The First International Conference on Rural Medicine held at Shanghai, China in May 1996 was a turning point in the growing international rural health movement. The first 3 days of the conference were held in the Shanghai Science Hall followed by 3 days in Fengxian County, including site visits and seminars about health services in that part of rural China. There were approximately 300 participants in the conference, which included presentations from 70 invited speakers and over 50 free-standing poster/papers involving personnel from 22 countries. Group discussions during the conference developed recommendations that were considered by plenary sessions and subsequently adopted as the final resolutions of the whole conference. It is remarkable that, despite the great differences between developed and developing countries, many issues of concern in rural practice and rural health services are the same around the world. The Second World Rural Health Congress will be held in Durban, South Africa, 14-17 September 1997.