Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Huashan Hospital: A National Flagship Discipline for Integrative Care

The Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine at Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, was founded in 1954. It was one of the earliest traditional Chinese medicine departments established in a comprehensive hospital in Shanghai. The department was founded by Professor Jiang Chunhua, a nationally renowned traditional Chinese medicine expert, and became widely known for treating ascites caused by liver cirrhosis and bronchial asthma.

In 1985, Professor Shen Ziyin established the Fudan University Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine. Taking kidney-yang deficiency syndrome as a research entry point, the institute conducted nearly half a century of research and became an important academic foundation for the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine.

After more than seven decades of development, the department has grown into a comprehensive clinical department with distinctive advantages. The discipline of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine at Huashan Hospital is a national “Double First-Class” construction discipline, a national key discipline of the Ministry of Education, and a national clinical key specialty under the National Health Commission in the field of TCM pulmonary diseases.

The department is also a key discipline of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine in TCM geriatrics, a national demonstration unit for TCM work in comprehensive hospitals, a Shanghai peak discipline, and a high-level local university construction discipline in Shanghai. In 2024, it was successfully selected as a national integrated Chinese-Western medicine “flagship” department.

The department operates across Huashan Hospital’s main campus, Jiangsu Road branch, Baoshan campus, and Hongqiao campus. It includes multiple TCM subspecialties, covering skin immune disorders, respiratory diseases, metabolic diseases, neurological diseases, oncology-related conditions, acupuncture, and massage therapy.

The department has three-level disciplines such as integrated internal medicine, oncology, geriatrics, acupuncture, massage therapy, surgery and anorectal medicine, dermatology, and gynecology. It also has 12 specialty divisions, including integrative pulmonary disease, geriatric medicine and anti-aging, metabolic disease, cardiovascular disease, oncology, brain and spinal cord disease, urinary system disease, digestive system disease, traditional Chinese medicine, TCM surgery and anorectal and skin disease, TCM gynecology, and acupuncture-massage injury care.

The department makes full use of Huashan Hospital’s strength in dermatology to provide integrated Chinese-Western treatment for skin immune diseases. Its TCM pulmonary disease discipline is a national clinical key specialty and has led the development of TCM diagnosis and treatment plans and clinical pathways for asthma in China.

The TCM geriatrics discipline is an important participating discipline in the National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases at Huashan Hospital. The department also relies on Huashan Hospital’s National Medical Center for Neurological Diseases to provide integrative treatment for neurological diseases.

The department has built a strong academic team combining senior experts, middle-aged academic leaders, and young clinical talents. It has nearly 40 staff members, including 19 professionals with senior titles. The department also includes one academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, one chief scientist of a national “973 Program” project, and two Shanghai Famous TCM Doctors.

Professor Dong Jingcheng, Professor Wang Wenjian, and Academician Shen Ziyin represent the department’s strong academic lineage. Professor Dong Jingcheng is the director of the Fudan University Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine and the department director. Professor Wang Wenjian is a Shanghai Famous TCM Doctor and a senior academic inheritor of national TCM experience. Academician Shen Ziyin made important contributions to the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine.

The department currently has 44 open beds. Its inpatient wards mainly admit patients with respiratory diseases, tumors such as lung cancer and breast cancer, postoperative urinary difficulty after prostate surgery, postoperative TCM rehabilitation needs, and difficult or complex conditions.

The department has established clinical pathways for major conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and breast cancer. It has distinctive strengths in the integrative diagnosis and treatment of common respiratory diseases, inflammatory diseases, aging and geriatric conditions, metabolic diseases, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, oncology-related conditions, digestive system diseases, urinary system diseases, and other chronic disorders.

The department offers multiple specialty clinics, including skin immune disease and hair loss clinics, respiratory disease clinics, cough and pulmonary nodule clinics, obesity and weight management clinics, lipid management clinics, thread-embedding clinics, fatty liver, gout and metabolic disease clinics, sleep disorder clinics, dizziness and headache clinics, chronic pain clinics, and acupuncture-based weight management clinics.

The department has also operated traditional paste-formula clinics for many years. These services are used in chronic disease regulation, sub-health recovery, postoperative conditioning, and preventive health support for middle-aged and older adults. Key areas include respiratory disease, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, metabolic and diabetic conditions, oncology-related care, digestive disorders, and skin immune disorders.

The department’s discipline is the core unit of Fudan University’s national key discipline in Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine. It is also affiliated with the Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine and the Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine at Fudan University.

In 2008, the department was recognized as a national demonstration unit for TCM work in comprehensive hospitals and became a key construction unit in the third phase of the “211 Project.” Its laboratory is a Level III laboratory of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In 2011, its pulmonary disease specialty became a national clinical key specialty.

The department undertakes teaching responsibilities for Fudan University Shanghai Medical College and has doctoral and master’s supervisors. As a core unit of a national Double First-Class discipline and Ministry of Education national key discipline, it has a deep foundation in talent cultivation and academic inheritance.

"The department’s strength lies in combining traditional Chinese medicine heritage with modern clinical research, multidisciplinary resources, and patient-centered integrative care."