Founded in 1928, Zhongshan Hospital Xiamen University (also known as Xiamen Zhongshan Hospital) was established through donations from patriotic overseas Chinese and prominent local figures in line with Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s vision of “the world is for all, and we strive for benefit of society”. Dr. Lim Boon Keng, then president of Xiamen University and a medical expert, served as the hospital’s first president. In 2005, the hospital became the first affiliated hospital of Xiamen University. It has since developed into a comprehensive tertiary-grade A hospital that integrates medical care, education, scientific research, and preventive healthcare services. For four consecutive years, the hospital has received an A+ rating in the national performance evaluation for tertiary public hospitals and has been ranked among the “Top 100 Hospitals” in the China Hospital Competitiveness Ranking for three consecutive times.
The hospital currently operates across three campuses, with 2,500 beds and nearly 3,300 faculty and staff members. Among them are nearly 1,100 senior experts holding associate senior or higher professional titles, 958 staff members with master’s or doctoral degrees, and 135 master’s and doctoral supervisors.
The hospital comprises 50 clinical and medical technology departments, including:
- Four National Key Clinical Specialties (Gastroenterology, General Surgery, Orthopedics, and Clinical Laboratory Medicine);
- 15 Fujian Provincial Key Clinical Specialties;
- The Fujian Provincial Branch of the National Clinical Research Center for Gastroenterology;
- A National Advanced Stroke Center;
- The Fujian Clinical Medical Research Center for Intestinal Microecology and the Prevention and Treatment of Digestive System Diseases;
- The Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Chronic Liver Disease and Liver Cancer;
- More than 20 national, provincial, and municipal medical centers and research platforms.
The hospital undertakes teaching responsibilities for Xiamen University School of Medicine, Xiamen University Malaysia, Fujian Medical University, Xiamen Medical College, and other medical institutions. It also serves as a training institution for master’s and doctoral students of Xiamen University and Fujian Medical University, and provides postgraduate training for Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The hospital has established 25 clinical teaching and research departments, covering internal medicine,surgery,obstetrics and gynecology,pediatrics, emergency medicine, and nursing, supported by 591 clinical instructors.
The hospital is a National Resident Training Base covering 16 specialty training programs and a Standardized Specialist Training Base in General Surgery. Currently, 438 resident physicians are enrolled in standardized training programs.
In recent years, the hospital has received funding from more than 500 research projects at various levels, including over 100 national-level projects such as the National High-Tech Research and Development Program (“863 Program”), the National Basic Research Program (“973 Program”), the National Natural Science Foundation for Excellent Young Scientists (NSFC), the National Natural Science Foundation, and the "11th Five-Year Plan" Science and Technology Support Program. At the provincial and municipal levels, it has gained close to 100 Science and Technology Progress Awards,obtained 63 national patents, and published 1,178 SCI papers.
In 2025, the hospital recruited Professor Lin Shengcai as Chief Scientist, along with 13 jointly appointed professors. In the same year, the hospital ranked first among hospitals in Xiamen in total funding received from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, reaching a historic high.
