China's Top Departments: Gastroenterology at Xijing Hospital (Air Force Medical University)

If you need advanced endoscopic treatment for early gastric cancer, achalasia, IBD or cirrhosis complications, the Department of Gastroenterology at Xijing Hospital — the Xijing Digestive Disease Hospital — is one of China's most established digestive disease centers. It is a first-batch national key discipline, leads the National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases under CAE Academician Fan Daiming, and operates within a Class A tertiary hospital holding the top A++++ rating in the Fudan China Hospital Ranking. Located in Xi'an — the starting point of the ancient Silk Road and a key Belt and Road hub — the hospital is especially convenient for patients traveling from Central Asia, Southeast Asia and beyond.

About the Hospital

• Full name: The First Affiliated Hospital of the Air Force Medical University of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (widely known as "Xijing Hospital").
• Grade: Class A tertiary (highest tier) general hospital; rated A++++, the top rating in the Fudan Institute of Hospital Management's China Hospital Ranking.
• Location: No. 127 Changle West Road, Xincheng District, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China.
• History: Its origins trace to the Central Hospital founded in Yan'an in November 1939; in 1954 the affiliated hospitals of the former Fourth and Fifth Military Medical Universities merged to form the First Affiliated Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University; it has used the name "Xijing Hospital" publicly since October 1984 and transferred to the Air Force in 2017.
• Standing: Public materials describe the hospital as consistently ranked among China's leading hospitals, holding the top A++++ rating in the Fudan China Hospital Ranking and standing at a leading level internationally in fields such as organ transplantation and burns.
• Access and location: Situated in Xi'an's central Xincheng District, close to Metro Line 1 and multiple bus routes, and a short distance from Xi'an Railway Station. Xi'an is the starting point of the ancient Silk Road and a key node of the Belt and Road Initiative, offering geographical and connectivity advantages for patients from Central Asia, Southeast Asia and beyond.

About the Department

• Department: Department of Gastroenterology (Xijing Digestive Disease Hospital).
• Profile: Xijing Digestive Disease Hospital is a dedicated digestive-disease hospital integrating outpatient and emergency services, inpatient wards, an endoscopy center, an interventional center, a digestive ICU, GI pathology, a digestive ultrasound center, a GI motility laboratory, a stem-cell transplantation unit, an artificial liver support unit, and a national drug clinical trial base.
• Heritage: Public materials indicate a long-standing specialty with an early start, making it one of the earliest centers in China and in the military medical system to develop digestive disease care and GI endoscopy.

Academic Standing and Accreditation

• National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases: According to the center's official website, the center is led by Xijing Digestive Disease Hospital in collaboration with 24 core institutions (including Peking University People's Hospital) and more than 200 partner institutions nationwide, forming a "three-tier platform network" for clinical research in digestive diseases. Its director is Academician Fan Daiming of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
• National key discipline and national key clinical specialty: Gastroenterology is described as among the first batch of national key disciplines (digestive diseases) and a national key clinical specialty, based on public materials.
• Military and provincial platforms: Former Lanzhou Military Region Digestive Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center; Shaanxi Provincial Gastrointestinal Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center.
• Reputation: The gastroenterology specialty has long ranked among the top in China in the Fudan China Hospital Specialty Reputation Ranking.

Core Techniques and Specialties

• Minimally invasive GI endoscopy: ESD (endoscopic submucosal dissection), EMR (endoscopic mucosal resection), endoscopic resection of submucosal tumors, and POEM (peroral endoscopic myotomy for achalasia).
• Endoscopic management of biliary and pancreatic diseases: ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) for diagnosis and treatment.
• Early GI cancer and precancerous lesions: high-definition diagnostic endoscopy, magnifying and chromoendoscopy, confocal laser endomicroscopy, and AI-assisted diagnosis.
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD): standardized management of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
• Chronic liver disease and complications of cirrhosis: endoscopic variceal ligation, sclerotherapy and tissue-glue injection for esophagogastric variceal bleeding, management of liver failure, and artificial liver support.
• Digestive tract tumors: comprehensive care and interventional treatment for gastric cancer and other GI tumors.
• Functional GI disorders and GI motility disorders (the department maintains a GI motility laboratory).
• Holistic integrative medicine: an approach advocated by Academician Fan Daiming and a signature research direction of the center.

Expert Team

• Fan Daiming: Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and foreign member of the U.S., French and Brazilian national academies of medicine; Director of the National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases; a specialist in gastroenterology and oncology with long-term research in digestive diseases and tumors.
• Wu Kaichun: Gastroenterologist and Deputy Director of the National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases; expertise in inflammatory bowel disease, GI tumors and complex digestive diseases.
• Han Ying: Gastroenterologist with expertise in the standardized management of liver diseases, including autoimmune liver disease, viral liver disease, severe hepatitis and cirrhosis.
• Nie Yongzhan: Distinguished Professor of the Changjiang Scholars Program; expertise in GI tumors, targeted and immunotherapy for precancerous and advanced tumors, and neuroendocrine tumors.
• Shi Yongquan, Zhou Xinmin, Guo Xuegang, Han Guohong and others: specialists in GI tumors, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, GI endoscopy and endoscopic treatment of biliary and pancreatic diseases, and interventional treatment of hepatobiliary and pancreatic tumors.

Conditions Suited to This Department

• Early GI cancer and precancerous lesions (stomach, esophagus, colorectum)
• Biliary and pancreatic diseases (common bile duct stones, bile duct strictures, chronic pancreatitis, etc.)
• Inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease)
• Chronic liver disease, cirrhosis and its complications (variceal bleeding, ascites), liver failure
• GI bleeding, peptic ulcer, Helicobacter pylori infection
• Comprehensive care of GI tumors (e.g. gastric cancer)
• Functional GI disorders and GI motility disorders

Address and Contact Information

• Address: No. 127 Changle West Road, Xincheng District, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
• Switchboard: +86-29-88886666 / +86-29-84774114 (subject to the hospital's official daily announcement)
• Website: xjwww.fmmu.edu.cn (First Affiliated Hospital of the Air Force Medical University / Xijing Hospital)

For a quick overview of the department, see the Xijing Hospital Gastroenterology department page.

Ready to explore digestive disease care in Xi'an? Contact Medora for a free, personalized consultation. We'll review your condition, connect you with the right specialist team, and coordinate your entire journey — from medical record translation to treatment and follow-up.