On September 21, 1982, supported by the Chinese government and upon the invitation of Professors Chen Yaozhen and Mao Wenshu from the Eye Hospital affiliated with Zhongshan Medical College (now Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, SYSU), the world's first Flying Eye hospital, organized by ORBIS International, arrived in Guangzhou on its inaugural flight to China. It brought the world's most advanced ophthalmic equipment and surgical techniques at the time, conducting 18 days of eye disease diagnosis and treatment as well as blindness prevention training programs. The pioneering Chinese ophthalmologists who participated then gazed in admiration and wondered, "When will we have our own flying eye hospital?"

Over the past forty-plus years, China's economy has soared, and its aviation manufacturing and high-end medical equipment sectors have achieved transformative breakthroughs. Chinese ophthalmic institutions are now at the forefront of global eye health governance. Today, we have the capability, the confidence, and indeed the responsibility to answer our predecessors' question: "The flying eye hospital we once looked up to, we can now build one ourselves!"

Professors Chen Yaozhen and Mao Wenshu with Professor Paton, Project Director of the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital, in 1982

ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital experts with Chinese ophthalmic medical staff participating in the exchange program

On September 9, 2025, at the COMAC Customer Conference, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center (ZOC) of Sun Yat-sen University formally initiated the C9 "Wings of Life" Aviation Medical Alliance (the Alliance) together with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC), China Flying Dragon General Aviation Co., Ltd., and other partners. Meanwhile, the three parties signed a cooperation agreement for the C909 Flying Eye Hospital project, marking the substantive advancement phase of China's first flying eye hospital based on a domestically produced large aircraft.

Professor Lin Haotian, President of ZOC, attended the signing ceremony.

A New Journey with the Agreement: Aviation Medical Alliance Established, Flying Eye Hospital to Take Maiden Flight Soon

Aviation medicine is a vital component of the national emergency response system, playing a crucial role in enhancing capabilities for major incident response and medical care provision in remote areas. However, the domestic sector currently faces structural challenges such as fragmented market demand and unclear business models, which hinder its scaled and standardized development.

Inspired by the "dream of a flying eye hospital" long-held by earlier ophthalmologists, ZOC took the initiative in 2023 to contact COMAC and other aviation companies to launch the " Flying Eye Hospital" project. After two years of meticulous preparation and multi-party collaboration, ZOC, COMAC, China Flying Dragon General Aviation, and other partners established the C9 "Wings of Life" Aviation Medical Alliance. With aviation medicine as the entry point, the alliance will build an integrated platform to promote the large-scale application of domestically produced aviation medical equipment and establish a diversified aviation ecosystem.

On November 16, 2023, ZOC and China Southern Airlines jointly launched the "Bright Eyes, Caring Hearts - Flying Across Guangdong and Xinjiang" themed flight in Guangzhou. Prior to this, ZOC had provided free cataract surgeries for residents in Kashi, Xinjiang, through the "Guangdong-Xinjiang Bright Journey" initiative, and China Southern Airlines had opened a direct flight from Guangzhou to Kashi.

According to the plan, ZOC will conduct the maiden flight of the "Chinese Flying Eye Hospital" by the end of this year in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County (Taxian), Kashi Prefecture, Xinjiang, providing high-level ophthalmic diagnosis and treatment services "right at the doorstep" for people in remote high-altitude areas.

This signing is a significant milestone in ZOC's "Air-Space-Ground-Sea" mobile ophthalmic healthcare strategy. In the future, leveraging the professional support of COMAC and China Flying Dragon General Aviation, the C909 aircraft will be converted into a flying eye hospital. It will operate in synergy with 5G intelligent ophthalmic mobile clinic: the vehicles on the ground will conduct preliminary screenings; if patients are identified who cannot be treated locally, the flying eye hospital will swiftly deploy to provide surgical intervention. This model ensures "extensive ground-based screening coverage and precise airborne surgical support," enabling high-quality ophthalmic medical resources to transcend geographical barriers and reach grassroots communities directly.

Blueprint for the Future: "Air-Space-Ground-Sea" Integrated Strategy, Empowering Universal Eye Health with Technology

In recent years, based on the major strategic needs of the country, ZOC has innovatively proposed an integrated "Air-Space-Ground-Sea" mobile ophthalmic healthcare system. This initiative is dedicated to building a comprehensive eye health service network covering urban and rural areas and integrating land, sea, and air, promoting the equitable access to quality medical resources, and supporting the construction of a Healthy China and the development of a global community of health for all.

