1st Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University

I left my hotel just before 7AM to be at the hospital before the crowds. James picked me up from the bus stop, and we walked to the hospital. Without his help I would have never understood the procedure for getting medical help at this hospital. It's a large complex of many buildings, some still under construction, some already crumbling. James lead the way into one of the older buildings, where we got a ticket to see the doctor who does the entry examination. There were already many people there, so we had to wait for almost an hour. Upon reading my health certificate and asking some questions, the female doctor asked me to lie down and started probing my belly with her fingers. I don't think she found something unusual, and she wrote a referral for a specialist at the ultrasound department. She laughed at my suggestion that it might be cancer. Oh no no no, no cancer! I guess the term 'gallbladder neoplasm' was just a unlucky translation.
Downstairs I got another ticket to see the specialist, after paying the fee of 86.20 RMB. Then to the ultrasound department, where the line was already extending into the stairwell. After arriving at the front desk, I got yet another ticket with a number.
Then to the waiting room, filled with about 50 people watching TV. Another 50 were waiting in the corridor. A big LED sign displayed the ticket and room number for the next patient. Almost another hour passed until my number appeared on the screen. Room 02.

The middle-aged doctor sat in front of a modern Philips HDI-5000 ultrasound system. He asked me to lie down on the bed, and started scanning my abdomen.
Unfortunately I could not see the screen from my position, but James was interpreting everything. I have one small beneign tumor in my gallbladder, of about half a centimeter. Nothing to worry about, the doctor assured me, I have only one, but he himself has several, he said. No need to take any action, not even medication or change of diet. He also checked the wall thickness of the organ, and the overall size. All normal.
After this, I felt quite relieved, and happy to have come here. The doctor gave me a printout with two scan images, one showing the outlined tumor, and one showing the whole gallbladder, and an explanation in Chinese.
We walked out and went for a won-ton soup in a small street. James showed me the campus of the Medical University, where he is teaching, and we met his girlfriend in front of the university library. I returned home without having to worry about my gallbladder anymore.