China's Top Departments: Rehabilitation Medicine at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (Guangzhou)

For readers in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and worldwide: if you or a loved one is living with dysfunction after a stroke or traumatic brain injury — trouble swallowing (including post-radiotherapy dysphagia after nasopharyngeal carcinoma), limb weakness, spasticity, or cognitive and language impairment — the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University ("Zhongshan No. 3 Hospital") in Guangzhou offers one of China's most authoritative neurological rehabilitation programs and, in particular, one of the most advanced swallowing-disorder teams in the country.

About the Hospital

The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (abbreviated as "Zhongshan No. 3 Hospital"; also known as the "Sun Yat-sen University Liver Disease Hospital") was founded in 1971 and is a large comprehensive tertiary (Class A) hospital directly administered by the National Health Commission of China. It has developed a "one body, two wings; three cities, four campuses" layout — Tianhe and Luogang (Lingnan Hospital) in Guangzhou, Yuedong (Meizhou) and Zhaoqing — with a total planned capacity of more than 7,000 beds and more than 18,000 outpatient and emergency visits per day. The hospital has received honors including the National Advanced Collective in the Fight against COVID-19 and the National Civilized Unit, and serves as an exporting institution for the development of National Regional Medical Centers. In March 2026, it was selected as one of the first batch of Guangdong Provincial International Medical Service Pilot Hospitals.

In the Fudan edition of the 2023 China Hospital Comprehensive Rankings, the hospital was rated Grade A++. It hosts 5 national-level key disciplines and 15 national key clinical specialty construction projects — including Rehabilitation Medicine — plus 13 Guangdong provincial high-level key clinical specialties.

The hospital focuses on three discipline clusters — liver disease, brain disease and immune-mediated disease. Within the brain-disease cluster, swallowing and cognitive rehabilitation enjoys an outstanding reputation in Guangdong and across South China. The main campus (including Lingnan Hospital) has 5,152 staff.

About the Department

The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine was founded in 1995. With neurological rehabilitation as its hallmark and strength, it covers rehabilitation of swallowing, cognitive, language and motor dysfunction, and its assessment and treatment of swallowing disorders and cognitive disorders are among the most advanced in China.

The department has 105 open beds across the Tianhe and Luogang (Lingnan Hospital) campuses; Luogang plans to add a second ward in 2026, bringing the total to an expected 140 beds. It currently has 168 staff, including 6 with full senior titles and 20 with associate senior titles; 5 doctoral supervisors and 14 master's supervisors; and one Chief Scientist of the National Key R&D Program, plus provincial-level leading talents. The department also hosts a Swallowing Disorders Medical Center.

Academic Standing and Accreditations

• National Key Clinical Specialty construction project unit, National Key Professional Base for Standardized Residency Training, Lead Unit of a National Key R&D Program Project, and Guangdong Provincial High-Level Key Clinical Specialty
• Training platforms: neurorehabilitation, occupational therapy and speech rehabilitation technology training bases of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) Branch of the Chinese Medical Association; the Rehabilitation Medicine Research Center, Continuing Education Training Base, Swallowing Disorders Rehabilitation Specialty Training Base and Pain Rehabilitation Specialty Training Base of the Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine (CARM)
• Academic appointments: the department is the President-Elect institution of the CMA PM&R Branch, a Vice-President institution of CARM, the chair institution of the CARM Rehabilitation Assessment Committee, the honorary chair institution of the CARM Swallowing Disorders Rehabilitation Committee, the president institution of the Guangdong Association of Rehabilitation Medicine, and the chair institution of the Rehabilitation Physicians Branch of the Guangdong Medical Doctor Association
• Specialty reputation: ranked No. 6 nationwide in Rehabilitation Medicine in the Fudan 2023 Specialty Reputation Rankings, having remained in the national top 10 for six consecutive years and first in South China for four consecutive years (it ranked No. 7 nationwide in 2021)

Core Technologies and Signature Treatments

1. Assessment and treatment of swallowing disorders — among the most advanced in China — The department pioneered standardized videofluoroscopic swallowing studies (VFSS) in China and introduced high-resolution pharyngeal manometry; it developed the catheter balloon dilation technique (for cricopharyngeal achalasia and related conditions) and pioneered the use of speaking valves for tracheostomized patients, tongue-pressure resistance training, and swallowing-respiration coordination assessment and training. It is highly experienced in fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) and in rehabilitating patients with severe, complex dysphagia such as dysphagia with tracheostomy
2. Botulinum toxin injection for muscle spasticity — among the most advanced in China — Its muscle-spasticity localization charts are widely used across the country; it pioneered ultrasound-guided botulinum toxin injection for limb spasticity, spasmodic torticollis, hemifacial spasm, sialorrhea, cricopharyngeal achalasia and inability to belch
3. Cognitive rehabilitation — A series of cognitive-assessment and memory-training software, computer-assisted cognitive training, and a VR-integrated active rehabilitation system for brain injury
4. Neurological rehabilitation — Motor impairment, muscle spasticity, cognitive impairment, language impairment and dysphagia caused by stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, encephalomyelitis and peripheral nerve injury; the department also rehabilitates voiding disorders (including external urethral sphincter balloon dilation and cystoscopic detrusor botulinum toxin injection)
5. Subspecialties — Neurological rehabilitation (including critical-care, swallowing, cognitive, speech and motor rehabilitation), pain rehabilitation, spasticity management, assessment and rehabilitation of pediatric flatfoot and adolescent scoliosis, and postpartum rehabilitation (postpartum mastitis, diastasis recti, low back pain)
6. Research strength (last 5 years) — Research funding of over RMB 30 million; 22 National Natural Science Foundation of China grants; led 1 National Key R&D Program project; 237 academic papers including 143 SCI papers (18 in the top quartile of the Chinese Academy of Sciences journal ranking, 7 with IF>10); 2 Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Progress Awards (Second Class) and 2 First Prizes of the CARM Science and Technology Award

