Shanghai Chest Hospital, China's earliest established Grade A Tertiary Specialist Hospitals, is renowned for its expertise in treating cardiovascular, pulmonary, esophageal, tracheal, and mediastinal diseases. The institution seamlessly integrates clinical care, medical education, and scientific research. In 2004, the hospital was officially designated as the Shanghai Red Cross Chest Hospital. A year later, in 2005, it became affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Building on this academic partnership, in 2022 it further aligned with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine as an affiliated hospital, solidifying its role as a leading medical institution at the intersection of healthcare, education, and innovation.
On November 2, 1957, the Shanghai Municipal Government consolidated the city's premier cardiothoracic medical resources to establish the Shanghai Chest Hospital. Three of China's four pioneering figures in cardiothoracic surgery—Professor Huang Jiasi, Professor Lan Xichun, and Professor Gu Kaishi—were appointed as the hospital's inaugural president and vice presidents respectively.
The hospital currently has an authorized bed capacity of 580 and an actual operational bed count of 1,046. It comprises 9 clinical departments, 10 medical technology departments, and 28 inpatient wards. Additionally, it has established specialized units, including a Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU), Cardiac Care Unit (CCU), Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU), Day Surgery Ward, Clinical Research Ward, and Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) Ward. The clinical departments include Cardiovascular Surgery, Cardiology, Thoracic Surgery, Pulmonary Medicine, Oncology, Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Radiation Oncology, and Anesthesiology. The medical technology departments encompass Radiology, Pathology, Pharmacy, Clinical Laboratory, Nuclear Medicine, Ultrasound Diagnosis, Cardiac Function, Pulmonary Function, Endoscopy, and Nutrition.
The hospital currently operates with an approved bed capacity of 580 and maintains 1,046 active beds in daily use. Its organizational structure includes 9 clinical departments, 10 medical examination & laboratory departments, and 28 wards.
Shanghai Chest Hospital employs a total of 1,794 staff members, including 173 senior clinicians (chief physicians and associate chief physicians), 39 doctoral supervisors, and 58 master's supervisors. Among this distinguished workforce, 37 experts receive the State Council's Special Government Allowance—a prestigious recognition for exceptional contributions. The institution also nurtures a cohort of mid-career and emerging talents, including recipients of national-level honors such as the National Outstanding Young Scientists Fund, National Excellent Young Physician Award, and individuals selected for Shanghai's Eastern Talent Program. This program encompasses municipal-tier initiatives like the Leading Talent Project, Top-Tier Talent Project, and Young Talent Project, which identify and support professionals poised to drive advancements in clinical care, research, and medical education.
The hospital focuses on two major disciplinary clusters: thoracic oncology and cardiovascular diseases, and has mastered the most extensive range of disease types and the most comprehensive set of diagnostic and treatment techniques for thoracic and cardiac diseases in China. Shanghai Chest Hospital manages over 860,000 outpatient and emergency visits annually, performing more than 28,000 surgical procedures each year. Over 90% of these surgeries are classified as Grade III or IV—the highest complexity categories in China’s surgical grading system. Notably, the hospital ranks first nationwide in the volume of Grade IV surgeries among specialized chest hospitals.
The medical team at Shanghai Chest Hospital excels in the surgical treatment of various thoracic diseases as well as lung transplantation. Its minimally invasive surgical techniques are at an advanced national level, and the volume of Da Vinci robotic-assisted thoracic surgeries has consistently ranked first among single centers nationwide for several consecutive years. It was among the earliest in China to introduce cutting-edge technologies such as early diagnosis of lung cancer, multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. It performs the highest-difficulty (grade IV) respiratory endoscopic procedures and was the first in China to introduce ultrasonic bronchoscopy, fluorescence bronchoscopy, electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy, and Hybritech technology for the treatment of lung cancer. The hospital has repeatedly taken the lead in formulating clinical guidelines related to lung cancer diagnosis and treatment.
