This is NEWS Plus Special English.
Medical and cosmetic surgery services from South Korea are expected to become more widely available in China as a result of the bilateral free trade agreement that took effect recently.
Under the agreement, doctors who are licensed in South Korea, including plastic surgeons, can work in China for six months to a year. This could mean Chinese customers may be able to get door-to-door cosmetic surgery services from South Korean doctors.
In the past five years, the number of Chinese tourists visiting South Korea for medical tours surged twentyfold, with around 25,000 people traveling annually. Almost 70 percent went to South Korea for cosmetic surgery.
Currently, most visiting Chinese customers choose Korean hospitals for cosmetic surgery based on the recommendations of Chinese agencies. They not only afford expensive surgery costs but lack legal protection in the event of medical malpractice.
The agreement will bring more Korean doctors to China, which will help Chinese customers to significantly save on costs including transportation, accommodation and intermediary fees.
The cosmetic surgery market in South Korea is almost saturated. By working in China, Korean surgeons will be able to get out of the competitive domestic market, and seize opportunities in the huge Chinese market.
This is NEWS Plus Special English.
Asia's largest underground railway station has begun operations in the southern city of Shenzhen, slashing the travel time between Guangzhou and Hong Kong to half an hour.
The Futian High-speed Railway Station in downtown Shenzhen covers a total area of 150,000 square meters, or the size of 21 football pitches.
Its three underground floors are installed with more than 1,200 seats, allowing 3,000 passengers to wait simultaneously.
The travel time between Guangzhou and Hong Kong will be slashed to half an hour. Passengers in Shenzhen need only 15 minutes to arrive in Hong Kong.
A total of twenty-three pairs of high-speed trains run in and out of the station.