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

If you need dialysis while traveling in western China, are managing a complex glomerular disease, or face a critical illness that calls for continuous blood purification, the Department of Nephrology at Xijing Hospital is one of the region's strongest destinations for exactly these needs. Established in 1991, the department was one of the earliest in China to perform hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and renal biopsy, and its blood purification center was the first in northwest China to carry out continuous blood purification, with the second-largest scale nationwide. Notably, it is the only center in Xi'an that provides hemodialysis for foreign patients, receiving several hundred international dialysis patients each year. The hospital sits in central Xi'an — the starting point of the ancient Silk Road and a key node of the Belt and Road Initiative — with convenient access 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 (publicly known as "Xijing Hospital").
• Level: Tertiary (Grade A) general hospital.
• City and address: No. 127 Changle West Road, Xincheng District, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China.
• History: Traces its origins to the Central Hospital founded in Yan'an in November 1939; in 1954 the former Fourth and Fifth Military Medical Universities merged to form the First Affiliated Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University; since October 1984 it has been publicly known as "Xijing Hospital"; in 2017 it was transferred to the Air Force.
• Honors: The name "Xijing Hospital" is recognized as a "China Well-Known Trademark" by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce; the hospital has received honors including "National Top 100 Hospitals", "National Model Hospital Trusted by the People" and "Advanced Unit of Military Hospital Construction". Its overall strength ranks among the top hospitals in China (described as "5th nationwide" in public sources).
• Scale: In 2017 the hospital recorded 3.8725 million outpatient and emergency visits, 140,300 inpatient admissions and 87,000 operations, with an average length of stay of 6.73 days. It holds national qualification for all four major organ transplantations (heart, liver, lung and kidney) and is world-leading in organ transplantation and burn care.
• Access and location: Located in the central urban area of Xi'an (Xincheng District), near Metro Line 1 and multiple bus routes. Xi'an is the starting point of the ancient Silk Road and a key node city of the "Belt and Road" initiative, offering geographic and transport advantages for visitors from Central Asia, Southeast Asia and beyond.

About the Department

• Name: Department of Nephrology.
• Founded: Established in 1991 and developed over more than two decades into a modern nephrology specialty integrating medical care, teaching and research.
• Positioning: One of the strongest nephrology departments in western China; a doctoral-degree-awarding discipline.
• Structure: Comprises outpatient clinic, inpatient wards, a blood purification center, a specialty laboratory and renal biopsy pathology diagnostics.
• Historical standing: One of the earliest departments in China to perform hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and renal biopsy; the first in northwest China to establish an integrated "clinical–pathological–laboratory" diagnostic system and a "clinical–pathological–therapeutic" treatment model for kidney disease.
• Areas of strength: Diagnosis and treatment of glomerular diseases, tubulointerstitial diseases, chronic ischemic kidney disease and renal insufficiency.

Academic Standing and Recognition

• Discipline status: Doctoral-degree-awarding discipline; host of the Shaanxi Provincial Clinical Medical Research Center for Kidney Disease.
• Blood purification center: Established in 2004, integrating hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, continuous blood purification and patient education; the first center in northwest China to carry out continuous blood purification, with the second-largest scale nationwide; one of the largest and most advanced blood purification centers in northwest China.
• International service: The only center in Xi'an that provides hemodialysis for foreign patients, receiving several hundred dialysis patients each year from Japan, Taiwan and other regions who are traveling or visiting family.
• Academic resources: In 2003 the center appointed the renowned international nephrologists Academicians Li Leishi and Liu Zhihong as honorary/visiting professors; leading hemodialysis expert Professor Ji Daxi and peritoneal dialysis expert Professor Wang Tao have provided on-site guidance on multiple occasions.

Core Technologies and Signature Conditions

• Hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis: One of the earliest departments in China to perform these procedures, with a cumulative total of nearly 100,000 dialysis treatments.
• Continuous blood purification (CRRT and others): First in northwest China, second-largest scale nationwide; used for critical conditions such as severe acute/chronic renal failure, severe pancreatitis, crush syndrome, hepatic coma and post-transplant care (heart/liver), with a rescue success rate above 60% (cumulative treatment of more than 1,000 drug-poisoning cases and participation in the rescue of nearly 400 critical cases, over 1,000 sessions).
• Advanced blood purification techniques: Plasma exchange, plasma dialysis, immunoadsorption and lipid clearance, at nationally leading levels.
• Renal biopsy pathology diagnostics: An integrated clinical–pathological–therapeutic approach supported by a specialty laboratory and pathological diagnostic system.
• Signature conditions: Glomerular diseases (primary/secondary), tubulointerstitial diseases, chronic ischemic kidney disease, acute/chronic renal insufficiency, refractory nephropathy and lupus nephritis.

Expert Team

• Sun Shiren: Professor, Chief Physician and doctoral supervisor; visiting scholar at the Mayo Clinic (USA); Director of the Department of Nephrology at the First Affiliated Hospital of the Air Force Medical University (Xijing Hospital); a "Leading Talent in Scientific and Technological Innovation of Shaanxi Province" and a "High-Level Air Force Talent". He currently serves as Standing Committee Member of the World Chinese Nephrologists Association, Chairman of the Integrated Nephrology Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, Standing Committee Member of the Nephrology Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, Vice Chairman of the PLA Society of Nephrology, President of the Shaanxi Provincial Medical Doctor Association Nephrology Branch, and Chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial Society of Nephrology. He has led 5 National Natural Science Foundation projects, is an academic backbone of the "973" program, and won the First Prize of the Shaanxi Provincial Science and Technology Award as first contributor; he has published more than 100 SCI papers as first/corresponding author in journals including JASN, Kidney International, Theranostics and Intensive Care Medicine. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms and prevention of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the mechanisms and intervention of severe acute kidney injury (AKI).
• The department has several professors and a professional team in which 90% of the core series hold doctoral or master's degrees; the blood purification center has more than 30 staff members.
• Note: Titles and clinic schedules are subject to the hospital's and official platforms' daily announcements.

Suitable Conditions

• Primary/secondary glomerular diseases (including IgA nephropathy, membranous nephropathy, lupus nephritis)
• Tubulointerstitial diseases
• Chronic ischemic kidney disease
• Acute/chronic renal insufficiency and uremia (requiring hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis)
• Severe acute kidney injury (AKI) and multi-organ dysfunction requiring continuous blood purification
• Drug poisoning and other conditions requiring blood purification rescue
• Refractory nephropathy requiring renal biopsy for pathological diagnosis

Address and Contact

• Address: No. 127 Changle West Road, Xincheng District, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
• Main switchboard: 029-84774114 (published on the Air Force Medical University's official website); other public sources list 029-88886666 and 029-84775507 (subject to the hospital's daily announcements)
• 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 Nephrology department page.

Need dialysis or kidney-disease care while 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 scheduling and follow-up.