The hospital also holds a leading position in China in the fields of complex coronary heart disease treatment (both medical and surgical), interventional treatment of cardiopulmonary vascular structural abnormalities, cardiac pacing technology, cardiac valve surgery, and comprehensive internal and surgical treatment of end-stage heart failure. Its frontier technologies, such as transcatheter aortic valve implantation and left atrial appendage occlusion, have reached a first-class level in China, and its volume of atrial fibrillation radiofrequency ablation surgeries has ranked among the top in the Asia-Pacific region for many years.
This healthcare facility boasts several key disciplines and specialized departments at national and provincial levels. These include a National Key Discipline (cardiology), National Clinical Key Specialties (Thoracic Surgery, cardiology and cardiac vascular surgery), a National Clinical Key Specialty Project Supported by Central Government Funds (Multidisciplinary Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Esophageal Cancer), National and Provincial Multidisciplinary Cooperative Diagnosis and Treatment Capacity Building Projects for Major Diseases (Lung Tumor), a "12th Five-Year Plan" Key Specialty of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine), a Flagship Department for Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine endorsed by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine), Shanghai Clinical Key Specialties (Thoracic Surgery and Respiratory Medicine), the Shanghai Clinical Medical Center for Lung Tumors (Oncology), and a Shanghai Medical Key Discipline (Thoracic Surgery). Additionally, it is the first hospital to set up the internationally certificated chest pain center. It is also one of the nation’s first batch to launch the China Chest Pain Center, China Heart Failure Center, China Atrial Fibrillation Center and cancer pain management demonstration wards. In addition, the hospital has Shanghai Jiao Tong University Atrial Fibrillation Diagnosis and Treatment Center and Shanghai Jiao Tong University Esophageal Diseases Diagnosis and Treatment Center. Furthermore, it serves as the affiliated unit for the Shanghai Clinical Quality Control Center for Thoracic Surgery.
Shanghai Chest Hospital has several key scientific research platforms, including a key laboratory under Shanghai's "Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan," the Shanghai Thoracic Oncology Research Institute, the Cardiopulmonary Vascular Translational Research Center, the Central Laboratory, and the Biobank. Additionally, it has established a high-tech industrialization park. The institution actively engages in nationally significant research initiatives, including key projects under the Ministry of Science and Technology's National Key Research and Development Program, the National High-Tech R&D Program (863 Program), and priority projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
The Clinical Research Center of Shanghai Chest Hospital operates independently and maintains specialized disease databases for lung cancer, esophageal cancer, and mediastinal tumors and cardiac diseases. It conducts a variety of clinical trials, including Phase I trials, medical device trials, and investigator-initiated clinical studies. The hospital leads a significant number of oncology clinical trials nationwide, frequently serving as the international lead institution for anti-tumor drug clinical research. Moreover, it has repeatedly acted as the primary sponsor for clinical trials, facilitating the registration and approval of innovative anti-tumor drugs both domestically and internationally.
The hospital conducts diverse clinical trial portfolios, including Phase I clinical trials, medical device trials, and investigator-initiated studies. It leads a substantial number of nationwide oncology clinical trials and frequently serves as the international lead institution for anti-tumor drug clinical research programs. Moreover, the institution has repeatedly acted as the primary sponsor for clinical trials, driving the registration and approval of innovative anti-tumor therapeutics both domestically and globally.
In the same year of its establishment, the hospital was designated by the Ministry of Health as the National Cardiothoracic Surgery Training Base and has conducted 53 sessions of training courses. Thousands of cardiothoracic surgery physicians have been trained nationwide.
The hospital recruits international fellows for long-term training in thoracic surgery and is designated as the sole demonstration center by the Asia Thoracic Surgery Education Committee. It also undertakes research, teaching, and postdoctoral training programs for numerous institutions, including Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
The hospital steadfastly upholds its public hospital mission and actively fulfills social responsibilities. For years, it has dispatched key medical personnel to the Tibet Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, contributing expertise to underserved areas. Since 2010, it has spearheaded charity programs for children with congenital heart disease in impoverished regions, providing life-saving surgeries and medical support for over a decade.
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