By city

MRI cost by city in China: four official price schedules

Prices checked 26 October 2026 (Taipei time)

The MRI cost in China depends on the city, because each city's healthcare security bureau publishes its own maximum prices for public hospitals. Here are the four schedules most visitors need, compared.

All four cities rewrote their radiology prices in 2025 under a national effort to standardise and lower imaging fees. The result is one price per body area for MRI and CT, the same for 1.5T and 3T scanners, with differences in how each city charges for a second or third area, for contrast, and for smaller hospitals. A visitor who needs one knee or one brain scan will find the cap within a few dollars in every city; a visitor who needs several areas will see bigger differences.

How the cities differ

Choosing a city

Price is rarely the deciding factor between these four cities, because the caps are close. Most visitors choose by where they can fly to, where an international department or coordinator can book them, and whether they have other plans in China. Beijing and Shanghai have the largest concentration of hospitals with international departments; Shanghai has named 13 public hospitals as test sites for international medical departments. Shenzhen and Guangzhou are a short trip from Hong Kong.

Whichever city you choose, remember that the caps bind only the ordinary service. Read how a scan is ordered in China and check the entry rules for your passport before booking. For every item and city in one place, see the China MRI, CT and PET-CT price table, or go back to the China MRI cost overview.