A 28-day visit to the People's Republic of China during June and July 1978 by the Rural Health Systems Delegation from the United States, sponsored by the Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People's Republic of China, resulted in an exchange of information about rural health policy and planning. Specific areas of emphasis included: common disease patterns; community health; financing of medical care; ambulatory and hospital care; barefoot and traditional doctors; traditional medicine; training and education of nurses and doctors; surveillance and antiepidemic work; birth planning, diffusion of health and birth planning innovations; and mental illness. Achievements noted were preventive work and antiepidemic services. However, medical records and statistics lacked standardization. Barefoot doctors, paraprofessionals with varied but limited medical training who perform certain health duties, evoked mixed reactions. Blending the old and traditional methods with new and scientific medical techniques produced puzzling aspects. Practitioners of traditional medicine seemed to accept biomedical orientations of Western medicine, yet often employed contradictory approaches. Generally, China was judged as achieving a momentous triumph in caring for its vast rural population. Appendices give the itinerary and hosts in China, contents of medical kits of barefoot doctors, and sample medical forms. (AW)