Tibetan hospital combines centuries-old medicine with modern care

Tsering said traditional Tibetan and Chinese medicine had different theoretical foundations but shared some treatment and healthcare techniques. The hospital uses acupuncture, while some TCM hospitals elsewhere in China have adopted Tibetan medicinal bathing. The latter was added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2018.

Brazilian journalist Nelson Pancini De Sa tried Lum medicinal bathing at the hospital. He said the treatment left him refreshed and sweating, and that he found it easier to breathe at altitude.

Tsering said the hospital had adopted modern technologies to strengthen diagnostic abilities. CT and MRI scanners are used alongside traditional diagnostic methods involving observation, listening, smell, and touch.

A new telemedicine network links the hospital with Tibetan medical institutions at city and county level, as well as some township clinics. Doctors in remote areas can consult specialists online about difficult cases and arrange transfers for seriously ill patients.

In 2025, the hospital also established the China Xizang Trans-Himalaya Tibetan Medicine Research Center to support cross-regional and international research and the development of Tibetan medicine standards.