China's Top Departments: Pediatrics at Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
The founding department of Xinhua Hospital and a cradle of pediatric talent in China. A National Key Discipline with over 700,000 outpatient and emergency visits annually, Xinhua Pediatrics built a full-life-cycle congenital heart disease care pathway and completed Asia's first single-center fetal aortic valvuloplasty in utero (2018).
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Short answer:The founding department of Xinhua Hospital and a cradle of pediatric talent in China. A National Key Discipline with over 700,000 outpatient and emergency visits annually, Xinhua Pediatrics built a full-life-cycle congenital heart disease care pathway and completed Asia's first single-center fetal aortic valvuloplasty in utero (2018).
Key points
- Founding Department (1955) — A Cradle of Chinese Pediatrics
- National Key Discipline · Top 8 Nationwide (Reputation)
- 700,000+ Outpatient & ER Visits Annually · ICU Survival >95%
- Asia's First Single-Center Fetal Aortic Valvuloplasty (2018)
If your child needs pediatric care — from congenital heart disease and neonatal critical care to pediatric surgery, respiratory illness, or developmental concerns — the Department of Pediatrics at Xinhua Hospital is a cradle of pediatric talent in China.
The Department of Pediatrics is the founding department of Xinhua Hospital. Established in 1958, Xinhua Hospital is the first comprehensive hospital independently designed and built by Shanghai since the founding of the People's Republic of China. As the only Grade-A tertiary comprehensive hospital in Shanghai operating both perinatal services and a complete range of pediatric subspecialties, Xinhua Pediatrics has developed into a high-level system integrating clinical care, teaching, and research.
In the 1950s, the Chinese pediatrics community spoke of "Gao in the south, Zhu in the north" — referring to Xinhua's founding chair Gao Jinglang and Zhu Futang, founder of Beijing Children's Hospital.
At Medora, we help international families navigate Xinhua's pediatrics team. Here's what you need to know.
Discipline Status
- National Key Discipline
- Ministry of Education "211 Project" key discipline
- Shanghai Municipal Education Commission key discipline
- National Clinical Key Specialties: Pediatric Surgery, Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, TCM Pediatrics, and others
- Ranks among the top 8 nationwide in the Best Specialty Reputation Rankings (leading in East China)
History
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1955 | Department of Pediatrics of Shanghai Second Medical College founded — the earliest pediatrics department in China — with Gao Jinglang as first chair |
| 1958 | Department moved in its entirety to the newly built Xinhua Hospital |
| 1960s+ | Led the establishment of subspecialties: pediatric surgery, orthopedics, urology, cardiology, neurosurgery, internal medicine, and neonatology |
Expert Team
| Expert | Title / Role | Profile |
|---|---|---|
| Sun Kun | President of Xinhua Hospital & Xinhua Children's Hospital; Dean of the School of Pediatrics, SJTU | National Second-Class Professor, Chief Physician, doctoral supervisor; academic leader in pediatric cardiovascular medicine |
| Cai Wei | Second-Class Professor of SJTU; Chief Physician, doctoral supervisor in pediatric surgery | Director of the Shanghai Institute for Pediatric Research; head of the National Clinical Key Specialty in Pediatric Surgery |
| Chen Sun | Chief Physician, doctoral supervisor | Director of the Children's Heart Center |
| Lu Ya'nan | MD, Chief Physician | Co-Director of the Children's Heart Center; personally performed over 5,000 congenital heart disease surgeries |
| Zhu Jianxing | Chief Physician in neonatology | Former Chair of the Perinatal Medicine Branch, Chinese Medical Association (2017–2019) |
| Li Fei | Director of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics | Vice President of Xinhua Children's Hospital |
The pediatric internal medicine division has 162 beds and 100+ specialist physicians, of whom 33% hold senior professional titles and 71% hold graduate degrees.
Core Strengths & Technologies
Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)
- Founded in the 1970s — one of China's earliest CHD clinical specialties
- Full-life-cycle CHD care pathway spanning fetal, perinatal, infant, child, and adult stages — a complete chain very few hospitals in China can deliver
Fetal Cardiac Intervention (FCI)
- In 2018, completed Asia's first single-center fetal aortic valvuloplasty (balloon dilation) performed in utero
Critical Neonatal Care
- Among the first in China to introduce neonatal intensive care and mechanical ventilation
- First to propose neonatal transport and neonatal rescue center models
Pediatric Surgery
- Diagnosis and treatment of Hirschsprung's disease
- Air enema reduction for intussusception — a major Chinese contribution to global pediatric surgery
- Pioneered "delivery-room surgery" with nearly 200 cases completed
- Successful separation of conjoined twins in 1982
Nutritional Support for Critically Ill Newborns
- Cai Wei's team developed China's first pediatric-specific intravenous amino acid formulation
- First internationally to define the appropriate energy requirement for nutritional support in critically ill newborns
Pediatric Internal Medicine Subspecialties
- Respiratory, neurology, emergency/critical care, nephrology, hematology, rheumatology/immunology, gastroenterology, and infectious diseases
- Cardiac catheterization, bronchoscopy, pulmonary function testing, neuroelectrophysiology, digestive endoscopy, and blood purification (CRRT)
"First 1,000 Days Program"
- Launched in 2015, focusing on the first 1,000 days of life to explore the origins of major developmental diseases and early intervention
Scale & Honors
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Annual outpatient & emergency visits (pediatric internal medicine) | 700,000+ |
| ICU critical-care survival rate | Above 95% |
| National Clinical Key Specialty construction projects | 10 |
| Provincial/ministerial-level diagnosis and rescue centers | 9 |
Multiple National Science and Technology Progress Awards (Second Class), including research on childhood lead poisoning, newborn hearing screening, and the impact of sleep on child development.
Key Platforms & Centers
- Neonatal Screening and Inherited Metabolic Diseases Division, China Genetic Medicine Center, Ministry of Health
- Shanghai Clinical Medical Center for Pediatric Surgery
- Shanghai Critical Maternal Rescue Center and Shanghai Critical Newborn Rescue Center
- Shanghai Prenatal Diagnosis Center
- Shanghai Neonatal Congenital Heart Disease Screening and Treatment Center
- Shanghai Children's Rare Disease Center
Address & Contact
- Yangpu Campus: 1665 Kongjiang Road, Shanghai 200092
- Fengxian Campus: 6688 Oriental Beauty Valley Avenue, Fengxian District, Shanghai 201400
- Switchboard: (86) 021-2507 8999
Shanghai is China's largest city with two international airports (Pudong PVG and Hongqiao SHA), excellent global connectivity, and world-class hospitality infrastructure.
This guide is prepared for an international audience. If you need assistance with medical consultation, appointment booking, or travel arrangements to Xinhua Hospital's Pediatrics Department, contact Medora for personalized support.
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