About Us

Founded in 1906, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University is a leading Class A tertiary general hospital directly affiliated with Central South University, a national “Double First-Class” university in China. As one of China’s major centers for clinical care, medical education, scientific research, and technological innovation, Xiangya Hospital is widely recognized for its medical excellence, academic strength, and profound historical heritage.

The origin of Xiangya Hospital dates back to the early twentieth century, when the Yale-China Association was established by alumni of Yale University with the mission of promoting medical education and healthcare in China. In 1906, Dr. Edward H. Hume came to Changsha under the auspices of the Yale-China Association and founded the hospital, initially known as Yale Hospital. In 1914, the Hunan Yuqun Society and the Yale-China Association jointly established one of China’s earliest institutions of modern higher medical education, which later became Xiangya Medical College. The name “Xiangya” combines “Xiang,” an abbreviation for Hunan, and “Ya,” a transliteration of Yale.

Since its establishment, Xiangya Hospital has been built upon rigorous standards of modern medicine. From its early beginning with 14 beds in Changsha, the hospital has grown into a nationally influential medical center and has contributed significantly to the development of modern medicine in China. It has cultivated generations of distinguished medical scientists and clinicians, including pioneers who made landmark contributions to clinical medicine, microbiology, virology, and medical education.

Today, Xiangya Hospital continues to strengthen its role as a high-level public hospital integrating clinical service, education, research, prevention, management, and social responsibility. The hospital has been selected among the first group of institutions for the development of a national medical center and serves as a major platform for high-quality public hospital development and regional medical center construction.

As of 2024, Xiangya Hospital has 3,500 authorized beds, 111 clinical, medical technology departments and subspecialties, and 103 nursing units. In 2024, the hospital provided outpatient and emergency services to approximately 3.47 million patient visits, discharged 167,000 inpatients, and performed 85,000 major and medium-sized surgeries. The hospital has 7 national key disciplines and 38 national clinical key specialties or construction programs, with several specialties ranking among the leading fields in China.

Xiangya Hospital is also a major center for medical education and talent training. It has a comprehensive medical education system covering undergraduate education, postgraduate education, standardized residency training, specialist training, continuing medical education, and advanced clinical training. The hospital has been selected as one of the first national clinical teaching and training demonstration centers and is one of the founding members of China’s elite teaching hospital alliance for residency training.

In scientific research and innovation, Xiangya Hospital hosts multiple national and ministerial research platforms, including the National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, the National Engineering Research Center of Personalized Diagnostic and Therapeutic Technology, and other major innovation platforms in precision medicine, minimally invasive technology, oncology, metabolism, and translational medicine. In recent years, Xiangya researchers have published influential studies in leading international journals and contributed to the development of clinical guidelines and medical innovation.

With a strong commitment to public health, emergency medicine, medical assistance, and international collaboration, Xiangya Hospital has played an active role in national and global health initiatives. Its experience in medical education, clinical training, telemedicine, regional medical collaboration, and international cooperation provides an important foundation for supporting the development of B&R AMIS.

Standing in Changsha, a historic city with a vibrant spirit of openness and innovation, Xiangya Hospital is committed to working with international partners to promote surgical advancement, strengthen medical capacity building, and contribute to the improvement of global health.

Founded in the early 1950s, the Department of General Surgery at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University is one of the earliest established general surgery departments in New China. Over the past decades, it has developed into a nationally recognized center integrating clinical care, medical education, scientific research, surgical innovation, and academic training.

The department is a National Key Discipline under cultivation by the Ministry of Education, a National Clinical Key Specialty under the Twelfth Five-Year Plan, and one of the leading disciplines of Xiangya Hospital. It ranked 15th nationwide in the 2020 Fudan Hospital Specialty Ranking and serves as an important academic unit in Chinese surgical societies and professional associations. It is also a national training base for standardized residency training and specialist training.

At present, the department consists of 11 subspecialties, including hepatobiliary surgery, pancreatic surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, colorectal and anal surgery, vascular surgery, breast surgery, thyroid surgery, pediatric surgery, general surgery, and geriatric surgery. With 485 beds and 115 surgeons, more than 95% of whom hold doctoral degrees, the department provides high-level surgical care supported by a strong team of senior clinicians, doctoral supervisors, and academic leaders.

The department handles nearly 250,000 outpatient and emergency visits, more than 25,000 inpatient discharges, and over 10,000 surgical procedures annually. It has established strong clinical strengths in minimally invasive surgery, standardized cancer treatment, efficient management of complex and difficult cases, and the construction of surgical big-data platforms.

With a strong emphasis on subspecialty development, the department has formed distinctive “Xiangya characteristics” in several fields, including multidisciplinary treatment of liver cancer, pancreatic tumors, gastrointestinal tumors, total neoadjuvant therapy and surgery for rectal cancer, standardized treatment of thyroid and breast cancers, step-up multidisciplinary management of severe acute pancreatitis, precise treatment of intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile duct stones, and endovascular treatment of major aortic diseases.

The department also hosts and participates in a series of high-level research and innovation platforms. These include the National International Joint Research Center for Endoscopic Minimally Invasive Technology, Equipment and Standards, as well as multiple provincial and ministerial platforms in nanobiotechnology, precision diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal tumors, breast cancer, thyroid diseases, and translational surgical research.

As the academic and clinical foundation for the Belt & Road minimally invasive surgery training programs, the Department of General Surgery provides strong support in surgical expertise, teaching capacity, minimally invasive techniques, international exchange, and standardized clinical training. Through this platform, B&R AMIS aims to promote practical surgical education, technical exchange, and collaborative development among surgeons from Belt and Road partner countries.