Originally published in the December 2015 issue of Veterinary Practice News. Did you enjoy this article? Then subscribe today! Veterinary Practice News "Surgical Insights" columnist Phil Zeltzman, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, and Greg Leck, DVM, of Leck Veterinary Hospital in Pen Argyl, Pa., were invited to lecture at a conference dedicated to small-animal surgery in Shanghai. With over 24 million inhabitants, Shanghai is one of the largest cities in the world. It is a city of never-ending contrasts, from the ultramodern financial skyscrapers of Pudong to the traditional, maze-like lilongs in the Bund. A lilong is a community of narrow, three-story rowhouses organized around gridlike lanes. Older lilongs are being destroyed to make room for modern buildings. Drs. Zeltzman and Leck then traveled to Beijing, the capital of China. Home to 20 million inhabitants, Beijing was the site of the 2008 Summer Olympics. They visited with colleagues in private and government-owned practices and stopped at the Beijing veterinary school. The vast majority of Chinese clinics are owned by the government or privately by a veterinarian. But a surprising phenomenon is starting to occur in communist China: clinic chains. Western investors, mostly from the United Kingdom and Australia, are anticipating the rise in pet ownership and setting up shop. One chain owns close to 40 clinics. What is it like to practice veterinary medicine in China? Zeltzman shares his photos and impressions from the trip.
