China's Hawaii Plans a $3 Billion Medical Tourism Hotspot
- Hainan province project attracts 23 billion yuan in investment
- Faces challenge drawing doctors, patients to remote location
Views of Hainan Islands coast from the beaches on the Dongjiao Coconut Plantation on Hainan Island, China. | Location: Dongjiao, Hainan Island, China.
Photographer: Ryan Pyle/Corbis via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
On the hilly and tropical island of Hainan, local officials and companies are investing billions of dollars to transform a string of riverside villages into a medical tourism destination.
Their aim? To lure wealthy Chinese patients, who might otherwise venture overseas, to this province in the South China Sea known for its beach-front resorts. To do so they are making an unusual promise: The hub will bring in cutting-edge treatments for diseases like cancer that are available abroad, but don’t yet have regulatory approval in China.