Hangzhou First People’s Hospital

Hangzhou First People's Hospital is one of Zhejiang Province's oldest and largest tertiary general hospitals, with a century-long history dating to 1923 and a present-day footprint of over 5,000 beds across five integrated campuses. Now affiliated with Westlake University School of Medicine, it has evolved from a single-city hospital into a comprehensive academic healthcare group that consistently earns the national A+ performance rating.

History and Scale: Founded in 1923 during the early Republican era, Hangzhou First People's Hospital was among the first four hospitals in Zhejiang Province to achieve Grade A tertiary accreditation. Over the decades it has absorbed or been designated to lead multiple specialized facilities, creating today's five-campus system: the original Hubin campus (the comprehensive core, with 1,200 planned beds), the Chengbei campus (the Hangzhou Geriatric Hospital, 800 beds), the Wushan campus (the Hangzhou Cancer Hospital), the Xiasha campus (the Hangzhou Rehabilitation Hospital, 249 beds), and the Tonglu campus (a new 1,100-bed comprehensive hospital opened in September 2024). In total, the hospital group fields over 5,000 beds, making it one of the largest hospital systems in the Yangtze River Delta outside Shanghai. It also serves as the Fourth Clinical Medical College of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University.

Star Specialties: The Department of Gastroenterology is a National Key Clinical Specialty and operates as the city's designated Digestive Disease Hospital, with advanced capabilities in endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), and early GI cancer screening. The Oncology program spans all five campuses — Wushan focuses on radiotherapy, Hubin on surgical oncology and chemotherapy, and Tonglu on comprehensive cancer care — forming one of Zhejiang's largest integrated cancer networks. The Cardiovascular Medicine and Neurology departments anchor the hospital's cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease center, which handles the highest volume of acute stroke interventions in Hangzhou. Additional provincial key specialties include Obstetrics & Gynecology, General Surgery, Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Rheumatology & Immunology, and Hematology & Rare Diseases. The hospital has built four major multidisciplinary disease clusters: cancer, cardiovascular-cerebrovascular disease, critical maternal care, and geriatric medicine & health management.

Achievements and Recognition: The hospital has maintained the national A+ performance rating for three consecutive years, placing it in the top tier of China's approximately 1,200 tertiary general hospitals. It hosts 18 municipal-level medical quality control centers — covering oncology, obstetrics, orthopedics, critical care, emergency medicine, radiology, pathology, and laboratory medicine — more than any other hospital in Hangzhou. It is also a national standardized residency training base with 21 accredited programs.

International Services: The Hubin campus operates an International Medical Center with English-speaking physicians and care coordinators. Located steps from West Lake in Hangzhou's most central district, the hospital is geographically convenient for international visitors. The gastroenterology and oncology departments have the most experience with foreign patients, and the hospital's rehabilitation campus (Xiasha) is well-suited to international patients requiring extended post-acute care. Interpretation services in English, Japanese, and Korean can be arranged with advance notice. Direct billing is available with select international insurance carriers.

Why Choose Hangzhou First People's Hospital: For international patients seeking high-quality care in one of China's most beautiful and livable cities, this hospital offers a combination difficult to find elsewhere: a 100-year institutional history, A+ national ranking, over 5,000 beds of integrated capacity, and a location in the cultural heart of Hangzhou. Its comprehensive oncology network — spanning surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and palliative care across five campuses — is particularly valuable for cancer patients who need multi-modal treatment without traveling between different hospital systems.