By Zhao Zhuo

　　With a total area of 114,870 square kilometers, Nyingchi City in Xizang is home to 35 ethnic groups, including Tibetans, Han, Monba, Lhoba, and Dengba. In 2023, when Dr. Peng Xiongqiang, which comes from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine (GZUCM), first arrived at the People?s Hospital of Nyingchi, he discovered that it was the only dialysis center for hemodialysis patients in the vast Nyingchi region. Due to the relatively underdeveloped medical conditions in the plateau area, especially in ultrasound diagnostic technology, some patients with failed dialysis access had to travel long distances to Lhasa or even Sichuan for treatments. To address this issue, Dr. Peng introduced three new technologies, including “arteriovenous ultrasound for dialysis patients,” significantly reducing the diagnosis and treatment time and costs for hemodialysis patients, greatly improving their quality of life.

　　As the Deputy Director of the Functional Department of Nyingchi People?s Hospital, Dr. Peng also improved the Ultrasound Report Quality Control Management System and Pathology Follow-Up System. He regularly conducted quality control of ultrasound reports and case follow-ups, summarizing reasons and improvement measures. Additionally, he updated about 200,000 words of ultrasound diagnostic templates and conducted standardized diagnostic training in the department for the RADS classification of plateau thyroid and breast diseases, enhancing diagnostic accuracy. Beyond his daily work, he utilized holidays to join medical teams in providing free treatment in various counties, towns, and villages in Nyingchi, earning widespread appreciation from residents in remote areas.

　　The story of Dr. Peng is a reflection of GZUCM?s long-standing spirit of serving the people?s health needs and contributing to local economic and social development, guided by the school motto “Superior doctors treat the nation, the Awakening Starts from the People” and “Virtue and Knowledge, Sincerity and Service.”

　　Whether it was leaving a last letter and heading to the front line after the Wenchuan earthquake, or fearlessly fighting during the SARS and COVID-19 pandemics, or providing medical support in Xinjiang and Xizang to promote ethnic unity with superb medical skills, or working in Africa for 20 years to effectively curb Malaria and contribute to Major Country Diplomacy, generations of people from GZUCM have consistently upheld the principle of putting people and life first, worked actively in support of the “Two Establishes” with reaffirmed commitment to the “Two Upholds”, and was determined to educate people for the CPC and cultivate talents for the country.

The Revolutionary Heritage shines in History

　　Founded in 1924, Guangdong Specialized School of Chinese Medicine established the free medical office two years later for clinical teaching and providing free medical services to the public. This office is the predecessor of the Second Affiliated Hospital of GZUCM (Guangdong Hospital of GZUCM). At that time, the School also actively carried out cowpox vaccination, providing free imported vaccination against cowpox every spring and saving many poor people from infection.

　　Renamed Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine in 1995, the school has never interrupted its century-long educational journey, passing on the torch of nurturing talent and integrating revolutionary genes with contemporary elements, leading the construction of the school and its affiliated hospitals with Party building, drawing a masterpiece of the time which carry forward the revolutionary heritage, secure life and fortune for the people, and nurture talent for the medical profession.

　　During the SARS outbreak in 2003, 87-year-old lifelong professor Deng Tietao of GZUCM was appointed head of the Chinese medicine expert group. Under his leadership, the First Affiliated Hospital of GZUCM treated 73 patients, achieving "zero transfers, zero deaths, zero infections." The head nurse of the emergency department at the Second Affiliated Hospital, Ye Xin, famously said, "It's dangerous here, let me do it!"During the fight against SARS, they embodied the spirit of white-clad warriors.

　　During the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, the Second Affiliated Hospital inherited the spirit of Ye Xin, bravely facing the challenges. Within 8 hours, 535 medical staffs volunteered to support Hubei Province. In 24 hours, they opened an isolation ward, and within 60 hours, they built a nucleic acid testing laboratory. There were 101 medical personnel dispatched to fight on the front lines in Hubei, Hong Kong, Hebei, Yunnan, and Liaoning etc. Besides, the Second Affiliated Hospital also provided international aid in Malaysia.

　　In 2022, Guangzhou faced a very complex and severe epidemic situation. Under the leadership of the school's Party Committee, the three affiliated hospitals in Guangzhou dispatched 726 medical elites, managed 6,140 beds in Fangcang hospitals, treated 13,291 patients, and supported nucleic acid sampling with over 10.87 million samples with the help of 26,000 healthcare workers. They strongly supported local pandemic prevention and control.

　　GZUCM's Vice President Zhang Zhongde participated in national anti-pandemic actions 14 times, leading his team to integrate clinical practice and research. They practiced and perfected the national integrated Chinese and Western medicine plan, reducing the severe case fatality rate and conversion rate, effectively improving the success rate of COVID-19 treatment, and treated over 100,000 critically ill patients, providing valuable experience and plans for domestic and global anti-epidemic efforts.

