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

If you or a loved one is living with hearing loss and considering a cochlear implant, struggling with chronic sinus disease or nasal polyps that keep coming back, or facing a tumor of the head and neck, the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Xijing Hospital (The First Affiliated Hospital of the Air Force Medical University) is one of China's leading destinations for exactly these conditions. A PLA Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Center founded in the war years and led from 1954 by the renowned Academician Jiang Sichang, it performs more than 3,200 operations a year — from otomicrosurgery and cochlear implantation to endoscopic sinus surgery and head-neck tumor care. The hospital sits in central Xi'an — the starting point of the ancient Silk Road and a key hub 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 (PLA), publicly known as Xijing Hospital.
• Level: Grade III, Class A (the highest tier) general hospital; rated A++++, the top level in the Fudan "2023 China Hospital Rankings" — the only hospital in northwest China to reach the highest tier.
• City and address: No. 127 Changle West Road, Xincheng District, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China.
• Overall strength: A large comprehensive hospital integrating care, teaching, research, prevention, and health management, covering about 430 mu (approx. 71 acres) with a built area of roughly 500,000 m² and about 3,000 authorized beds. It is home to 9 national key disciplines (14 departments), 17 national key clinical specialties, and 12 PLA medical specialty research institutes. It holds qualification for all four major organ transplant programs approved in China (heart, liver, lung, and kidney).
• Recognition: The name "Xijing Hospital" is recognized as a China Well-Known Trademark; the hospital has been named a National Top 100 Hospital and a National Trusted Demonstration Hospital.
• Location and access: Situated in Xincheng District in the central urban area of Xi'an, with convenient transport. Xi'an is the starting point of the ancient Silk Road and a key hub of the Belt and Road Initiative, with Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY) providing international connections — an advantageous position for patients from Central Asia (Russian-speaking regions), Southeast Asia, and beyond.

About the Department

• Name: Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (Chinese: 耳鼻咽喉头颈外科).
• Director: Zha Dingjun (查定军), Chief Physician, Professor, doctoral supervisor.
• History: The department was founded during the War of Resistance; in 1954 it was led by the renowned otolaryngologist Academician Jiang Sichang. It was approved as a master's discipline in 1986 and a doctoral discipline in 1993, and became a clinical postdoctoral training site in 1994. On September 1, 2006, it was formally renamed the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery.
• Scale: The department has two wards and three specialty groups, with a modern specialty clinic, operating rooms, a laboratory, a hearing center, a clinical anatomy training center, and a sleep center. It covers about 4,500 m², operates 87 beds, receives more than 60,000 outpatient visits per year, and performs over 3,200 operations annually.

Academic Standing and Accreditations

• Hospital platform: Grade III, Class A general hospital; top-level A++++ in the Fudan comprehensive rankings.
• Specialty platforms and credentials:
  • A first-class discipline of the Air Force Medical University
  • PLA Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Center
  • Shaanxi Branch of the National Clinical Research Center for Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases (unveiled June 2021)
  • Shaanxi Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ear and Throat Diseases
  • Endoscopic Otolaryngology Training Base of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association
  • National Advanced Group in Assisting the Disabled
• Rankings: Listed in the Fudan China Hospital Specialty Reputation Rankings for otolaryngology (2023 edition).

Core Technologies and Specialties

• Clinical focus: Otomicrosurgery, otoneurosurgery, cochlear implantation, skull base surgery, endoscopic sinus/nasal surgery, head and neck tumors, laryngeal microsurgery, and snoring surgery. Surgical services cover all areas of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery, with a distinctive minimally invasive approach.
• Auditory implantation: Cochlear implantation and bonebridge/auditory brainstem implantation (the first performed in western China).
• Hearing loss research and care: Deafness is the department's main research direction, covering identification and functional study of novel genes in hereditary deafness, mechanisms of noise-induced hearing loss, gene therapy for deafness, ototoxic drug-induced deafness, regeneration of cochlear and vestibular hair cells, and neural stem cell cochlear transplantation.
• Lateral skull base surgery: Microsurgery for complex lateral skull base conditions such as acoustic neuroma, jugular foramen tumors, and external auditory canal cancer.
• Minimally invasive nasal surgery: Endoscopic surgery for chronic sinusitis, nasal polyps, and sinonasal/skull base tumors.
• Throat and head-and-neck tumors: Laryngeal microsurgery, laryngeal/hypopharyngeal cancer surgery, thyroid and parotid tumor surgery, and multidisciplinary treatment of head and neck tumors.
• Snoring and sleep-disordered breathing: A sleep center providing assessment and surgical treatment.
• Audiology: A hearing center equipped with audiological testing facilities.

Main Conditions Treated

• Deafness / hearing impairment, tinnitus, vertigo
• Chronic otitis media, otosclerosis, ossicular chain malformation
• Peripheral facial palsy (facial nerve disorders)
• Lateral skull base conditions such as acoustic neuroma, jugular foramen tumors, external auditory canal cancer
• Chronic sinusitis, nasal polyps, sinonasal tumors, dacryocystitis
• Laryngeal cancer, hypopharyngeal cancer, thyroid tumors, parotid tumors
• Head and neck tumors
• Snoring / sleep-disordered breathing

Expert Team

• Zha Dingjun (Director): Chief Physician, Professor, doctoral supervisor. Standing Committee Member of the Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Branch of the Chinese Medical Association; President of the Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Branch of the Shaanxi Medical Doctor Association. His focus is deafness, tinnitus, vertigo, facial nerve disorders, lateral skull base tumors, and sleep-disordered breathing; he specializes in cochlear implantation, hearing reconstruction for chronic otitis media, acoustic neuroma, jugular foramen tumors, facial palsy, external auditory canal cancer, and head and neck tumors (parotid, thyroid, laryngeal). From 2009 to 2012 he carried out postdoctoral research at the Oregon Hearing Research Center in the United States and was the first in western China to perform bonebridge implantation. He has led 3 projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and a key Shaanxi provincial project; he has published more than 60 papers, including over 30 SCI papers in journals such as Nature Neuroscience; he has edited or co-authored 3 monographs and received a provincial Science and Technology Progress Award (Second Class).
• Qiu Jianhua: Chief Physician, Professor; Standing Committee Member of the Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Society of the Chinese Medical Association. Specializes in otomicrosurgery and otoneurosurgery, auditory implantation, and facial nerve disorders.
• Chen Xiaodong: Associate Chief Physician. Specializes in endoscopic sinus surgery, sinonasal/skull base tumors, maxillofacial trauma, and dacryocystitis; a former visiting scholar at Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania in the United States.
• Chen Yang: Associate Chief Physician, MD, master's supervisor. Specializes in otomicrosurgery and minimally invasive parotid surgery; has led multiple National Natural Science Foundation of China projects, served as chief translator of Atlas of Structures Related to the Facial Nerve, and published 11 SCI papers.
• Lin Ying: Associate Chief Physician. Specializes in vertigo, deafness, ear discharge, ear pain, ear fullness, hemifacial spasm, peripheral facial palsy, and ear malformations.
• Note: Specialist titles and clinic schedules are subject to the hospital's official daily announcements.

Address and Contact

• Address: No. 127 Changle West Road, Xincheng District, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
• Switchboard: 029-88886666 / 029-84775507 / 029-84774114; Emergency: 029-84775539 (subject to the hospital's official daily announcement)
• Website: xjwww.fmmu.edu.cn (First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University / Xijing Hospital)
• Getting there: International patients typically fly into Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY), then travel to the central urban area.

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

Considering cochlear implantation or sinus surgery? 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.