China's Top Departments: Acupuncture & Tuina at Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine

If you live with chronic neck, shoulder or lower-back pain, are recovering from a stroke, or struggle with insomnia or chronic fatigue, non-drug TCM therapies such as acupuncture and tuina (Chinese therapeutic massage) are often worth exploring — and few places in China practice them at the scale and level of the Department of Acupuncture & Tuina at Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, a Grade-A tertiary integrated TCM-Western hospital in Shanghai.

Hospital Overview

• Full name: Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Affiliated with Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
• Level & type: Grade-A Tertiary (san jia) hospital of integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine; a national key hospital of integrated TCM-Western medicine; a National Civilized Unit (6th session) and winner of the Shanghai Civilized Unit title for thirteen consecutive sessions
• History: Its predecessor, the "No. 5 Publicly Funded Medical Clinic of Shanghai," was founded in 1952 as the first TCM medical institution established by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government after the founding of New China, and is known as the "cradle of famous Shanghai TCM physicians." In January 1976, the No. 5 Publicly Funded Medical Clinic, the Tuina Clinic of Shanghai College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the Nanchang Road New Acupuncture Clinic merged to form Yueyang Hospital. In 1998 the hospital was transformed from a TCM hospital into a hospital of integrated TCM-Western medicine; in January 2002 it merged with the Shanghai Institute of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Meridians.
• Campus layout ("one body, two wings"):
  • Ganhe Road main campus: No. 110 Ganhe Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai (200437)
  • Qinghai Road Famous Physicians Clinic: No. 44 Qinghai Road, Jing'an District, Shanghai (200041)
  • Shanghai Institute of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Meridians: No. 650 Wanping South Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai (200030)
  • Songjiang campus: construction started in 2025; Phase I has 600 beds, expected completion in 2028
• Platform standing: Selected as a National TCM Heritage and Innovation Center, a national regional medical center exporting institution, a pilot project unit for the national "flagship" integrated TCM-Western medicine hospital, a founding unit for the National Medical Center (TCM category), and a National TCM Rehabilitation Center. It is also the supporting institution of the National Acupuncture Anesthesia Clinical Research Alliance. The hospital is the only national TCM clinical research base in China featuring non-pharmacological therapies such as acupuncture, tuina and rehabilitation.
• Cultural heritage: The hospital holds national-level intangible cultural heritage items including Zhu's gynecology therapy, Ding's tuina therapy and Lu's acupuncture therapy — 3 national-level and 7 Shanghai municipal-level intangible cultural heritage projects in total.

Department Name and Level

• Department: Department of Acupuncture & Tuina (comprising Acupuncture Department I and the Tuina Department)
• Academic recognition:
  • The Acupuncture Department is a National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (NATCM) key specialty for the "11th Five-Year Plan" and "12th Five-Year Plan" periods, was selected as a national key (cultivation) discipline in 2007, and as a Shanghai key construction project in 2008.
  • The Tuina Department is the National Tuina Medical Center, a national key TCM specialty, an NATCM Regional TCM Diagnosis and Treatment Center, and the lead institution for a national pilot program of integrated TCM-Western medicine clinical collaboration on major and intractable diseases.
  • Acupuncture and tuina is one of Shanghai's clinical medical centers.
• Supporting platforms: The department draws on the Tuina Research Institute of the Shanghai Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Shanghai Institute of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Meridians (founded in 1958, one of the earliest institutes of its kind in China), and the Tuina Teaching Section of the Yueyang Clinical Medical College. The hospital is also home to a WHO Shanghai International Standardized Clinical Training Base for Acupuncture and Tuina.

Historical Evolution

• In 1952, the Shanghai Municipal People's Government assembled renowned TCM physicians from Shanghai and beyond to establish the city's first TCM medical institution, the No. 5 Publicly Funded Medical Clinic. Its acupuncture masters included Gu Kunyi, Lu Shouyan, Yang Yongxuan and Huang Xianming, and the clinic became known as the birthplace and cradle of famous TCM physicians.
• In January 1976, the No. 5 Publicly Funded Medical Clinic, the Tuina Clinic of Shanghai College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the Nanchang Road New Acupuncture Clinic merged to form Yueyang Hospital.
• In 1998 the hospital was transformed from a TCM hospital into a hospital of integrated TCM-Western medicine; in January 2002 it merged with the Shanghai Institute of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Meridians, forming a discipline profile distinctive for non-pharmacological therapies.