Expert Team

• Prof. Xiquan Hu (胡昔权) — Director of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine; Second-Class Professor, Chief Physician and doctoral supervisor; Chief Scientist of a National Key R&D Program; President-Elect of the CMA PM&R Branch; Chairman of the CARM Rehabilitation Assessment Committee and of the Rehabilitation Physicians Branch of the Guangdong Medical Doctor Association. He specializes in rehabilitation of dysfunction after stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, encephalomyelitis and peripheral nerve injury, especially motor impairment, muscle spasticity and cognitive disorders
• Prof. Zulin Dou (窦祖林) — Discipline leader in rehabilitation of the hospital; Chief Physician, Professor and doctoral supervisor; Vice President of CARM, Vice Chairman of the Asian Dysphagia Society, President of the Guangdong Association of Rehabilitation Medicine and Honorary Chairman of the CARM Swallowing Disorders Rehabilitation Committee. He pioneered standardized VFSS in China, developed the catheter balloon dilation technique, and pioneered ultrasound-guided botulinum toxin injection for muscle spasticity; he is a core expert behind the Chinese Expert Consensus on the Assessment and Treatment of Dysphagia and the Chinese Guidelines for the Rehabilitation Management of Dysphagia (2023)
• Prof. Hongmei Wen (温红梅) — Deputy Director of the Department and Director of the Swallowing Disorders Medical Center; Professor, Chief Physician and doctoral supervisor; visiting scholar at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital of Harvard Medical School; Vice Chair of the CARM Swallowing Disorders Rehabilitation Committee. She has led 4 NSFC projects and published more than 80 papers, specializing in cognitive, swallowing and motor rehabilitation and skilled in FEES and high-resolution pharyngeal manometry
• Prof. Haiqing Zheng (郑海清) — Chief Physician, Professor and doctoral supervisor; specializes in spasticity assessment and ultrasound-guided type-A botulinum toxin injection
• Prof. Weihong Qiu (丘卫红) — Chief Physician and doctoral supervisor; specializes in speech and swallowing disorder rehabilitation after neurological injury
• The expert team also includes Li Kui (Chief Technologist), Zhang Liying, Wei Xiaomei, Yu Yong and Chen Xi

Conditions Treated (reference for international patients)

• Motor, cognitive, language and swallowing dysfunction after stroke or traumatic brain injury
• Spinal cord injury with neurogenic bladder or voiding disorders
• Post-radiotherapy dysphagia in nasopharyngeal carcinoma — highly prevalent in South China and Southeast Asia
• Severe, complex dysphagia: dysphagia with tracheostomy, oropharyngeal dysphagia, cricopharyngeal achalasia
• Muscle spasticity (limb spasticity, spasmodic torticollis, hemifacial spasm) and sialorrhea
• Swallowing and motor dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease
• Language disorders such as aphasia; dysfunction after peripheral nerve injury or encephalomyelitis
• Pediatric flatfoot and adolescent scoliosis assessment; postpartum rehabilitation (mastitis, diastasis recti, low back pain)

Address and Contact

• Tianhe Campus (main): No. 600 Tianhe Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou — near Gangding Station on Metro Line 3, convenient from Hong Kong West Kowloon by express rail
• Luogang Campus (Lingnan Hospital): No. 2693 Kaichuang Avenue, Huangpu District, Guangzhou
• Yuedong Campus (Yuedong Hospital): Gongyuan North Road, Meixian District, Meizhou
• Zhaoqing Campus (Zhaoqing Hospital): No. 1 Yanyang Road, Dinghu District, Zhaoqing
• Telephone: 020-85253333 (main campus); 020-82179000 (Luogang Campus)
• Website: https://www.zssy.com.cn

For related readings, see our spotlights on postpartum rehabilitation at Clifford Hospital and nasopharyngeal carcinoma at SYSUCC.

This information is compiled from the official website of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, the Fudan China Hospital Rankings and public reports. It is for reference only; the hospital's latest official information shall prevail.