"I went to the international department (also known as VIP department) of Renai Hospital as per many blogs/expat health magazines recommendation; and to be honest, be ready to be scammed.

The service they offer is NOT better than the one you would get by just queuing 2 mins extra via the Chinese system and you get charged a third of what the International Department is quoting you for (just to clarify: they use the same doctors, they use the Chinese Dpt facilities and rooms, they just assign you a nurse to walk you through the hospital with poor English and they lie/hide information about pricing - I went twice and every time, she was poorly communicating/answering my questions/concerns).

If you are talking about an appointment, I can somewhat understand the difference in pricing (RMB 12 in the Chinese Dpt, and RMB 500 in the International Dpt); they are catering for the expat community (thus they have "money to spend" and not much understanding of the Chinese hospital system) or usually comes in with an insurance card (and so they charge whatever amount to the insurance company). That difference in pricing can be "accepted" by the fact that you, as an expat, are somewhat looking for a better service than by jumping into the unknown with the Chinese Dpt. Nevertheless, the service is the same or sometimes even worse, the pricing is just different. So if you are not covered by an Insurance that has direct billing with them, and you are seeking medical help, better just head to the Chinese Department and get an appointment. Even the same medicine that is prescribed to you is way cheaper via the Chinese Department than the markup they add at the International Department.

My experience in short: as I was paying my visit (appointment + other services) from my own pocket (my insurance doesn't have direct billing with them), they told me that they were going to inform me any pricing before doing any procedure. First, they take me to the Chinese Dpt to get examined (er... aren't I paying RMB 500 for an appointment at a nicer facility?), and they proceeded to remove some tissue for a biopsy and quoted me RMB 200 (I can fully understand Chinese, so they never mentioned any other price other than RMB 200). I was surprised at the checkout point that they charged me an extra RMB 1500 for biopsy "procedure approval fee" and RMB 400 for 2 more sample tissues taken for the lab. I told them nobody told me about any of the other fees, and I have asked persistently during the appointment about any other fees/charges so that I know (I even went over all the items I had to pay for before the appointment was over, the nurse nodded her head). They told me they would not charge me for the RMB 1500 then (clearly their miscommunication). I ended up anyhow paying the extra RMB 400 for the other 2 samples, since apparently the pricing was RMB 200 per sample, and not per procedure. I bit my lip and let it go this time.

The next day, I have to come back to get some stitches removed, and they prescribe me a drug. I asked: how much is it, and they say RMB 360. Quite surprised that a Chinese pharmacy would charge for a drug this much, I asked if the medicine was imported from abroad, or why it was so expensive (are they charging anything else I'm not aware of?)

After a few more questions I raised impromptu to other nurses, it turns out, they literally go to the Chinese Dpt, buy the same drug, and sell it to you for triple the price (and all this transaction is done right before you go pick it up from their Nurse office). But they tell you that the drug price is the same everywhere and that it cannot be found at any regular pharmacy (implying that you must get it via the Intl Dpt). After realizing about their shady system, and demanding a reimbursement of my fees, I ended up getting a RMB 12 appointment via the Chinese Dpt, and getting the same drug for only RMB 120. I spent 1/3 of what the VIP/Intl Dpt have charged me and I did it without their help, super easy and very clear - it turns out that the Chinese Dpt (whom one had suspicions before) is even more clear and straight forward than the Intl Department.

The hospital and medical treatment system in China is a bit tricky, shitty and absolutely unfair, so if you must get treatment here, make sure you ask anything (don't be afraid to sound repetitive either), and inquiry about everything, even a clear report on your condition. Even at expat hospitals, they always try to put the blame on the patient, saying that is a misunderstanding from the patience when they clearly 1) never gave all the information or 2) they told you the wrong thing. And yet, they still want you to pay large sums of money for a mistake they have done. Just be careful and question everything if in doubt, better be more cautious than rely on their "honesty" - otherwise, the one disappointed and angry is you, not them."