China's Top Departments: Fundus Diseases at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University

If you are facing retinal detachment, wet age-related macular degeneration or advanced diabetic retinopathy, the Department of Fundus Diseases at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University is arguably China's strongest destination for vitreoretinal care. The center has ranked No. 1 nationwide in ophthalmology reputation for many consecutive years in the Fudan Edition of the China Hospital Rankings, and in 2024 the Nature Index ranked it first in the world among eye-named institutions in both Health Sciences and Life Sciences. Its fundus disease department — the largest and technically leading fundus surgery specialty in China — handles over 80,000 outpatient visits per year and, in November 2025, completed the world's first remote robotic subretinal injection across 4,200 km.

Hospital Overview

Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University (ZOC), also known as the Affiliated Eye Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, is China's largest public eye hospital and its strongest in overall strength, and the only eye specialty hospital directly under the National Health Commission. Its roots trace back to 1835, when the Ophthalmic Missionary Hospital — China's earliest Western-style hospital — was founded. In 1965, Professors Chen Yaozhen and Mao Wenshu established China's first university-affiliated eye hospital; in 1995 it became the first Grade 3A (tertiary, class A) eye hospital in China. The Center has ranked No. 1 nationwide in ophthalmology reputation for many consecutive years in the Fudan Edition of the China Hospital Rankings (No. 1 in the 2023 specialty ranking, overall grade A+), and in 2024 the Nature Index ranked it first in the world among eye-named institutions in both Health Sciences and Life Sciences.

• Grade: Grade 3A specialized eye hospital; No. 1 in China for ophthalmology reputation in the Fudan rankings; No. 1 globally among eye institutions (Health & Life Sciences) in the 2024 Nature Index
• Academic platforms: host of China's only national key laboratory in ophthalmology (the National Key Laboratory for Eye Disease Prevention and Treatment) and one of China's first national key disciplines in ophthalmology; China's only WHO Collaborating Centre for Eye Health and Vision; China's only headquarters of an international medical academic organization (permanent headquarters of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology, APAO, and the Asian office of the Afro-Asian Council of Ophthalmology, AACO); member of the China–UK–US national eye research alliance
• Research highlights: 11 national science and technology awards since 1978; landmark results include functional lens regeneration (Nature 2016), the ophthalmic AI system (Nature Medicine 2022/2023), myopia prevention in children (JAMA 2015), a change in glaucoma prevention strategy (Lancet 2019), and gut bacteria mediating inherited retinal disease (Cell 2024)
• Scale: about 1,388 staff and 508 approved beds (public data); in 2018 outpatient visits exceeded 1.13 million, surgeries over 78,000, with an average length of stay of 1.5 days
• Addresses: Quzhuang Campus (main) — 54 Xianlie South Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou; Zhujiang New Town Campus — 7 Jinsui Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou
• Access: the Quzhuang Campus is near Quzhuang Station on Metro Lines 5 and 6; the Zhujiang New Town Campus is close to the Metro Line 10 Yangjidong area. Guangzhou is a core city of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area; Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport serves international and Southeast Asian routes, and the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong high-speed rail links to Hong Kong West Kowloon, making travel convenient for patients from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas
• International services: the Center provides an "International Medical Service" and a "Special Needs Medical Department," with an English website and a dedicated international liaison email ([email protected]). As the WHO Collaborating Centre for Eye Health and Vision, it has long supported China's medical aid missions abroad and helped build a modern eye center in the Maldives, with global reach and influence

Department Overview

The Department of Fundus Diseases (the Fundus Disease Specialty, historically the "Fundus Disease Treatment Center") is one of the earliest bases in China to perform modern vitreoretinal surgery. After decades of development it has become the largest and technically leading fundus surgery specialty in China. The department has built complete clinical platforms spanning fundus surgery, medical (drug) therapy, imaging and electrophysiology, laser therapy, intraocular targeted-drug (intravitreal injection) therapy, and neuro-ophthalmology, and hosts China's first dedicated vitreoretinal laboratory. It is both a leading national center for difficult fundus cases and a key national training base for advanced fundus specialists.

