What Zhongwan does
Zhongwan is treated here as a practical point rather than a curiosity: where it sits, how it is needled, what the tradition says it does, and the skin conditions in this database that name it.
Actions
- Tonifies the Stomach and strengthens the Spleen
- Regulates Qi and remove pain
- Expels Dampness and Phlegm
- Harmonises the Middle Burner
- Calms the Mind
Location
Four cun measured from the landmark shown in the diagram and the location text, on the midline of the abdomen, 4 cun above the umbilicus and 4 cun below the sternocostal angle.
How to find it
Find the bony landmark first, then feel for the hollow or tender spot the location describes. The point is usually sensitive when pressed. Measure the distance from the umbilicus up to the point where the rib margins meet, then divide that span into eight cun. Zhongwan lies four cun above the umbilicus on the midline, which is the midpoint of the span. In practice the midpoint is marked first and confirmed with the cun measure, and the point is pressed to find the slight yielding of soft tissue between the rectus muscles.
Deqi
De qi at this point is felt as local distension, heaviness or aching, and may travel a short way along the channel.
A cun is a proportional body measurement, not a fixed length: one cun is about the width of the thumb at the knuckle, 1.5 cun about two finger widths, and 3 cun about the width of four fingers. On an average adult one cun is roughly one inch, but it scales with the person, which is why the texts measure in cun rather than centimetres.
Technique
Needling
Angle: 90 degrees, perpendicular Depth: Standard depth half a to one and a half cun. Direction: Needle in the direction the location describes.
Moxibustion
Moxibustion is particularly recommended at Zhongwan, as a stick for fifteen to thirty minutes or as five to ten direct cones, and a moxa box over the abdomen is a comfortable way to give a longer warming session. It is the method of choice for empty Cold in the Stomach and Spleen, and it is withheld where the pain is sharp or the pattern shows excess Heat.
Gua sha
Gua sha is marked as questionable at Zhongwan. The abdominal wall here is thin over the Stomach and the point's usual work is tonifying, which surface friction does not serve; where a surface method is wanted for a digestive case it is applied along the back rather than over the epigastrium.
Skin uses
Zhongwan is a Conception Vessel point in the upper abdomen, recorded to tonify the Stomach and Spleen, regulate Qi, expel Dampness and Phlegm and harmonise the middle burner. Its skin relevance is indirect and digestive: Dampness and Phlegm are traditionally traced back to the middle burner, so where a damp or phlegm-led skin picture is described, the recorded action on that root is the basis for considering it. The classical passages describe abdominal distension, worry and undigested food, not the skin. The point has no skin-specific classical indication recorded, so the rationale above stays indirect and is not trial evidence.
No skin-specific classical indication is recorded for this point. The rationale above is an indirect, traditional reading of the point, not a promise of benefit.
Point classifications
| Classification | Value |
|---|---|
| Channel | Meridian |
Classical record
心痛身寒，难以俯仰，心疝气冲胃，死不知人，中脘主之 - Heart pain with a cold body, so that bending forward or backward is difficult, a heart shan disorder with Qi rushing to the Stomach, and loss of consciousness: Zhongwan governs these.
Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing (针灸甲乙经): heart pain with Cold
伤忧悁思气积，中脘主之 - Where grief, worry and brooding thought have gathered into stagnant Qi, Zhongwan governs it.
Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing: worry and accumulated thought
腹胀不通，寒中伤食，饮食不化，中脘主之 - Abdominal distension that will not clear, Cold striking the middle and injuring food, with food and drink left untransformed: Zhongwan governs these.
Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing: distension and undigested food
The Ling Shu lists Zhongwan among the points of the Sea of Food and Drink, the sea of grain and water, one of the four seas of the body. That listing is the classical basis for treating the Stomach and Spleen through this single abdominal point.
Ling Shu (灵枢), chapter 33, the Sea of Qi
Safety
Who should treat this point
Acupuncture and moxibustion are practitioner procedures. This page is educational and is not a guide to self-treatment.
Caution
Safety flags: the reference marks it as a dangerous point. Needle with care, adjust depth to the patient's build, and modify or avoid the point where a flag applies. Depth is the main risk here. The Stomach, the pancreas and the abdominal aorta lie beneath the point, and in a thin patient the peritoneum is close, so the needle is advanced slowly and stopped at the depth the build allows. Where the liver or the spleen is enlarged, oblique needling to either side is avoided, stimulation is reduced in pregnancy, and moxibustion is withheld when the pain is sharp or when excess Heat is present.
Deficiency and constitution
In a depleted patient the point is worked gently and briefly. In a depleted patient Zhongwan is tonified gently and the needle is not driven deep, because warmth rather than depth does the work; this is why small cones are traditional here. The patient's build sets the limit, since a lean abdomen will not take the insertion that a full one will, and the response is checked before the needle is advanced further.
Before treatment
Educational reference only. Skin that is spreading, painful, blistering or accompanied by fever needs medical assessment.
Modern evidence and safety
General references for acupuncture safety and skin evidence. They are not specific to this point, and they are not a claim that needling it treats any condition.
- Acupuncture-related adverse events: systematic review and meta-analyses of prospective clinical studies. BMJ Open, 2021. PMID: 34489268.
- Acupuncture for atopic dermatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open, 2024. PMID: 39638592.
- Manual acupuncture for the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Surgery, 2025. PMID: 40696933.
- Acupuncture in Dermatology: An Update to a Systematic Review. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2021. PMID: 32955916.
Evidence note
No controlled trial of this treatment in skin conditions was identified for this entry. What is described here rests on the classical and later materia medica record and on traditional clinical use, not on controlled trial evidence, and it is not a prediction of benefit. Where skin-specific research does exist it is linked above.
Common questions
What does Zhongwan do in skin practice?
It is used where the skin picture includes the conditions it is used with, always as part of a combination chosen for the pattern.
How is it needled?
90° (Perpendicular) / 45° (Oblique). Standard depth 0.5 - 1.5 cun. De qi: Distension and heaviness in the epigastric region, often radiating throughout the upper abdomen. The sensation may spread to surrounding areas including the umbilical region. Some patients report a warm, comfortable sensation with appropriate needling depth.