Peking Union Medical College Hospital: A Century of Excellence in Medical Care, Education, and Research

Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH), also known as Beijing Xiehe Hospital, stands as a beacon of medical excellence in China. Founded in 1921 by the Rockefeller Foundation, PUMCH has a rich history of pioneering medical advancements, nurturing generations of medical leaders, and providing exceptional patient care. Affiliated with both Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS), PUMCH has consistently ranked among the top academic medical centers in China for over 90 years.

Historical Overview

The seeds of PUMCH were sown in 1906 when American and British missionaries established a medical institution. Recognizing the need for advanced medical education in China, the Rockefeller Foundation established in 1913-1914 a Commission to examine medical education in China. Dr Wu Lien-teh strongly supported the establishment of a new medical college in Peking and made a number of recommendations, all of which were adopted. The China Medical Board (CMB), a subsidiary of the Rockefeller Foundation, assumed full support of the Union Medical College, having previously acquired the property on July 1, 1915.

Inspired by the Flexner Report and modeled after the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, PUMCH was reorganized in 1917, setting the foundation for modern medical education in China. The complex was designed and built as a classic Chinese architecture featuring glazed tiles, upturned eaves, carved beams, and painted rafters to add to the bright coloring. The interior was designed and decorated at the highest standards of the time to meet medical education, medical services, and medical research needs. PUMC was unparalleled in Asia for its library collection at the time. PUMCH officially opened its doors in 1921, marking a new era in Chinese medical history.

In 1951, the government of the People's Republic of China nationalized Peking Union Medical College.

PUMCH continues to honor its legacy of "three treasures": renowned professors, extensive case files, and a comprehensive library. It is committed to delivering state-of-the-art clinical care, innovative scientific research, and rigorous medical education.

Organization and Structure

Currently, PUMCH encompasses four campuses with a total construction area of 610,000 square meters. Its organizational structure comprises 58 clinical and medical technology departments and 29 national key clinical specialties. The hospital boasts a workforce of over 4,300 employees, dedicated to providing comprehensive medical services.

PUMCH is an integral part of the CAMS PUMC system, which includes 19 research institutes, 6 affiliated hospitals, and 9 schools. This integrated system combines medical care, education, and scientific research, fostering a synergistic environment for advancement. The Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) and Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) is the largest medical institution in China and has a leading high-level multidisciplinary medical research and medial service. Under the CAMS and PUMC infrastructure, there are 17 biomedical institutes and 6 large hospitals, which cover most fields of the human disease-related research.

Affiliated Hospitals

CAMS PUMC has six affiliated hospitals:

Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH)
Plastic Surgery Hospital
National Cancer Center
Cancer Hospital of CAMS/PUMC
Fuwai Hospital in Beijing
Skin Diseases Hospital in Nanjing
Blood Diseases Hospital in Tianjin

These hospitals form a comprehensive medical care system, integrating medical care, teaching and research, and offering new therapies and new techniques from time to time. Ceaseless efforts of CAMS and PUMC keep escalating the scale and capabilities of these hospitals to the present level of 4,301 beds, averaging 2.80 million outpatients, 89,013 inpatients, and 43,715 patients for operations on yearly basis.

Medical Education

PUMC has been a pioneer in medical education in China for over a century. Since its founding in 1917, PUMC has never lost its focus on comprehensive medical education on clinical medicine and nursing, and it strives to maintain that elite model. It was the first medical college in China to offer the eight-year MD program and the undergraduate nursing program. PUMC maintains six disciplines with doctorate programs, basic medicine, clinical medicine, biology, pharmacy, combination of traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine, and biomedical engineering. Under its divisions/class-2 disciplines are 49 doctorate programs and 51 master programs.

Read also: Understanding Student Unions

In 2018, PUMC initiated the 4+4 MD Program in China, attracting interdisciplinary talents who graduated from leading universities in the world. In April 2025, Peking Union Medical College in China was exposed by the media to have launched a clinical medicine doctoral training program in 2018 known as the "4+4" model, which consists of 4 years of non-medical undergraduate education followed by 4 years of medical professional education. The program uses the theory of liberal education as a justification, arguing that doctors should possess a broader knowledge base beyond medicine.

The faculty of PUMC is comprised of prestigious professors make one of the “Three PUMC Treasures.” Of the noted experts, professors and discipline leaders of rich experience, outstanding academic achievements, and contributions, there are 11 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and 15 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (one of whom is an academician for both academies), one member of the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council. There are also 77 middle-aged and young experts of outstanding contributions as recognized at national or ministry level, nine winners of the Professorship for Cheung Kong Scholar’s Program (sponsored by the Ministry of Education), and four “Excellent Talents in the New Century” as recognized by the Ministry of Education.

School of Population Medicine and Public Health

In addition to the school of medicine, The School of Population Medicine and Public Health (renamed in 2020 from the School of Public Health, originally established in 1989) is comprised of the following departments: Chronic Diseases, Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Environmental and Occupational Health, Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Geriatric Health, Vaccinology, Health Economics, and Health Laboratory Sciences. It also has four centers: Center for Public Health Research, Center for Bioethics and Policy Research, Center for Global Health, and Center for Tobacco Control. Among these, the Center for Global Health provides MPH and PhD training in global health diplomacy and health security, explores exchange and cooperation with foreign countries on strategies and policies, and undertakes national and international research projects on global health including respiratory diseases, cancer, COVID-19, and other priority areas.

