MRI by body area

Knee MRI cost in China in 2026

Prices checked 26 October 2026 (Taipei time)

A knee MRI in China costs at most ¥430 to ¥505 for one knee in the ordinary service of a large public hospital, depending on the city, which is about $64 to $75 at the official rate.

• Without contrast: ¥430 to ¥505 per area at a Grade 3 public hospital (about $64 to $75).
• With contrast: ¥455 to ¥555 per area, plus the contrast medicine.
• Private list price in Shanghai (SIMC): ¥3,500 for one site, about $521.
• Coordinator packages: from $250 to $450 on their own price pages.

One knee is one body area under all four city schedules, so a single knee is charged once. Both knees are two areas. The schedules price MRI per area, not per machine, so a 3T scanner is not dearer than a 1.5T one.

A knee MRI is often not urgent: it is usually ordered after an injury or for long-standing pain, and in public systems with waiting lists it can sit in the queue for weeks or months. In China the knee is scanned without contrast in most cases, so the plain MRI price is the one that matters.

The price below is the official cap for the ordinary outpatient service of public hospitals. An international department, a private hospital or a coordination service sets its own price. Those prices are covered further down, with their sources.

What a foreign visitor pays in practice

The caps above bind the ordinary outpatient service, where staff mostly speak Chinese and you queue with everyone else. Three other routes cost more:

• International or VIP departments of public hospitals have English-speaking staff and set their own prices. Few publish an MRI price; ask for one in writing.
• Private international hospitals. SIMC in Shanghai lists ¥3,500 for a one-site MRI and ¥4,000 with contrast, marked as for reference only.
• Coordination services book the hospital, interpret and arrange an English report. China MedPass publishes MRI from $250; MRI in China publishes from $450, all-in with an English report and DICOM files.

Knee MRI: China compared with other countries

A lower scan fee is not the whole cost. Add flights, hotel, time off work and help with the language, and check that your doctor at home will accept a Chinese report. The MRI wait vs China calculator adds these up.

Before a knee mri

• Ask whether your doctor at home needs a particular protocol or sequences, and bring that in writing. Special sequences can add a fee in Beijing and Shanghai.
• Tell the hospital about any metal in your body, such as a pacemaker, implants, screws from earlier knee surgery or metal fragments. Most orthopaedic implants are compatible with MRI, but the staff must know before you go in.
• You lie on your back with the knee inside a coil and need to keep still for the whole scan. Ask the hospital how long your exam will take.

Getting the scan and the results

In China a doctor at the hospital orders the scan, even if you bring a referral from home: read MRI in China without a referral. Ask for the images as DICOM files and for an English report if you need one: DICOM files and English reports. For entry rules and paying as a visitor, see entering China for a scan.

Other MRI prices

Back to the China MRI cost overview.