Shanghai · 上海

MRI in Shanghai for foreigners: public caps and private prices

Prices checked 26 October 2026 (Taipei time)

MRI in Shanghai costs at most ¥430 per body area at a Grade 3 public hospital, the lowest cap of the four cities on this site, and less at smaller hospitals.

• MRI of one body area without contrast: at most ¥430 (about $64).
• MRI with contrast: at most ¥455 per area, plus the contrast medicine.
• CT of one body area: at most ¥189 without contrast, ¥295 with contrast.
• PET-CT, whole body: at most ¥5,000 for the scan, plus the tracer.
• Official rules: Hu Yi Bao Jia Cai Fa [2025] No. 11, in force since 30 April 2025.

Shanghai’s schedule came into force on 30 April 2025, issued by the Shanghai Municipal Healthcare Security Administration and the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission. Unlike Beijing it has three price columns, for Grade 3, Grade 2 and Grade 1 hospitals, and it is the only city here that discounts extra body areas step by step instead of charging three areas in full.

Shanghai also publishes all-in PET-CT caps that include the radioactive tracer, which the other three cities do not: ¥4,000 for one area, ¥5,500 for the torso and ¥6,500 for the whole body.

How Shanghai charges for more than one area

Extra body areas are discounted: for MRI the second area is charged at 75% and the third at 50%; for CT the second at 50% and the third at 25%. A fourth area and beyond are free. A plain plus contrast scan of the same area is charged once, at the contrast price.

Our arithmetic from the official rules. Excludes contrast medicine, the outpatient registration and consultation fee, and any international-department surcharge.

Other rules in the Shanghai schedule

• Special MRI sequences add ¥80.
• PET-CT caps including the radioactive tracer: ¥4,000 for one area, ¥5,500 for the torso, ¥6,500 for the whole body.
• Hospitals that provide digital images may add ¥5. Printed film is ¥20 a sheet, only if you ask for film.
• PET-CT is not paid by Shanghai basic medical insurance.

What a visitor to Shanghai actually pays

Shanghai is the one city where we found a private hospital that publishes its imaging prices. Shanghai International Medical Center (SIMC) lists ¥3,500 for a one-site MRI and ¥4,000 with contrast, and ¥1,500 for a one-site CT, about $521, $596 and $223 at today’s rate. The page says the prices are for reference only and carries no date. That is about eight times the public cap for MRI, for a hospital set up for international patients.

The same SIMC page shows a second column labelled as an insurance price, lower than the self-pay price. It is not explained on the page, so we do not treat it as a price a foreign self-paying patient can expect.

Getting a scan in Shanghai: the practical steps

1. Choose the service. The ordinary outpatient service is cheapest but works in Chinese. An international department costs more and has English-speaking staff.
2. Register with your passport. A doctor at that hospital sees you and orders the scan. Read MRI without a referral in China.
3. Pay, then get a scan time. Bring a way to pay; see entering China and paying as a visitor.
4. Collect the report and images. Ask for the images as DICOM files: DICOM and English reports.

Compare with other cities

All four cities side by side: MRI, CT and PET-CT price table. Back to the China MRI cost overview.