Expert Team

• Dong Guirong, Chief Physician: stroke, brain disorders, facial palsy, spinal cord diseases, insomnia, migraine.
• Zhang Guibo, Chief Physician: acupuncture for neck, shoulder, lower-back and leg pain, stroke, facial palsy and other internal medicine conditions.
• Bao Chunling, Chief Physician: the "Yin-Yang Balancing Needling Method" for chronic fatigue syndrome, insomnia and stroke.
• Zhang Chunyan, Chief Physician: long-term clinical practice in acupuncture for gynecological diseases.
• Zong Lei, Chief Physician: acupuncture for fundus diseases, Parkinson's disease, insomnia and various intractable conditions.
• Shen Guoquan, Chief Physician: Second-tier Professor, doctoral supervisor, Famous Shanghai TCM Physician, fourth-generation inheritor of the Ding's Tuina school, State Council special-allowance expert, and discipline leader of tuina at Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine; founder of the "spinal micro-adjustment technique system" and author of Theory and Practice of Spinal Tuina.
• Jin Yicheng, Chief Physician: pediatric tuina for congenital torticollis, asthma, malnutrition and diarrhea; founder of "Shanghai-style pediatric tuina."
• Other core experts include Gu Kan, Wang Jingxiao (inheritor of the Shanghai municipal intangible cultural heritage "Yang's Acupuncture" school), Zhang Qian, Jiao Zhihua, Fan Xiaopeng, Chen Yiyi, Gu Fei, Zhang Qinming and Yao Fei.

Core Strengths and Techniques

• Signature acupuncture techniques (26 in total): filiform needling, cutaneous needling, long (mang) needling, catgut embedding, electroacupuncture, cupping, vacuum cupping, moxibustion, and more.
• Scope of acupuncture treatment: Acupuncture can treat or participate in treating more than 460 conditions, with clearly demonstrated advantages in over 100 of them, particularly for pain relief and restoration of system function.
• Priority conditions for acupuncture: stroke and post-stroke sequelae, facial palsy, brain disorders, spinal cord diseases, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, migraine, neck-shoulder-lower-back-leg pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, and gynecological conditions (menstrual irregularity, perimenopausal syndrome).
• Signature tuina techniques: The spinal tuina sub-specialty follows the treatment philosophy of "treating both sinew and bone, with priority to the sinew," using Ding's tuina therapy combined with spinal micro-adjustment techniques; short-lever micro-adjustment manipulation treats cervical disc herniation, cervical vertigo, atlantoaxial subluxation, adolescent scoliosis, lumbar disc herniation, lumbar spondylolisthesis and sacroiliac subluxation; pediatric tuina treats congenital torticollis, asthma, malnutrition and diarrhea.
• School inheritance: Ding's tuina school (including the one-finger Zen tuina and rolling-method tuina schools), Lu's acupuncture therapy (national-level intangible cultural heritage), Yang's acupuncture (Shanghai municipal-level intangible cultural heritage), and Shanghai-style pediatric tuina.

Research Achievements

• The acupuncture specialty has led 2 national "973 Program" projects; over the past five years it has undertaken 19 National Natural Science Foundation of China projects and received a National Science and Technology Progress Award (second class), among others.
• The hospital has built research platforms including the Institute of Integrated TCM-Western Medicine Clinical Research, the Tuina Research Institute, the Institute of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Meridians, and the Shanghai Acupuncture Clinical Medical Research Center. It is home to 1 National Master of TCM, 3 person-times of "973" chief scientists, 3 Qihuang Scholars, 5 Young Qihuang Scholars, and 21 Famous Shanghai TCM Physicians.

International Engagement

• The hospital hosts a WHO Shanghai International Standardized Clinical Training Base for Acupuncture and Tuina, training nearly 200 overseas physicians annually.
• It has established friendly cooperation with medical institutions in France, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Australia, and led the development of the INOVA TCM Center in the United States, the Mauritius TCM Center and the Morocco TCM Center. The China–Mauritius TCM Center project pioneered a model combining acupuncture and medication.

Addresses and Contact

• Ganhe Road main campus: No. 110 Ganhe Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai (200437); switchboard 021-65161782
• Qinghai Road Famous Physicians Clinic: No. 44 Qinghai Road, Jing'an District, Shanghai (200041); switchboard 021-62536300
• Shanghai Institute of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Meridians: No. 650 Wanping South Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai (200030); switchboard 021-64382190
• Website: https://www.shyueyanghospital.com/

For a quick overview of the department, see the Yueyang Hospital Acupuncture & Tuina department page.

Curious whether acupuncture or tuina could help your condition? Contact Medora for a free, personalized consultation and we'll help you plan your treatment journey in China.