Every Test in a Chinese Executive Physical, Explained in Plain English

The fasting blood work

One blood draw feeds a long list of analyses. The complete blood count screens for anemia, infection and blood disorders. Liver and kidney panels check how those organs are functioning. A lipid panel measures cholesterol and triglycerides. Fasting glucose — and in higher tiers HbA1c, your three-month blood sugar average — screens for diabetes and pre-diabetes. Thyroid hormones check for an over- or under-active thyroid, one of the most common findings in people who feel fine.

The cancer screening markers

Men receive a 13-marker tumor panel, women an 11-marker panel. These are blood tests that measure proteins associated with common cancers — liver, colorectal, pancreatic, stomach, lung, prostate for men, ovarian and breast for women. Read them the right way: tumor markers are risk indicators and trend lines, not verdicts. A raised marker leads to a conversation and possibly imaging; it is not a diagnosis. An EB virus antibody test, standard in China, flags elevated risk for nasopharyngeal cancer.

The stomach test you do by breathing

The carbon-13 or carbon-14 urea breath test detects Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium behind most stomach ulcers and a known risk factor for stomach cancer. You blow into a tube before and after a small drink. It takes minutes and is one of the most useful tests in the package — H. pylori is treatable with a short course of antibiotics.

The imaging

• Low-dose chest CT: the screening standard for early lung findings, using a fraction of the radiation of a diagnostic CT.
• Brain MRI or head CT: screens for structural abnormalities, old silent strokes and aneurysm warning signs. Higher tiers use MRI, which involves no radiation.
• Ultrasound suite: liver, gallbladder, spleen, pancreas and kidneys; thyroid; carotid arteries (stroke risk); bladder and urinary tract; prostate for men; breast and pelvis for women.
• Echocardiogram: an ultrasound of the heart itself — valves, pumping strength and structure.

The heart and artery scores

A 12-lead ECG records your heart's electrical rhythm. The coronary artery calcium score, computed from the chest CT, measures calcified plaque in the heart's arteries and is one of the strongest single predictors of future heart attack risk. Arteriosclerosis testing measures arterial stiffness, and homocysteine and high-sensitivity CRP blood tests round out the cardiovascular risk picture.

The tests you will not find at a routine physical at home

• In higher tiers, capsule gastroscopy: you swallow a camera the size of a large vitamin pill, which photographs your stomach on its way through. No sedation, no scope.
• In higher tiers, DNA colorectal screening: a stool test that looks for methylated DNA shed by colorectal tumors — a step beyond standard occult blood testing.
• AI retinal photography: a photograph of the back of the eye, read by an AI system, screening for diabetic eye disease and giving early warning signs of hypertension and stroke risk.
• Ultrasound bone density: a first-pass screen for osteoporosis, no radiation involved.
• Traditional Chinese medicine constitution assessment: digital pulse and tongue imaging plus a structured questionnaire, producing a TCM body-type reading alongside your Western report. Curious travelers consistently rate this the most interesting fifteen minutes of the morning.

How to choose between packages

If you are under 40 with no family history of disease, the Essential tier covers the fundamentals well. If heart or brain health is your concern — family history, blood pressure, stress — the Cardio & Brain tier earns its $150 difference with the echocardiogram and brain MRI. If you want the tests hardest to get at home, the SVIP tier's capsule gastroscopy and DNA colorectal screening are the reason to fly. When in doubt, tell us your age, history and worries, and we will tell you plainly which tier fits — including when the cheapest one is the right answer.