Abstract: Rheumatology is still a relatively young specialty of medical science in China. Despite decades of development, the number of rheumatologists nationwide is still far less than what is needed by the enormous population of patients suffering from rheumatic diseases. Moreover, the clinical competence of rheumatologists is varied considerably in different regions in China. Since the field of rheumatology is advancing internationally with a great speed, we need to expand further our understanding of rheumatology, in order to accordingly boost the progress of rheumatology in China, and to satisfy the huge unmet clinical need.