Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Century-Old Research-Oriented TCM Hospital

Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine is a century-old Grade III Class A comprehensive traditional Chinese medicine hospital. Its predecessor, Siming Hospital, was founded in 1906 by Ningbo natives at the Siming Guild Hall. It is regarded as one of the earliest and longest-developed traditional Chinese medicine hospitals founded by Chinese people in modern Chinese medical history.

In 1960, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital and Shanghai Eleventh People’s Hospital were merged and renamed Shuguang Hospital, becoming an affiliated hospital of Shanghai College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Over more than a century, the hospital has developed into one of Shanghai’s leading comprehensive TCM hospitals, with strong clinical, academic, and research capabilities.

The hospital is among the first Grade III Class A TCM hospitals recognized by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and is also a national demonstration TCM hospital. It serves as a clinical base of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Traditional Medicine.

Shuguang Hospital is also the affiliated institution of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine Medical Quality Monitoring Center for TCM hospitals and the Shanghai TCM Medical Quality Control Center. In 2001, it became the first TCM hospital in China to pass ISO9001 quality management system certification. Since 2010, the hospital has received an A-level rating 11 times in Shanghai municipal hospital president performance assessment and has ranked first four times in national Grade III public TCM hospital performance evaluations within five years.

Shuguang Hospital has distinctive traditional Chinese medicine characteristics and strong specialty advantages. It currently has 6 national clinical key specialties, including liver disease, orthopedics and traumatology, cardiovascular medicine, nephrology, endocrinology, and clinical pharmacy.

The hospital also has 14 key specialties of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 3 regional TCM diagnosis and treatment centers, 2 Ministry of Education key disciplines, 6 key disciplines of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1 high-level national TCM key discipline, and 4 Shanghai key disciplines.

Shuguang Hospital has a strong system for TCM inheritance and academic school development. It has 15 national famous TCM doctor studios, including one National TCM Master inheritance studio, 30 Shanghai municipal famous TCM doctor studios, and 30 Shuguang Hospital senior TCM academic experience inheritance studios.

The hospital has also strengthened the development of TCM academic schools, including a national academic school inheritance studio for Shi’s Traumatology and several Shanghai-style TCM school projects. It is associated with multiple Shanghai intangible cultural heritage items, including Shi’s Traumatology, Shanghai-style herbal paste formula, Xia’s Surgery, Yang’s Acupuncture, and Xu’s Pediatrics.

The hospital has 2,382 staff members, including 475 professionals with senior professional titles. It has 18 experts who have received special government allowances, 2 National Famous TCM Doctors, 1 Qihuang Scholar, 20 Shanghai Famous TCM Doctors, and many national and Shanghai-level high-level medical talents.

The hospital also has 50 doctoral supervisors and 206 master’s supervisors. Its expert system includes National TCM Master Yan Shiyun’s inheritance studio and senior experts such as Cai Gan and Shi Yinyu, supporting the hospital’s long-term talent development and clinical inheritance system.

Shuguang Hospital operates both eastern and western campuses. It has 1,550 approved beds and 1,423 open beds. In 2024, the hospital recorded 4.2 million outpatient and emergency visits, 105,400 discharged patients, 102,700 inpatient surgeries, and an average hospital stay of 4.74 days, placing its service volume among the leading Grade III general hospitals in Shanghai.

The hospital has a complete range of internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, and pediatrics departments. It established the Integrated Chinese-Western Reproductive Medicine Center in 2012 and resumed obstetrics services in 2014. It has become one of six key units in Shanghai’s public health prevention and control system and one of three emergency centers in Pudong.

The hospital is equipped with advanced medical equipment, including 3.0T MRI, 128-slice CT, dual-source CT, PET-CT, SPECT-CT, ECT, fully digital X-ray imaging systems, digital mammography systems, bone and joint imaging systems, digital subtraction angiography, O-arm systems, 3D and high-definition endoscopy systems, holmium laser surgical systems, four-dimensional color Doppler ultrasound, linear accelerators, fourth-generation da Vinci surgical robot, orthopedic surgical robot, neurosurgical navigation systems, and minimally invasive spine surgery systems.

Shuguang Hospital has China’s first laboratory automation system and advanced automated medicine dispensing and packaging systems in its pharmacy department. These technologies support precise diagnosis, efficient care pathways, and modern hospital operations.

The hospital’s liver disease discipline is nationally leading and serves as the leading unit of the national TCM liver disease clinical research alliance. In 2007, the hospital proposed the strategic goal of building a research-oriented TCM hospital. In 2017, it was officially recognized as a National TCM Clinical Research Base.

The hospital’s liver disease research institute has received 19 national and provincial or ministerial second-class or higher awards, 24 authorized patents, including one U.S. patent and one EU patent, and 4 research transformation achievements. It has published 916 papers in core journals, including 154 SCI-indexed papers.

Shuguang Clinical Medical College is one of the first clinical medical colleges among traditional Chinese medicine universities in China. The hospital undertakes teaching responsibilities for nearly 1,000 students and trainees each year, including integrated TCM programs, seven-year and five-year TCM programs, graduate students, international students, and standardized residency trainees.

The hospital also participates in international medical aid and has sent medical teams to countries such as Morocco. Relying on several national and provincial intangible cultural heritage items, it has organized one of China’s first TCM intangible cultural heritage preservation teams and promotes TCM heritage culture in schools and communities through youth service programs.

"Shuguang Hospital carries a century-long TCM tradition while advancing research-oriented medicine, modern hospital management, and the inheritance of traditional Chinese medical culture."