Lecheng — China's medical special zone

A meadow without roads

Lecheng lies on the Wanquan River between Qionghai town and Bo'ao and extends to a river island in the lagoon. On 28 February 2013 the State Council approved a special zone for medicine here and gave it nine special rules. The area covers around 21 square kilometres.

A provincial official later recalled that in 2013 they had essentially been given a meadow: no roads, no electricity, no sewage. Everything that stands here today grew within a few years — clinics, research buildings, hotels for patients and their relatives.

A piece of abroad in medicine

The core of the special zone is an exception: clinics may use medicines and medical devices approved abroad but not yet in China — if a patient urgently needs them. Since 2018 Hainan province has been allowed to approve this itself, without going via Beijing.

Since 2024 these imported products have also been exempt from customs duties and import taxes. According to official figures, more than 520 medicines and devices otherwise unavailable in China have been brought in. The process is strictly regulated: a doctor establishes the urgent need, the products are stored in a dedicated bonded warehouse and are tracked through a database down to the individual patient.

Why people travel across the country

In China, approval of new medicines long often took years longer than in Europe or the USA. For cancer patients or people with rare diseases that can make all the difference. Anyone who can't or won't travel abroad comes to Lecheng.

Since 2020 patients have even been allowed to take some medicines home under conditions. The first was a cancer drug that had only just been approved in the USA and was used here almost simultaneously. According to official figures, more than 160,000 treatments with such products had been recorded by 2025.

A laboratory for new rules

The data from these treatments is collected and analysed. Since 2019 it can serve as a basis for regular approval throughout China. In 2020 a medical device, an implant for glaucoma, was approved for the first time using data from Lecheng. In 2021 a medicine was submitted for approval based solely on such data for the first time, which according to the manufacturer sped up its market launch by a year and a half.

Lecheng explains the idea behind the Hainan free trade zone better than any duty-free mall: the island is a real-world laboratory. Rules not yet dared for all of China are tried out here first.

Figures and doubts

The road there wasn't smooth. In 2019, according to official figures, around 75,000 patients came — and the head of the administration said openly at the time that every county hospital treats many times that number a year. The big promises were a long time coming.

Well-known Chinese university hospitals from Shanghai and Chengdu have since set up here; more than 30 clinics now operate in the zone, some with foreign involvement. Whether Lecheng really changes China's healthcare or remains an expensive niche is still open.

What you see as a visitor

Lecheng isn't a sight in the classic sense. You see a new town of clinics, research buildings and green spaces by the river, much quieter than any other Chinese town. There's a permanent exhibition where manufacturers from more than 15 countries show their latest medicines and devices — an unusual insight, if it's open.

For visitors from Europe the perspective is reversed: many products celebrated here as progress have long been routine back home. That's exactly what makes the place revealing.

How to approach it

A short stop on the way to or from Bo'ao is enough, half an hour to an hour. It's best to drive through the area by Didi and get out where you want to look around.

This is a hospital district. Be considerate, keep quiet and don't photograph patients. And: this page describes the special zone; it isn't medical advice.