Liu Meihua used to take a seven-hour bus ride and wait in long lines at Chongqing's Southwest Hospital for his monthly checkup after undergoing liver cancer surgery in August.

Now the 65-year-old needs to travel just one hour from his village in Fengjie county to a clinic where he can talk with his doctor over a direct video link.

He receives treatment from medics in his village, while specialists online can check on him and refer him to a large county hospital or Southwest Hospital for further treatment, if necessary.