To Aid Xinjiang and Xizang and to Rooted in Rural Areas

　　Yuan Feng, the acupuncture expert and associate chief physician from the Second Affiliated Hospital, came to Nyingchi a year before Peng. When the 10th batch of the Guangdong aid team to Xizang began to assemble, Yuan Feng, who had completed a 13-month medical aid mission in Ghana less than two years ago, chose to start a three-year medical support mission on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.

　　Upon learning that the Lum medicinal bathing of Sowa Rigpa is a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage with significant health benefits, Yuan Feng became a promoter, inviting heritage promoters to live-stream explanations and garnering extensive media coverage. This helped Lum medicinal bathing of Sowa Rigpa gain wider recognition, serve the public, and integrate into broader health communities. To further the exchange between Chinese and Tibetan medicine, Yuan Feng spearheaded the successful organization of the second and third Guangdong-Nyingchi Chinese-Tibetan?Medicine Exchange Academic Forums in Nyingchi and Guangzhou, fostering deep exchanges and benefiting the people of both regions.

　　Since August 2023, the university has dispatched two batches of 16 medical experts to reside in Fogang County, providing medical support and training medical talents at the primary level. The total residency time exceeds 280 days, with service teams covering all six towns and 21 typical villages in Fogang. They organized over 300 experts from affiliated hospitals to conduct more than 30 large-scale free treatments and health lectures in various towns and villages, serving over 4,000 residents. Additionally, over 300 students formed 14 "High-Quality Development Project" student task forces, conducting 82 social practice and volunteer service activities, including free clinics, educational support, science popularization, social research, policy promotion, and revolutionary culture lectures, directly serving over 7,500 residents.

　　The university established a close medical partnership with Shuitou Town Healthcare Center, forming a medical service team of "one executive director + one assistant director + multiple key doctors." Following the standards of the top-level hospitals, they participated comprehensively and deeply in the design, construction, operation management, and medical guidance of the new health center. Since its opening on August 11, 2023, the daily outpatient volume of Shuitou Town Healthcare Center has doubled to 120 patients, attracting residents from Hong Kong, Macao, Shenzhen and other places.

　　The university fully leverages its strengths in Chinese Medicine education and resources, focuses on medical education, health industry development, and primary talent cultivation as the main assistance efforts. This has transformed the basic healthcare conditions in Shuitou Town, Fogang County, from "having" to "being good", turning the "shortcomings" in rural health and wellness services into "potential strengths". Currently, Shuitou Town's rural specialty industries are thriving. In 2023, the collective operating income of the 10 administrative villages totaled RMB 3.25 million yuan, up 36% year-on-year. The per capita disposable income of rural residents increased by 17.7%, with 3,588 new jobs created for returning and incoming workers, and the permanent population grew by 12.1%.

　　"To address the issue of insufficient medical resources in eastern, western, and northern Guangdong, in addition to supporting the construction of the Shuitou Town Healthcare Center in Fogang County and creating a model primary health center that is 'first-class in the province with Chinese medicine characteristics,' we are continuously strengthening our support and collaboration with over 150 community-level hospitals primarily in eastern, western, and northern Guangdong. This effort aims to promote the balanced distribution of quality medical resources in these regions and support the Healthy Guangdong strategy," said Liu Zhongqiu, Vice President of GZUCM, in an interview.

To Build a National Regional Medical Centre

　　On 16th July, Shenshan Hospital of Chinese Medicine, located in the urban area of Shanwei City with a total investment of more than RMB 2 billion yuan, was officially inaugurated. Previously, Shanwei City had over 4.6 million Chinese medicine consultations annually for two consecutive years but was the only prefecture-level city in the province without a municipal-level Chinese medicine hospital. With the development, 21 cities in Guangdong achieved full coverage of municipal-level Chinese medicine hospitals, formally completing the last piece of the puzzle for traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in all 293 prefecture-level cities.

　　It is worth mentioning that this cooperation adopted an innovative assistance model "Shenzhen pays the check, Shanwei leads the construction, and the First Affiliated Hospital of GZUCM manages the hospital." The medical assistance model with developed regions providing public funds, local governments leading the construction, and high-level hospital handling operations, has become a successful experience for Guangdong in promoting the coordinated development of medical resources. It provides a replicable path for the whole country to solve the imbalance of regional medical development.

　　Building national regional medical centers is a major strategy in the "14th Five-year Plan," focusing on meeting the medical service needs for complex and critical illnesses in various regions. This initiative aims to further enhance the level of medical services across regions and collectively boost the overall national medical service capacity. GZUCM actively responds to the national strategy and vigorously promotes the construction of five national regional medical centers in Guizhou, Chongqing, Hainan, Zhuhai, and Shanwei.

　　In December 2023, the Second Affiliated Hospital of GZUCM (Guangdong Hospital of Chinese Medicine) Guizhou Hospital officially opened. "Guizhou Hospital is one of the three national regional medical Center projects established by Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine. The Guizhou Provincial CPC Committee and Provincial Government attach great importance to this collaboration project. As the output hospital, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine promises to transfer management, technology, talent, and culture to Guizhou. This will help Guizhou Hospital better achieve coordinated development of Chinese and Western medicine and build it into a model national regional medical Center in the southwest. The aim is to establish a Chinese medicine stronghold based in Guizhou, facing the southwest and radiating to ASEAN." said Shi Xiaorong, Secretary of the CPC Committee of the Second Affiliated Hospital of GZUCM.

