Walk into the Yiling Life Care Center (YLCC) quadrangle in Boao Township, Qionghai City in south China's Hainan Province, and you will find not just moxibustion doctors but calligraphy instructors, suit tailors and even hairdressers as well.

A one-stop complex for tourists to enjoy traditional Chinese medical (TCM) care and a leisure holiday, the center has received 12,000 visitors since its trial run began in January 2017. "Many foreign tourists are fascinated with Chinese culture and TCM care here," Liu Yueyong, Director of the Administration Department of YLCC, told Beijing Review.

YLCC was an early investor in China's first international medical tourism hub--Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone (HBLIMTPZ). The hub, 9 km west of the Boao Forum for Asia venue, is still under construction. It aims to offer tourists healthcare services including physical examination, rehabilitation and cosmetic surgery among others.

To help pool in more high-end healthcare institutions in the pilot zone, the Hainan provincial government has cut red tape, abolishing 32 administrative approval procedures. As of June 2017, the zone has attracted 99 investment projects, with a total value of 21 billion Yuan ($3.1 billion) since 2015, according to the local government.

So far, 12 medical service centers in the zone have been granted licenses to practice medicine and that number is expected to hit 90 in the next decade according to the local government.

(Reporting from Hainan)

Copyedited by Apurva

Comments to linan@bjreview.com