1. Registry. China's National Health Commission runs online look-ups for medical institutions (zgcx.nhc.gov.cn/unit) and for doctors' registrations (zgcx.nhc.gov.cn/doctor)^[23]. The service is in Chinese only, so ask the clinic for its exact Chinese name and the doctor's name in characters.
2. The consulate's advice. The consulate addresses it to people travelling for treatment of serious illness or for dental work: choose clinics with state participation; make sure the doctor officially works at the institution; do not transfer money to private individuals' accounts, since a medical institution has its own corporate account; insist on an official receipt (发票); remember that the contract is drawn up in Chinese and disputes are resolved in China under Chinese law^[18].

How long a course takes

We found no official standard for course length for foreigners. Beijing's packages promise a clear course, but give no numbers^[19]. In Dongning, for example, there are three-day TCM physiotherapy tours, and the longest physiotherapy itinerary lasts 10 days and combines three hospitals (according to the regional newspaper)^[24]. A deputy director of Sanya's TCM hospital told a reporter that a one-month cycle is "very suitable" for a wellness course (news source)^[25]. The practical takeaway: budget for a course, not a single session. At the first consultation ask how many procedures the doctor plans and how often, and budget as price per session × number of sessions (shoulder and limbs are priced per side or per limb), plus consultations and herbs.

Worked example (a guide, not a quote): 10 sessions of lower-back tuina at the Beijing cap come to at most CNY 1,000, plus consultation fees and herbs if prescribed.

What to know about the evidence. According to NCCIH, the US government's centre for complementary medicine, acupuncture and tai chi may improve quality of life and help certain pain conditions, although in some trials real and sham acupuncture worked equally well, which points to a placebo effect. Studies of Chinese herbal products have had mixed results, and many have been of poor quality. Some herbal products have been found contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides or undeclared drugs. Complications from acupuncture are relatively rare, but non-sterile needles and improper technique have caused infections and organ injuries. NCCIH advises against using Chinese medicine to replace or delay conventional care^[26]. Before you leave, collect your medical summary and the full prescription: without them a doctor at home will struggle to assess what you have been taking; see medical records and follow-up.

Can you take herbs to Russia

• Medicines for personal use. Under EAEU rules, an individual may import registered and unregistered medicines for personal use without registration details or permits^[27].
• If a product contains narcotic or psychotropic substances, you need medical documents stating the name and quantity, in Russian or with a notarised Russian translation, plus a mandatory written customs declaration. For medicines with potent or poisonous substances, Article 50 of Federal Law No. 61-FZ also requires prescribing documents (except non-prescription medicines registered in Russia)^[28].
• Dried plant material. Rosselkhoznadzor allows up to 5 kg of plant products in hand luggage and checked baggage without a phytosanitary certificate, provided they are not seeds, planting material or potatoes; the products must be presented to the inspector^[29].
• What we do not know. We found no official Russian clarification of whether Chinese herbal pieces (饮片) count as medicines or as plant products, or which specific TCM herbs are controlled in Russia. So ask the doctor for the formula with Latin names, keep the prescription and receipts, and declare if in doubt. For protected species (CITES), see traditional Chinese medicine; for medicines on the road, see medicines and prescriptions.

Next steps

• Compare service tiers in our guide to international departments in Chinese hospitals.
• If you plan to use an ordinary clinic, read your first hospital visit without a Chinese ID.
• Arrange insurance for treatment abroad: the consulate strongly recommends a policy that also covers repatriation^[18].
• For an overview of Chinese-medicine hospitals, see the TCM specialty page.