Clinical Care and Specialties

PUMCH serves as a major tertiary referral center, receiving patients from across China and accommodating over 2,000 inpatient beds. The hospital is renowned for its full range of disciplines, cutting-edge technologies, and outstanding specialties. It accommodates over 10,000 outpatient visits daily.

PUMCH is designated as one of the “National Technical Guidance Center for Rare and Severe Diseases” by the Ministry of Health for its advantageous expertise, technology, and resource. In 2004, PUMCH was designated as a health care hospital for senior leaders of the state.

Read also: Credit Union in Borger

Key Departments and Services

PUMCH boasts a wide array of departments and services, including:

Internal Medicine (cardiovascular diseases)
Internal Medicine (blood diseases)
Internal Medicine (digestive diseases)
Internal Medicine (endocrinology and metabolism diseases)
Dermatology and Venereology
Image Medicine and Nuclear Medicine
Surgery (thoracic)
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Oncology
Anesthesiology
Pharmacochemistry
Microbiological and Biochemical Pharmacy
Pharmacology

The FLS team of PUMCH is mainly composed of the orthopedics department, the endocrinology department, the rehabilitation department and the radiology department. The FLS team of PUMCH is also dedicated to the nationwide promotion of Fracture Liaison Service in China.

Organ Transplantation

PUMCH's liver transplant division has a strong team of doctors trained overseas. The current director of hepatobiliary surgery is Huang Jiefu, former Deputy Minister of Health, who served as director of the China Organ Transplant Board, vice president of the Chinese Medical Association, and a visiting professor of Harvard University, Stanford University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. PhD advisor Zhong Shouxian lead the first liver transplant surgery at Union Hospital.

Biomedical Research

Biomedical ResearchA wide range of projects are undertaken across the 19 CAMS research institutes, in areas such as clinical investigation, medical biology, drug discovery, public health, biomedical informatics, and many emerging fields of biomedical science. The projects fall into three categories: 1) research on frontier science, including stem cell technology, precision medicine, and genomics; 2) long-term public health studies that support national health policies; 3) and healthcare quality standards and health management policies.

CAMS and PUMC has always attached great emphasis on the control and cure of severe diseases, as well as a series of innovative drug researches, and has made significant progress in those fields. In the past five years, 178 research results of CAMS and PUMC have been certified by competent academic authorities and received 160 awards for science research, including a first-prize winner of the National Scientific and Technological Progress Award-Studies for the Strategy, Prevention and Treatment Technique and Measures for control and elimination nationwide of leprosy. In the past five years, 10,409 papers have been published, of which 1,224 were carried on SCI. The following studies have been published on nature, nature medicine, and Lancert, respectively. CAMS and PUMC made significant contributions to the nationwide campaign against SARS outbreak in 2003, scoring major research breakthroughs in its research work to be highly commended by the state and the society, namely the “Screening and Establishment of SARS-CoV Sensitive Animal Model”, “Studies of Inactivated Vaccine for SARS”, and “Studies of SARS Pathogenic Mechanism”.

International Collaboration

CAMS PUMC is dedicated to promoting international cooperation and sharing its vision, progress, and knowledge with colleagues and friends worldwide by encouraging scientific exchange and joint training of young scientists and graduate students. CAMS PUMC have established cooperative relationships in scientific research, education, and medical practice with medical colleges and research institutions in more than 240 countries and regions. Over 250 foreign experts and scholars have been awarded the title of honorary professor or guest professor at PUMC. Among these are former China Medical Board President Buchanan Schwartz, former US President Bill Clinton, former World Health Organization Director-General Lee Jong-Wook, Thai Princess Sirindhorn, and many Nobel Prize winners. Furthermore, CAMS PUMC maintains close ties with prominent medical colleges and research institutions around the world, such as Yale University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, Oxford University, Heidelberg University, Karolinska Institute, and the US National Institutes of Health.

With the establishment the PUMCH National Center for International Exchange and Cooperation in 2021, the hospital has become a crucial player in the global medical system, facilitating high-level and substantive international cooperation and exchanges.

Current CAMS PUMCH Program Faculty

PUMCH boasts a distinguished faculty, including:

Chen Wang: Specialist in respiratory medicine and critical care medicine.
Taisheng Li: Professor and Director of Infectious Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH).
Mengtao Li: Professor of Medicine, and Director in the Department of Rheumatology at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH).
Ying-Chun Xu: Professor and former Director, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH).
Chao Ma: Professor and Chair of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology in the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, CAMS PUMC.
Youlin Qiao: Professor & Director, Center for Global Health, School of Population Medicine & Public Health, CAMS PUMC.
Fanghui Zhao: the Director of Cancer Epidemiology, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/National Cancer Center.
Ruitai Shao: Professor and Director of the Non-Communicable Diseases Department at the School of Population Medicine & Public Health, CAMS PUMC.
Xiaomei Zhai: Professor and Director of the Center for Bioethics Research at the School of Population Medicine & Public Health, CAMS PUMC.

tags: #Peking #Union #Medical #College #Hospital #history