Joe’s Diary – Week 2
Today I called my friend studying in China who said he was sick and had just came backfrom the hospital. So we started to talk about hospitals and medical treatment in China. There are many famous hospitals in Beijing, like Beijing Friendship Hospital, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Beijing Chao yang Hospital, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking University First Hospital, Peking University People’s Hospital, Peking Uni versity Third Hospital, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, etc.
In general, hospitals in China open at 9 am, but you have to arrive earlier as there will be a lot of people waiting in line. Afterwards, you need to register and specify what you want to have checked. If you are not sure, you can ask a nurse for help. Most hospitals in Beijing are vast so you have to be careful not to get lost. Usually, you have to wait for a long time before seeing the doctor. The doctor will ask you some questions and give you the prescription, which may be hard to understand because of their handwriting. You have to pay the fee first before receiving your medicine.
It takes a lot of time waiting in hospitals in China, sometimes up to half or even one day. People always go to hospitals when sick because there are no private clinics in China, which is
why they are so crowded. If you want to consult a specialist , you have to make an appointment one or two days earlier. Moreover, in China, you can pay cash, you can also pay with your credit card, and in some hospitals you can also pay with Alipay and WeChat.
I heard from my friend that traditional Chinese medicine is quite amazing. One of his friends suffered a serious illness and many doctors in the U.S. thought it was difficult to treat. After he
came to China, he decided to give traditional Chinese medicine a try. He made an appointment at the famous Beijing Tongren Hospital. His doctor was nearly 60 years old. After checking his pulse and tongue coating, the doctor told him to take the prescribed medicine to recover. He was more than happy upon hearing that. However, he was slightly hesitant upon seeing so many packages of medicine. But one week later, he got better, regaining strength and appetite. Since traditional Chinese medicine is so powerful, I decided to go to China to try it.
今天给在中国学习的朋友打电话，他说今天身体不舒服，去医院看病了，于是我们
就聊起了中国的医院，在中国怎么去看病。
北京有很多有名的医院，比如说
北京友谊医院 、 北京同仁医院 、 北京朝阳医院 、 北京协和
医院 、 北京大学第一医院 、 北京大学人民医院 、 北京大学第三医院 、 北京积水潭医院 等。
医院一般 9 点开门，但一般得 9 点之前到，而且你也要做好心理准备，人会很多。
看病之前，还得挂号，中国的医院分了很多科，主要有内科、外科、儿科、妇产科和口腔
科等。挂号的时候你就得告诉护士你挂哪一科，如果你不知道，你可以问护士。北京的医
院一般很大，不要迷路了。在北京看病时，往往得等很长时间才能跟医生见面，医生会问
你一些问题，然后写一张药方给你。他们的药方很奇怪，因为他们写的字很难让人看懂。
拿着药方去拿药之前得先去排队交钱，然后才能去拿药。
在中国去医院看病往往得排队等很长时间，可能得花上半天或者一天的时间，因为
在 中国没有私人医生，人如果病了就得去医院，所以排队看病的人比较多，这样看病就会
花很长的时间。如果你要找专家看病，就得提前 1 2 天预约。另外，在中国看病可以付现
金，也可以刷卡，有的医院还可以用支付宝和微信支付。
我听朋友说中国的中医很神奇。他的一个朋友得了比较严重的病，身体很不好，胃
口差，没有力气，在美国也看了很多医生，都觉得很难治。去了中国后，听说中国的中医
很神奇，于是决定试一试。他的朋友在北京最有名的中医医院同仁堂预约了一位年近六十
岁的老中医，这位老中医给他的朋友把了把脉，看了看舌苔后，对他的朋友说“你这 个病
按这个药方 坚持服药，可以治好。 他的 朋友一听喜出望外。但是拿到大包小包的很多服中药之后，又觉得不太敢相信
。 谁知， 他的 朋友喝了一周的中药后，人有力气了，也能吃
饭了。 我决定去中国了也去试试。
Read & Think
- What is your impression about traditional Chinese medicine?
- Have you or your family ever tried it?
