Dunhuang Conference Promotes Green Cancer Care Access

Cultural Treasures & National Heavy Instrument – Dunhuang Conference Promotes Green Cancer Care Access

Across the desert, the long wind unfurls the thousand‑year tapestry of the Silk Road; within the caves, the painted art stretches out the eternal charm of Chinese civilization. Ancient bamboo slips preserve time‑honored remedies, as the enduring pulse of traditional Chinese medicine continues its elegant melody; on the Gansu Plain, a national heavy instrument is forged, healing the world and safeguarding the people.

The land of Gansu is home to two world‑renowned treasures: the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes and the Wuwei Heavy Ion Center. The former is a cultural gem carved by Silk Road civilization, gifting the world a poetic and enduring spiritual feast through its unparalleled artistry. The latter is a national heavy instrument in the fight against cancer, protecting the physical and mental health of countless patients with cutting‑edge medical expertise. Cave art and high‑tech medicine – two treasures of past and present, shining in mutual radiance.

Promotion Conference Scene of the Green Access Model for Cancer Treatment Using China's Heavy Ion and Nuclear Medicine Technologies

Crescent Moon Spring in Dunhuang

Mogao Caves of Dunhuang

Aerial view of Wuwei Heavy Ion Center

In the fourth century, the Tiantishan Grottoes in Wuwei and the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang were successively carved. One stands at the eastern end of the Hexi Corridor, the other at the foot of the Mingsha Mountains, etching into the Gobi along the Silk Road a historical testament to the fusion of Chinese and Western civilizations.

Wuwei Tiantishan Grottoes

Camel bells along the Silk Road; the Hexi Corridor spans a thousand years to connect with the world

Taohuayuan Island of China Heavy Ion Health & Wellness Town

Main Building of the Heavy Ion Research Center

Dunhuang, with its thousand‑year‑old brilliant cave murals, uses its world‑renowned art to welcome visitors from all directions and continues the Silk Road's legacy. Wuwei, relying on the domestically developed heavy ion national heavy instrument, delves deeply into cancer diagnosis and treatment, bringing new hope to countless cancer patients. As the birthplace of domestically produced heavy ion technology and the "Jinggangshan" of ion radiotherapy in China, Gansu Wuwei Cancer Hospital is also the only hospital in the world operating two heavy ion treatment devices simultaneously. It has now formed a dual‑center integrated structure with Wuwei and Lanzhou as twin hubs. Leveraging nine world‑first or domestically first treatment technologies – including precision radiotherapy under ventilator control, bladder cancer therapy with precise bladder capacity management, and single‑fraction irradiation using organ spacers – heavy ion therapy, with its unique physical and chemical properties, covers over 50 types of malignant tumors and solves numerous treatment challenges that conventional radiotherapy is powerless against. For refractory high‑grade gliomas, the median progression‑free survival time has nearly doubled compared to international photon standard protocols, and median survival has increased to 30 months, an improvement of 13.4 months over previous data. For stage III locally advanced non‑small cell lung cancer, the 2‑year overall survival rate is 19.3% higher than that reported in international classical photon chemoradiotherapy studies. For pancreatic cancer, known as the "king of cancers," heavy ion intervention has achieved a median survival of 27 months, an extension of more than 10 months compared to conventional photon therapy. To date, the Wuwei and Lanzhou heavy ion centers have completed heavy ion therapy for over 3,000 patients, with patients coming from all provinces and municipalities across China, as well as from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and more than a dozen countries including Belgium, Australia, South Korea, Malaysia, Canada, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, New Zealand, Jordan, and Serbia.

Life Lake of Wuwei Heavy Ion Center

Linear Accelerator of Wuwei Heavy Ion Center

Wuwei Heavy Ion Treatment Cabin

Over millennia, the cultural heritage has continued uninterrupted. The Dunhuang grottoes preserve the artistic legacy of the Silk Road, while the Wuwei Han‑Dynasty bamboo slips perpetuate the time‑honored remedies of traditional Chinese medicine. Now, heavy ions have made their appearance in Dunhuang together with the medical marvel "nuclear medicine." Chinese technology and Chinese civilization meet once again; Chinese civilization and a national heavy instrument have forged in the hearts of the world an enduring image of Gansu. From the thousand‑year inheritance of the Silk Road's cultural lineage to the service of the people by a great national instrument, the Mogao Grottoes embody the cultural depth of the Chinese nation, while domestically produced heavy ions fulfill the mission of the Healthy China initiative. With the Silk Road cultural heritage as a bond and independent medical science and technology innovation as a driving force, Gansu has built a bridge connecting traditional culture and modern medicine. Relying on this powerful national instrument, the province extends high‑quality cancer diagnosis and treatment services to all along the Silk Road and beyond, continuously writing a new chapter of synergy between culture and medicine and the protection of the people's health in the era of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Healthy China strategy.

Mr. Fang Zhijian, General Manager of China Life Dunhuang Branch, and Mr. Jiang Wei, person in charge of the heavy-ion special insurance, have launched green medical access services under the special insurance benefiting the general public, making previously unattainable medical treatment much less arduous.

Mr. Chen Suhua, Director of Digital Marketing at China Southern Airlines Group Culture Media Co., Ltd., introduced China Southern Airlines' Green VIP Travel Service to support patients worldwide.

Media Questions · Expert Q&A

Meeting Highlights

Written by: Guo Yishan

First review: Duan Shengyu

Second review: Guo Yishan

Third review: Cai Qinghua