An aerial view of Boao Hope City. [Photo by Boao Hope City]

1. Formal Establishment

The Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone (the "Pilot Zone") was established with the approval of the State Council on February 28, 2013 and granted certain preferential policies. The Pilot Zone develops the related industries of international medical tourism such as licensed medical treatment, health management, care rehabilitation, medical cosmetology and anti-aging. It aims to gather international and domestic advanced medical tourism services and international cutting-edge medical scientific and technological achievements, and to create a cluster region for international medical technology service. It has been called "the second movement of the Boao Forum for Asia" by Premier Li Keqiang.

On September 16, 2019, the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Health Commission, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the National Medical Products Administration jointly issued the Implementation Plan for Supporting the Construction of the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, which ushered in a new historic opportunity.

The Pilot Zone is positioned as the leading area for the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Zone (Port) and the only leading area for real-world data application in the Chinese mainland.

2. Geographical Advantage

The Pilot Zone is located on both sides of the Wanquan River between the urban area of Jiaji town, Qionghai city, Hainan province and the core area of the Boao Forum for Asia, and has a beautiful ecological environment and pleasant climate. The magnificent and clear Wanquan River flows through it, forming a unique landscape of "water, island, forest and field". It is the best place for leisure tourism. The Pilot Zone is about 7.3 kilometers away from Boao Airport and 3.7 kilometers away from Boao Railway Station. It has access to regional transportation facilities such as provincial roads, national roads and expressways. Jiaji district, the Boao Special Planning Area and Central Plains town around Qionghai city provide urban service support.

3. Overall Planning

1) Overall Positioning

The Pilot Zone is positioned as an international medical tourism destination, a cutting-edge medical R&D and transformation base as well as a gathering place for national new medical institutions.

 2) Planning Scope

The Pilot Zone is planned to extend from the East Line Railway to Lecheng Island, with a distance of about 10 kilometers from north to south and an area of about 2,090.13 hectares.

 3) Planning Scale

(1) Spatial Scale

The construction scale of the land is about 2.97 million square meters, of which about 1.86 million square meters are dedicated to medical functions. The area for R&D functions is about 650,000 square meters, the area with special rehabilitation functions is about 340,000 square meters and that for leisure and rehabilitation functions is about 120,000 square meters. The Pilot Zone has a total medical scale of 4.07 million square meters.

(2) Personnel Size

In the future, the number of employed people in the Pilot Zone will reach 28,500, of which 25,500 will be doctors and 30,000 R&D personnel. Every year, it receives 200,000 to 300,000 patients and 250,000 to 400,000 accompanying tourists. The temporary resident population has a demand level equivalent to that of a registered population of 16,000. The total population in the Pilot Area has reached 44,500.

(3) Bed 

In the future, there will be a total of 12,000 beds in the newly built land, including 9,300 clinical medical beds, 1,700 beds for rehabilitation and 1,000 for leisure and recuperation.

 4) Industry Choice

The Pilot Zone includes clinical treatment, professional rehabilitation, medical research and development as well as a comprehensive coordinated system. Clinical treatment will be provided in a clinical medical center with distinct characteristics and advanced technology, follow-up treatment centers of internationally famous medical institutions in China, a clinical medical center of rare diseases and an international standard health examination center. The professional rehabilitation area is positioned as a medical rehabilitation center using special traditional Chinese medicine. The medical research and development is positioned as a gathering place for national new medical institutions and a cutting-edge medical technology R&D and transformation base. The comprehensive coordinated system is positioned as an international medical exchange center for production and city linkage as well as a comprehensive area for leisure and recuperation.

 5) Overall Layout

In group one, a new cluster district for national medical institutions, a research and development base for cutting-edge medical technologies and an international medical exchange center will be arranged. Group two to group four will set up the follow-up treatment center of international famous medical institutions in China and the health examination center with international standards. In group five, a traditional Chinese medicine medical rehabilitation center will be established. Group seven will consist of a clinical medical center with distinctive features and advanced technology and a clinical medical center for rare diseases. In group eight, comprehensive health care facilities will be set up. In group nine, there will be a distinctive and advanced clinical medical center.