• Academic standing: the parent ophthalmology discipline is a National Key Clinical Specialty; fundus disease is a traditional strength of the Center; the largest and technically leading fundus surgery specialty in China
• Patient sources: at the Quzhuang Campus the department sees over 80,000 outpatient visits per year, over 40,000 eye-visits of angiography and related imaging, and nearly 10,000 eye-visits of laser treatment; patients come from 32 provinces and cities across China as well as Europe, the Americas, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan
• Clinical platforms: fundus surgery, medical therapy, imaging and electrophysiology, laser therapy, intraocular targeted-drug therapy, and neuro-ophthalmology

Academic Standing and Accreditation

• A traditional strength subspecialty of the National Key Clinical Specialty (ophthalmology)
• One of the earliest bases in China for modern vitreoretinal surgery; now the largest and technically leading fundus surgery specialty in China
• No. 1 in China in ophthalmology: the Center has ranked No. 1 nationwide for years in the Fudan Edition of the China Hospital Rankings
• No. 1 in the world: in the 2024 Nature Index, among eye-named institutions worldwide, the Center ranked first in both Health Sciences and Life Sciences
• National research platform: relies on China's only national key laboratory in ophthalmology (National Key Laboratory for Eye Disease Prevention and Treatment); hosts China's first dedicated vitreoretinal laboratory
• International standing: China's only WHO Collaborating Centre for Eye Health and Vision; host of the permanent headquarters of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology; Asian office of the Afro-Asian Council of Ophthalmology
• Landmark achievements: the core research "Pathogenesis and Clinical Series Study of Refractory Fundus Diseases" won the First Prize of the Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award; in November 2025 the Center took part in the world's first remote robotic subretinal injection performed across 4,200 km

Core Technologies

1. Minimally invasive vitreoretinal surgery (core strength)
   • One of China's earliest bases for modern vitreoretinal surgery, pioneering minimally invasive vitrectomy, releasable encircling, scleral buckling and macular banding. Vitrectomy techniques precisely remove lesions and repair intraocular tissue, preserving the globe and visual function to the greatest extent possible
2. Standardized and emergency management of retinal detachment
   • Surgery for all types of retinal detachment (rhegmatogenous, tractional, complex); in 2022 the department pioneered the "Fresh Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment Green Channel" in China, led the formation of a green-channel alliance, and helped draft the group standard Emergency Management Protocol for Fresh Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment
3. Precision diagnosis and treatment of macular disease
   • Age-related macular degeneration, macular hole, epiretinal membrane, macular edema, subretinal hemorrhage and more; internal limiting membrane peeling, macular surgery and subretinal injection (with robotic surgical control system assistance)
4. Diabetic retinopathy
   • Combined drug, laser and surgical treatment; anti-VEGF intravitreal injection and minimally invasive vitreoretinal surgery
5. Medical retina and intraocular targeted-drug therapy
   • Anti-VEGF intravitreal injections and various intraocular/periocular injections; combined regimens of drugs, laser and surgery
6. Fundus laser and photodynamic therapy
   • Fundus laser, multi-wavelength laser, laser treatment of neovascular AMD and photodynamic therapy (PDT)
7. Imaging and functional diagnostics
   • Precise diagnostic technologies including fundus OCT/OCTA, fundus fluorescein/ICG angiography (FFA/ICG), ocular ultrasound, and visual electrophysiology (including multifocal)
8. Pathologic myopia fundus disease, intraocular tumors, and complex congenital eye disease
   • Pathologic myopia retinopathy, retinal and choroidal vascular diseases, intraocular tumors, and complex congenital fundus disease — diagnosis and treatment at an internationally advanced level
9. Remote and intelligent surgical innovation
   • In November 2025, using its self-developed domestic 5G ophthalmic surgical robot as the core platform, the Center completed the world's first remote robotic subretinal injection across 4,200 km, achieving remote micron-precision intraocular manipulation
10. Day-surgery model
    • One of the first in China to introduce day surgery and open an all-day-surgery ward; the experience was featured by Health News and promoted nationwide by the National Health Commission

