"There's an imbalance between the big cities and small ones. Good doctors don't want to work in small places," said Liu, 46, a migrant worker who brought his wife more than 750 km (450 miles) to see a specialist in the capital in May.

His wife, Wang, 42, was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the beginning of the year, and was told by family she should leave her hometown in Inner Mongolia for treatment.

"If you have some serious illness then you'd better go to Beijing," said Liu. Both husband and wife asked that Reuters use only their surnames to protect their privacy.

A manager of one of the hotels said most patients stayed for between several months and a year while they waited for treatment.