　　The Chongqing Hospital project of the First Affiliated Hospital of GZUCM is expected to be completed and put into use in 2026. The total construction area of this project is 176,000 square meters and it plans to have 1,000 beds. According to the plan, the project will establish six specialized alliances, including the Oncology Department,  explore the multi-dimensional MDT diagnosis and treatment model, strengthen the capacity for handling complex, severe, and critical cases and become a national regional medical center for multidisciplinary coordinated development.

Living Heritage of Chinese Medicine Treasures

　　To heal others, one must first heal themselves; those who help others succeed must first succeed themselves.

　　Entering the Traditional Therapy Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of GZUCM, one will find the moxibustion room, cupping room, and herbal fumigation room filled with patients. Chen Xiuhua, the fourth-generation inheritor of the UNESCO national intangible cultural heritage project "Guangdong Chen's Acupuncture Technique," is exceptionally busy, and the reporter can only interview her during the intervals between her treatments.

　　"Quangdong Chen's Acupuncture Technique" is a unique acupuncture method created by the Chen family, a renowned traditional Chinese medicine family in Guangzhou. It integrates various acupuncture techniques, including Chen's flying acupuncture technique, Chen's graded reinforcement and reduction techniques, and Chen's Qi-guiding techniques. Through the identification, organization, and promotion by successive generations, it has formed a distinctive acupuncture theory and practice system, becoming an important part of the Guangdong school of acupuncture in China. 

　　Such treasures were introduced to the hospital through the "Medicine Treasure Hunt" brand activity. In 2009, the activity was officially launched, and experts were widely invited. Techniques such as Dong's Extraordinary Acu Points, Taking Pulse and Palpation Acupuncture, Balance Acupuncture, Thunder-Fire Needle, and Zhuang Medicine Herbal-thread Moxibustion Therapy, which were previously only recorded in literature or passed down among the people, were brought together. These Chinese Medicine therapies cover various fields, including emergency and preventive treatment. With the efforts of the hospital, these endangered techniques have been inherited and revitalized. The Traditional Therapy Center has now become a "living museum" of Chinese Medicine characteristic therapies nationwide.

　　"Some inheritors of these techniques lack understanding of the modern medical system. After the hospital introduced them, it not only assisted them in integrating traditional Chinese medicine techniques with clinical diseases to form clear clinical pathways, but also continuously improved and refined various aspects to help achieve the best clinical outcomes. Now, the 'Medicine Treasure Hunt' has sorted out 523 traditional Chinese medicine characteristic techniques, conducted on-site visits for 272 items, showcased 147 techniques, and implemented 58 therapies in the hospital. Through mentorship and the establishment of studios, the hospital has cultivated several inheritors for the Guangdong region," Shi Qiaorong told the reporter.

　　The hospital adheres to the distinctive advantages of and carries on the essence of Chinese medicine while pursuing innovations in the field, allowing hundreds of Chinese medicine therapies to show their effectiveness. At the same time, it insists on strengthening the hospital with technology, tracking new-generation frontier technologies, and implementing an innovation-driven development strategy. On March 22, the "2023 Annual Evaluation Report on the Academic Influence of Chinese Medicine Hospital Disciplines (Specialties)" was released in Beijing. In the comprehensive evaluation, the Second Affiliated Hospital of GZUCM ranked second. In the evaluation of specific disciplines (specialties), the hospital's Chinese Medicine Dermatology, Breast Disease, Emergency Medicine, and Epidemic Disease performed outstandingly, ranking first.

　　GZUCM deepens the construction of high-level hospitals in its First and Second Affiliated Hospitals, accelerates the construction of the "Chinese Medicine Orthopedics Innovation Center" project in its Third Affiliated Hospital and vigorously supports the comprehensive service capacity building in medical services, education and teaching, technological innovation, and Chinese medicine cultural inheritance and innovation, leading and driving the improvement of the regional level of medical care. GZUCM also strives to improve the level of medical technology, strengthen the advantages and characteristics of Chinese medicine, improve the medical service system, and enhance the ability of Chinese medicine to treat emergency, critical, difficult, and complicated diseases. GZUCM also implements the development and enhancement project of famous doctors, departments, and hospitals, focusing on the field of Chinese medicine advantages, and strengthens the specialties and disciplines with distinctive characteristics of Chinese medicine, comprehensively improving the level of medical care and striving to build the brand of the hospital.

　　Standing at the historical milestone of the 100th anniversary of GZUCM, Secretary of the CPC Committee of the university Chen Wenfeng stated, "We will take a strong sense of mission and responsibility, lose no time in progressing, take on tough problems, focus on serving national strategies and regional development missions, and strive towards the primary task of high-quality development. As a 'leader' and 'pacesetters' in the Chinese medical service industry, we strive to become a benchmark and model for services worldwide."