Concept diagram of the Air-Space-Ground-Sea system

• Air – Building China's Flying Eye Hospital: Utilizing domestically produced large aircraft as a platform to construct a flying eye hospital equipped with ultra-clean operating rooms and specialized ophthalmic surgical instruments, enabling "mobile treatment and precise intervention." The establishment of the Aviation Medical Alliance signifies the transition of this concept into reality, with tour-based services planned initially in areas with limited medical resources like Xinjiang, Tibet, and island regions.
• Space – Satellite Remote Sensing Empowers Eye Disease Prevention: Collaborating with aerospace, aviation, and environmental research institutions to explore the use of remote sensing satellite data for monitoring the relationship between environmental factors (e.g., light exposure, green space, air quality) and the incidence of eye diseases in populations. This provides a scientific basis for preventing childhood myopia and issuing regional eye disease warnings, achieving the model of "monitoring from space, preventing on the ground."
• Ground – "Hui Yan" (Wisdom Eye) Mobile Hospital Travels the Country: The self-developed 5G intelligent ophthalmic mobile clinics have traveled over 180,000 kilometers, providing free screenings to more than 150,000 people. In June 2025, the mobile clinic was upgraded to the truly mobile "Wisdom Eye Mobile Hospital," embodying the principle of "let equipment travel more, so people travel less.
• Sea – Mobile Surgical Module on Research Vessel: Leveraging marine scientific research platforms to establish detachable ophthalmic surgical modules on ocean-going vessels. This provides emergency treatment and sight-restoring surgery for maritime workers and island residents, allowing them to receive care without leaving their remote locations.

This multi-dimensional deployment represents not only technological integration and innovation but also a profound transformation in healthcare service delivery models. It aims to utilize new technologies and infrastructure to stabilize foundational frameworks, adapt to evolving health challenges, and pioneer new development pathways, ensuring everyone can fairly enjoy the right to pursue clear vision and happiness.

A Call to Unite Forces: Join Us in Building the Flying Eye Hospital and Painting a Brighter Future together

As the saying goes, "Many hands make light work." Advanced technology and great ideas truly come to life and shine brightest when diverse forces converge. We firmly believe that only through collaboration can we reach far; only through co-construction can we achieve shared benefits.

As the only ophthalmic hospital directly under the National Health Commission, the base for the State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, and a WHO Collaborating Centre for eye care and vision, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University has the responsibility, capability, and mission to contribute its accumulated expertise and innovative practices to advancing high-quality development in Chinese ophthalmology and serving global eye health. We sincerely appeal and eagerly anticipate: more medical institutions, research teams, manufacturers, non-profit organizations, and compassionate medical professionals joining hands to participate in this landmark innovative practice. To this end, we formally issue the following initiatives:

Propose the establishment of a Volunteer Hospital Alliance for the Flying Eye Hospital, and cordially invite all hospitals across China dedicated to public welfare medical services and possessing the relevant professional capabilities to participate, pooling professional medical strength to provide talent and technical support for the flying hospital.

Propose the establishment of a Technology and Equipment R&D Application Alliance for the Flying Eye Hospital: We cordially invite outstanding domestic medical equipment manufacturers, innovative enterprises, and research institutions to collaborate on the development, adaptation, and integration of domestically produced high-end ophthalmic diagnostic and treatment equipment. This ensures the flying hospital is equipped with advanced, localized medical devices, providing solid hardware support for high-quality ophthalmic services.

We look forward to using domestically produced aircraft, domestically developed new equipment, and world-leading Chinese ophthalmic medical technology to build our own Chinese flying eye hospital. Let the flying hospital be not merely an aircraft or a mobile team bringing light, but a national emblem of technology benefiting the people. Let us work together to make the light of vision shine farther, wider, and warmer.

From plateaus to islands, from border regions to the high seas, everyone, regardless of location, deserves access to quality eye health services. Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University looks forward to working with all partners. Through the innovative "Air-Space-Ground-Sea" framework, starting with the C9 "Wings of Life," we will continue to deepen the integration of technological innovation and medical services. Let the Chinese approach soar over mountains and seas, providing Chinese wisdom to solve global challenges of healthcare accessibility in remote areas, and jointly composing a new chapter in the cause of global eye health.