Medical Care - Health - Insurance

A lot of people are afraid of going to China and when they hear about earthquakes or outbreaks like SARS, their fear becomes even worse. Don't forget that China is a huge country and disasters happen everywhere on this planet. There are tornados and hurricanes in the US, India and Thailand were hit by a tsunami a few years ago and in Austria, a wild boar could attack and kill you. To be honest, Yun Cheng (south-west of Shan Dong) is quite safe. When the Sichuan earthquake hit China, I was in Yun Cheng and I didn't even feel a little shake. There are no mountains and no floodings and I never heard about a tornados or a hurricanes hitting the area. I guess the biggest risk at a wushu school like this is that you get diarrhea and if the people in the area keep eating that much dog meat, there might be another SARS-like disease one day. For more info about wushu training in China click here.

More: Medical Care - Health - Insurance

  • What if I get sick ?
    • The school's doctor will try to sell you 200 pills, so that he can pay his rent for the next 6 month. Always be skeptic and check the labels before you buy anything. At least look at the labels for a long time so that the seller re-considers his try to sell you too much. At least a part of the label is always in english. You can look up the ingredients on wikipedia. If you feel sick, don't wait until it gets worse.
  • What if I get injured ?
    • First of all, stop training and consult a doctor as soon as possible. Of course they can take an x-ray at the Yun Chang hospital -15 mins form the school. It's not very clean and it probably looks like the worst hospital you have ever seen. But they will try to help you and do a better job than the school's doctor. In the worst case you can call your country's embassy. If it's something serious, your insurance will pay you back. Paying a trip with visa is also a good insurance form. (ask the visa company for more) And here something I always tell people: Don't pay your school fee in advance. Pay once a month and if something goes wrong, be ready to tell them you will go to another school. You are a costumer and if you are injured or sick, you should not pay for lessons you can't receive. All the schools in China will try to charge you for days where you lie sick or injured in your bed - including Song Jiang. It's up to you that you make them understand that you will NOT pay a single cent when you can't train. Costumer = King. I recommend you even tell them in your emails before you go there.
  • What if I have a travel insurance ?
    • Keep all your bills and try to get the money back when you are back home. Many insurances claim to pay back everything, but they might try to appeal against the authenticity of your bills.

Advice: Medical Care - Health - Insurance

  • Take out a travel insurance or pay your trip with visa. Travel insurances start somewhere at 50 USD and if you pay your flight with visa, your trip is partially insured too. A private accident insurance could be a good idea too. However, when I lived in China for 4 years, I never needed my insurance and as I know Austria (my country), they wouldn't have paid a penny if I was seriously injured. Anyway, safety goes first and 50 USD isn't much. If you have some money left, it's better to spend it on an insurance than buying loads of new clothes etc.
  • Avoid eating on the street.
  • Never drink cold tap water. Only drink boiled water or buy water in bottles. The tap water in Yun Cheng is not even very good for a shower.
  • Don't use the air condition in your room. They never change the filters and when you switch on your AC, dozens of unknown viruses are blown into your room. You wouldn't be the first foreigner to get sick from an old Chinese AC.
  • Go to a doctor if you feel sick or ar injured. Avoid drugstores. Most people in China go to drugstores, because it's cheaper just to buy a medication then paying the doctor for his diagnose first. As a result the drugstore owners try to sell you as many pills as possible. They are not professionals and want to make profit. After all, most of them they have families to feed. Best example: The doctor inside the school.
  • Get immunizations for hepatitis etc. about 6 months before you go to China.