Boao International Hospital [Photo by Boao Hope City]

4. Operation and Management

Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone Administration (the "Lecheng Administration") was established in August 2019 in accordance with the provisions of the Establishment and Operation of the Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone (Hainan Provincial People's Government Notice No. 283). The Pilot Zone is a statutory body for public management that is directly managed by the People's Government of Hainan Province and operates in a market-oriented and professional manner. The Lecheng Administration will attract high-end professionals to provide innovative and high-quality services, make overall plans and promote the high-standard and high-quality development of international medical tourism, high-end medical services and a massive health industry in the Pilot Zone. All these can realize the "three synchronization" of medical technology, equipment and drugs in line with international levels. The Lecheng Administration is responsible for the planning, organization and implementation, regional development and construction, operation and management, investment attraction, system innovation and comprehensive coordination of the Pilot Zone in accordance with the law. The Pilot Zone will be built into an important leading area and institutional innovation highland for the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Zone and Free Trade Port with Chinese characteristics.

5. Development Orientation

1) Four business cards: Specialist licensed therapy as the characteristic/ valuable medical service as the orientation/ medical technology innovation as the guidance/ serving the general public for the purpose

2) Industrial system: The Pilot Zone will become a leading area of international medical tourism guided by valuable medical treatment and led by pharmaceutical equipment innovation.

Three core industries: medical services (general hospital, specialist hospital, super hospital and super traditional Chinese medicine hospital), application display (presentation center, duty-free shop for health products, medical equipment circulation), rehabilitation and recuperation (traditional Chinese medicine recuperation, sub-health recuperation center, sleep management, mental recuperation)

Three derivative industries: scientific research/education (medical school, nursing school, online education platform, intelligence education platform), business/exhibition (pharmaceutical equipment innovation exhibition, international medical conference, clinical alliance conference, long-term rental apartment, hotel, office building), experience/tourism (experiential tourism, cross-border tourism, red tourism)

Three platforms: policy platform, industrial alliance platform and capital platform

6. Development Goals

By 2025, breakthroughs will be made in the construction of advanced clinical medical centers with characteristic technologies and bases for R&D and transformation of cutting-edge medical technologies, so as to achieve the "three synchronizations" of medical technology and equipment drugs at an internationally advanced level.

By 2030, medical and scientific research will reach the domestic and international leading level, fully form an industrial cluster and brand effect, and create a world-class international medical tourism destination and an innovative platform for medical science and technology.

The path for industrial development: the development of Boao Lecheng needs 15 years and is divided into three stages.

1) Within five years: build a national characteristic highland

A clinical center with obvious features and advanced technology

Health examination center with international standard

China's largest duty-free shop for pharmaceutical and health products

Places of circulation of drugs and equipment with national characteristics

2) Within ten years: become a valuable exporter of health care models

Display follow-up treatment centers for national famous medical institutions in China

The world famous and the first health resort of international medicine in China

The leading licensed medical education and international medical exchange center in China

3) Within fifteen years: become the global innovation highland of pharmaceutical equipment

The R&D and transformation base of cutting-edge medical technology

A national clinical medical center for rare diseases

An international first-class innovative base with clinical experts for the R&D of pharmaceutical equipment

The leading listed park platform company for medical equipment in China

Ruida Health Medicell International Health Center [Photo by Boao Hope City]

7. Status Quo of Development

At present, construction of 16 projects is underway in the Pilot Zone, of which nine medical institutions are in operation. The medical system has been gradually improved, and the cluster district has been initially formed in the fields of tumor prevention and treatment, assisted reproduction, medical cosmetology and anti-aging and stem cell research. A team of 51 academicians and experts have been introduced, and more than a dozen domestic cases have been created in the application of new drugs, new equipment and new technologies in international medical areas, initially realizing the “three synchronization” of medical technology, equipment, and drugs in line with international advanced levels. It has created a good situation for the high quality development of international health tourism and high-end medical service industry.