China's national health statistics group traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) institutions as a family of their own. The National Health Commission's statistical bulletin counts TCM hospitals, TCM outpatient departments, TCM clinics and research institutes for 2024. The national rules list TCM hospitals as a category. This page sets out these facts and does not rate, rank or recommend any institution.
How the national rules classify TCM hospitals
The Detailed Rules for Implementing the Regulation on the Administration of Medical Institutions list traditional Chinese medicine hospitals (中医医院) in the first group of categories of medical institution. The same group names integrated Chinese and Western medicine hospitals (中西医结合医院) and ethnic medicine hospitals (民族医医院), together with general hospitals, specialty hospitals and rehabilitation hospitals.
The rules list TCM outpatient departments (中医门诊部), integrated Chinese and Western medicine outpatient departments and ethnic medicine outpatient departments among the outpatient department categories. They also list TCM clinics (中医诊所) and ethnic medicine clinics (民族医诊所).
Who approves names and reviews TCM institutions
Under the rules, some names need approval at the national level. For institutions of the TCM, integrated Chinese and Western medicine and ethnic medicine kinds, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine gives that approval.
The rules also say that TCM administrations at county level and above set up committees to review TCM, integrated Chinese and Western medicine and ethnic medicine institutions.
National counts of TCM institutions
The National Health Commission's 2024 statistical bulletin counts 103704 TCM-type medical and health institutions nationwide in 2024, 11173 more than the year before. Of these, 6397 are TCM-type hospitals, 97268 are TCM-type outpatient departments and clinics, and 39 are TCM-type research institutions. The bulletin says the number of TCM-type hospitals rose by 222.
Here are rows from the bulletin's table of TCM institutions and beds:
| Institution type | Institutions | Beds |
|---|---|---|
| 中医医院 (TCM hospitals) | 5263 | 1196862 |
| 中西医结合医院 (integrated Chinese and Western medicine hospitals) | 796 | 148539 |
| 民族医医院 (ethnic medicine hospitals) | 338 | 44714 |
| 中医门诊部 (TCM outpatient departments) | 3764 | 408 |
The bulletin groups the first three rows as TCM-type hospitals. The table also gives rows for other outpatient departments and clinics, and for research institutes, which are left out here.
Beds and staff
In 2024, TCM-type medical and health institutions nationwide had 182.3万 beds, according to the bulletin, where 万 means ten thousand. Of these, TCM-type hospitals have 139.0万, which is 76.3 percent.
For staff, the bulletin counts 115.9万 TCM personnel nationwide for 2024. It gives 97.1万 as TCM practising (assistant) physicians and 17.0万 as TCM pharmacists.
How one city counts TCM hospitals
The Guangzhou Statistical Yearbook, in table 18-18, counts hospitals by type for 2022 and 2023, shown below as the earlier and the later year. The table note says the data were provided by the Guangzhou Municipal Health Commission.
| Hospital type | Earlier year | Later year |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese medicine hospitals | 37 | 44 |
| Integrated Chinese and Western medicine hospitals | 4 | 4 |
What this page did not establish
- The bulletin text was read as a PDF, and its tables were read from the same file. Figures for other years were not collected.
- Provincial figures for TCM hospitals were not collected, apart from the one city above.
- The rules were read as republished on the Chinese central government portal. Later changes were not checked.
- No individual hospital was checked.
Questions people ask
Are traditional Chinese medicine hospitals a separate category?
Yes. The national rules list traditional Chinese medicine hospitals as their own category, next to integrated Chinese and Western medicine hospitals and ethnic medicine hospitals.
Who reviews TCM hospitals?
The rules say TCM administrations at county level and above set up committees to review TCM, integrated Chinese and Western medicine and ethnic medicine institutions.
Does the statistical bulletin rank TCM hospitals?
The bulletin counts institutions, beds and staff. It does not rank hospitals, and this page does not either.
Sources
- Detailed Rules for Implementing the Regulation on the Administration of Medical Institutions (National Health Commission, via gov.cn), read 26 October 2026
- 2024 national health development statistical bulletin (National Health Commission), read 26 October 2026
- Guangzhou Statistical Yearbook, table 18-18 on the number of health institutions, 2022 and 2023 (Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Statistics), read 26 October 2026
Each source above was read on the date shown. This page is an unofficial summary of general administrative information. It is not published by the bodies named above, and it is not medical advice. If it differs from the official pages, the official pages prevail, and rules and figures may change after the check date.
Entry facts come from the hospital’s own pages as read on the dates shown in each source note; this unofficial summary is not medical advice, and the hospital’s current published information prevails. Medical and legal notice