Six Compassionate Pediatricians File IPO After Five Years of Free Online Consultations, Educating 280,000 Parents

Amid the frequent emergence of isolated cases of strained doctor-patient relationships, there is, in fact, a group of dedicated physicians who are committed to sincere communication with patients and building friendships with them. These doctors are members of Peierwu Child Health Popularization Society (hereinafter referred to as “Peierwu”), a physician-led organization jointly maintained by six pediatricians.

Peierwu was officially established as early as 2011. Following the launch of Sina Weibo, the “Peierwu Pediatricians” Weibo account was created. The team provides free online consultations on a weekly basis, enthusiastically answering public inquiries and popularizing knowledge on parenting and child healthcare. To date, they have posted more than 5,000 Weibo updates, spreading their message of care to 280,000 followers. In addition to Weibo, Peierwu now maintains a WeChat Official Account (peierwu) and a Zhihu account, among other platforms.



Dr. Gu Rui is the founder of Peierwu. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Pediatrics from Chongqing Medical University, completed a master’s program specializing in Neonatology, and underwent standardized residency training at the Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. His areas of expertise include common pediatric infectious diseases and common neonatal conditions.

Gu Rui told VCBeat that he frequently visited hospitals as a child, perceiving the medical profession as both approachable and impressive. Given his interest in biology and chemistry during his school years, he chose to pursue medicine. He enrolled at Chongqing Medical University, which was closer to his home, and due to his affection for children, he selected the university’s prestigious Department of Pediatrics.

After completing his undergraduate studies, he was admitted to graduate school without taking the entrance examination, specializing in neonatology. Upon obtaining his master’s degree, he completed standardized residency training at his alma mater and then joined Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center (then known as Guangzhou Children’s Hospital). After finishing his rotational rotations, he worked in the emergency department for nearly two years before returning to the neonatal specialty, where he has remained ever since.

Gu Rui recalls his alma mater with deep affection. “The rigorous teaching standards of our school’s Department of Pediatrics were well-known. We had to hand over shifts before dawn every day. What impressed me most was one night when we were urgently admitting patients until 2 or 3 a.m., and then started reciting the shift report at 4 a.m. I stumbled through it and was severely reprimanded by the department director because my understanding of the data I needed to recite was not thorough enough at that time. Now I understand that these figures are closely tied to patients’ lives; a tiny error can lead to significant consequences, and a life could inadvertently slip away.” Gu Rui remarked. However, he expressed gratitude for the strict education provided by his alma mater, which helped him develop excellent habits of rigor and truth-seeking early on. These habits eventually became second nature and have continued as a fine tradition of the institution. Gu Rui introduced that his alma mater was among the earliest hospitals in China to emphasize doctor-patient communication. Even during his student years, there was already systematic training in doctor-patient communication. The recognition of healthcare as a special service industry took root early and deeply there.

Regarding the currently awkward doctor-patient relationship, Gu Rui stated that physicians are guided by benevolence. He acknowledged that every doctor is motivated by a sincere desire to heal patients, but the core issue lies in the lack of time available for patient interactions. In his childhood, the public held doctors in high trust and esteem. When he entered medical school, the overall doctor-patient relationship was still relatively harmonious, although subtle signs of discord had begun to emerge. Patients started to question and challenge professional authority, no longer showing the same level of respect for doctors as in the past.

The idea to establish Peierwu stemmed both from professional experience and a chance occurrence. Gu Rui explained that he noticed an overwhelming number of repeat patients during daily consultations, reflecting a widespread lack of health and hygiene knowledge among the public. He believed that an off-hospital platform for communication with patients and their families could disseminate medical insights that doctors typically lack time to cover in detail. This would enhance public health literacy, reduce unnecessary clinical visits, alleviate physicians’ non-essential workload, and enable a more rational allocation of medical resources to patients in genuine need.

Additionally, he once watched an episode of the TV program “King of All-Around Homes,” which featured a midwife who enlisted architectural experts to remodel her home’s layout. The ground floor was converted into a consultation room for maternal and infant care, while the second floor served as living quarters. This allowed her to pursue her passion for maternal and infant healthcare while simultaneously caring for her family and own children. “At the time, I found the program particularly inspiring; the sense of friendship between healthcare providers and patients was both appealing and heartwarming.”

With this idea in mind, Gu Rui raised it during an offline gathering with his junior female colleagues. To his surprise, they were highly supportive. “When we held our first salon three years ago, although it was unpaid work, everyone participated with great enthusiasm, which I found truly moving. Another unexpected and pleasant surprise was that our colleagues and supervisors offered strong support and encouragement after learning about our ‘extracurricular’ endeavors.” In this way, he and his like-minded partners established a non-profit online platform for disseminating children’s health knowledge, thereby building friendships with children and their parents.

Among the six doctors are Gu Rui and his wife, making a total of five physicians from the Department of Pediatrics at Chongqing Medical University, with the sixth hailing from Luzhou Medical College. Contrary to the stereotypical image of stern medical professionals, the doctors at Peierwu (Pediatric House) are approachable and patient, leading many followers to befriend them. Their Weibo content addresses issues of widespread public concern, such as first-aid measures for various emergencies, including nosebleeds, fever in infants, accidental ingestion or poisoning in children, febrile seizures, head trauma, and pediatric epileptic seizures. Additionally, popular columns like “Xiao Pei’s Q&A,” “Pediatric Medical Affairs,” and “Pei Accompanies Your Growth” have further contributed to their strong following among fans.

Moreover, to better serve its followers, Peierwu has partnered with Chunyu Doctor to deliver a series of online lectures on pediatric first aid for parents. Offline, it also holds regular public-welfare salon lectures; for instance, at the invitation of the Guangzhou Children’s Library, it has presented a series of talks for parents on topics such as “Home Care for Infant Diarrhea.” These offline salons are held once or twice a month and have run for nine consecutive sessions to date. All these initiatives facilitate diversified interactive engagement with its followers.

Gu Rui endorses the physician group model, believing that collective organization among physicians is beneficial as it facilitates more open communication, dialogue, and collaboration. He expresses optimism about multi-site practice, independent practice, and entrepreneurial ventures by physicians. While he acknowledges the enduring importance of physicians’ personal brands, he emphasizes that such brands hold significance only within their own patient communities. Therefore, the core priorities remain adherence to clinical guidelines and standards, keeping pace with advancements, maintaining technical excellence, and adopting a service-oriented mindset.

“There is no such thing as a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ doctor; there are only doctors who meet professional standards and those who do not. From a technical perspective, these standards entail continuous improvement, regular updates to keep pace with the times, a solid foundation in clinical practice, and standardized clinical reasoning. From a service perspective, they require empathy—the ability to put oneself in the patient’s shoes, share their pain, respond urgently to their needs, possess a genuine commitment to healing, and have the ability to engage patients in cooperative care.” Thus, a qualified physician, in Gu Rui’s view, must excel in both medical expertise and patient-centered service.