A deputy chief with the Peking Xiehe Hospital, Li Xuewang, stresses that the hospital has nothing to do with those fake "Xiehe Hospitals" and has no affiliated units throughout the country. He continues that the so-called cooperation and assistance with the Peking Xiehe Hospital claimed by those hospitals, is fabricated.

Li confirmed that the valid addresses of the Peking Xiehe hospital are located only at No. 1 Shuaifuyuan, Dongcheng District, and No. 41 Damucang Alley, Xicheng District.

Li said that many hospitals employing the Xiehe name have been established across many cities in the Chinese mainland, more than 50 of which have opened internet portals that can be found via Baidu, the country's leading online search engine.

In order to solicit patients or promote medicine sales, nearly all of them publish fake advertisements claiming ties with the Peking Xiehe Hospital, Li explained.

He revealed that the fake hospitals conduct deceptive publicity in any of four ways:

First, they underline their collaboration or subordinate relationship with the Peking Xiehe Hospital or allege they are assisted by the genuine hospital.

Second, they make up lies claiming that experienced doctors, retired or invited from the Peking Xiehe Hospital, will take charge of your treatment.

Third, they make prominent use of labels to suggest their authentic identity. The distinctive tablet of the Peking Xiehe Hospital, inscribed by Zhao Puchu, late vice chairman of the national advisory body (CPPCC) and a motto conferred by the former Chinese President Jiang Zemin in 1996, is the item most commonly used in the prints for deceptive publicity. In addition, they post the link to the Peking Xiehe Hospital's homepage on their websites.

Fourth, they boast of their medicine's effects by alleging Peking Xiehe's participation in the formulation of drugs.

Li states that the Peking Xiehe Hospital never allows its doctors to take part in diagnosis and treatment work in other hospitals.

Furthermore, hospitals espousing the Xiehe name have been involved in specific cases of medical deception.

Early reports exposed a case in a Shanghai-based "Xiehe Hospital", where a local unmarried woman was diagnosed as suffering from sterility. She was charged nearly 40,000 yuan, about US$5,000 for an operation. However, a week later, she was pronounced 'healthy' by another hospital.

The case is not unique. And such piracy has tarnished the reputation of the real hospital. However, the Peking Xiehe Hospital has hardly attempted to curb the duping through legal means.

Lu Chongmei, the hospital's party chief, says that the only thing they can do is to join local medical administrations in cracking down on the fake hospitals after receiving complaints. But the efforts appeared insignificant in contrast to the popularity of the piracy.

Lu recalled she once encountered a medical equipment sale flouting products pirating the Xiehe name in a well-known Beijing department store. She unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate with the seller for a withdrawal from sale.

The hospital's deputy director, Li Xuewang, turned down the idea of applying for registration of the brand. He explained that the "Xiehe" brand has been registered by a Japanese foodstuff company, that it's not exclusive to hospitals, but also used by some factories and hotels.

It would therefore be impossible, Li said, for the Peking Xiehe Hospital to enjoy exclusive use of the "Xiehe" brand for hospitals since, in fact, two famous hospitals in Wuhan, Hubei Province, and in Fujian in the name of "Xiehe" are also valid.

He hoped the three hospitals, none of whom claimed subordination to, or combination with one another, can work together in cooperation against the piracy.

He also urged related departments from governments national and local to adopt measures to maintain order in the medical care market.