Expert Team

• Prof. Ma Jin: Chief Physician; Director of the Department of Fundus Diseases, Quzhuang Campus; skilled in internal limiting membrane peeling, phacoemulsification cataract surgery, orbital plastic surgery and optic canal decompression; member of the Ophthalmology Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association
• Prof. Lü Lin: Chief Physician; skilled in vitreous surgery for complex retinal detachment, retinotomy and retinectomy, surgery for diabetic retinopathy, macular surgery, and research on age-related macular degeneration; took part in the world's first remote robotic subretinal injection
• Prof. Zhang Shaochong: Chief Physician; skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of fundus diseases and surgery for various types of retinal detachment
• Prof. Wen Feng: Chief Physician; skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of fundus diseases, with particular expertise in macular disease, interpretation of fundus angiography and clinical visual electrophysiology
• Prof. Yi Changxian: Chief Physician; skilled in diagnosing and treating complex and rare fundus diseases, refractory uveitis and optic nerve disorders, as well as ophthalmic laser therapy
• Prof. Huang Shizhou: Chief Physician; skilled in fluorescein and ICG angiography, with extensive experience in fundus and macular disease
• Prof. Jin Chenjin: Chief Physician; skilled in laser therapy for anterior and posterior segment diseases, laser treatment of neovascular AMD and photodynamic therapy
• Prof. Li Jiaqing: Chief Physician; skilled in vitreous disease, retinal detachment, macular hole, epiretinal membrane and other fundus diseases, plus fundus laser therapy
• Prof. Ding Xiaoyan: Chief Physician; skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of macular degeneration, retinal detachment and diabetic retinopathy
• Prof. Hu Jie: Chief Physician; skilled in diabetic retinopathy, all types of macular disease, all types of retinal detachment and vitreous disease, especially anti-angiogenic drug therapy and minimally invasive vitreous surgery
• Dr. Liu Bingqian: Chief Physician, vitreoretinal surgery; took part in the world's first remote robotic subretinal injection
• Dr. Li Tao, Huang Xinhua, Li Mei, Chi Wei, Luo Yan, Yang Hui and others: expertise covering retinal detachment, diabetic retinopathy, vitreous disease, medical retina, fundus angiography and laser, retinal vascular disease and uveitis

Conditions Suitable for International Patients

• Retinal detachment (especially rhegmatogenous and fresh rhegmatogenous detachment, which can be treated via the emergency green channel)
• Macular disease: age-related macular degeneration, macular hole, epiretinal membrane, macular edema, subretinal hemorrhage, etc.
• Diabetic retinopathy (including proliferative stage, vitreous hemorrhage, tractional retinal detachment)
• Retinal vascular disease: retinal artery/vein occlusion, retinal periphlebitis, etc.
• Pathologic/high myopia fundus disease
• Medical retina conditions and those needing intraocular targeted-drug (intravitreal injection) therapy
• Intraocular tumors, complex congenital fundus disease and various complex retinal and choroidal vascular diseases
• Acute or chronic optic nerve disorders, vitreous opacity
• Those requiring minimally invasive vitreous surgery, fundus laser or photodynamic therapy

Address and Contact

• Quzhuang Campus (main): 54 Xianlie South Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong (postal code 510060)
• Zhujiang New Town Campus: 7 Jinsui Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong (postal code 510623)
• Main line: 020-66607666; English-line phone: 0086-20-87330000
• Website: www.gzzoc.org.cn (English: www.gzzoc.org.cn/en)
• International/Special Needs email: [email protected]

For a quick overview of the department, see the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center Fundus Diseases department page.

Ready to explore fundus disease treatment in Guangzhou? Contact Medora for a free, personalized consultation. We'll review your imaging and records, match you with the right vitreoretinal specialist, and coordinate your entire journey — and if you're dealing with a fresh retinal detachment, we can help activate the emergency green channel so surgery happens without delay.