The city of Ruzhou in Henan province is trying to seize on the popularity of medical tourism (MT) to construct a medical tourism resort.

Ruzhou sees the huge potential of MT and is now cooperating with Boyi Group from Taiwan to construct a cross-Straits Ruzhou hot spring medical tourism resort that will be the first of its kind in the world.

By marrying the advanced medical services system in Taiwan with the unique natural and cultural resources in Ruzhou, the resort aims to attract visitors who want to restore their health and youth.

Phase one construction covers an area of 133 hectares, with an investment of 5.26 billion yuan ($860 million). It will provide four kinds of themed packages: hot spring recreation, health checks and cosmetic surgery, 9D cinema experiences and Chinese culture seminars.

The 400-hectare resort is expected to be completed in three years. By then, it will create up to 10,000 job opportunities and generate over 3 billion yuan in revenue. The park will bring Ruzhou fame as a medical tourism resort and contribute to the city's economy transformation.

Medical tourism often includes patient travel from highly developed nations to other areas of the world for medical care, usually to find treatments at a lower cost. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) estimated that MT as a new industry, together with the IT industry and renewable energy industry, will become the three core industries in the world.

By Huang Pei

Edited by Michael Thai