A quiet, steady point on the breastbone. Zhongting (CV-16) sits at the very centre of the chest, gently opening the Middle Burner's doorway — easing the chest, settling the stomach, and calming the feeling of things being stuck or pressing upward.
Contraindications
As with all points on the sternum, keep needling shallow and along the bone — do not angle deeply into the chest cavity. The point itself is not contraindicated in pregnancy, but standard care applies.
Name & story
The name 中庭 Zhongting means 'Central Courtyard' — and the image is beautifully apt. In classical Chinese architecture, the central courtyard was the calm, open space at the heart of a home: the place where air could move freely, where people gathered and things settled. This point sits in the middle of the sternum, right at the threshold between the chest above and the stomach below — a courtyard where the flow of Qi between the two regions is gently regulated. When that courtyard becomes congested and things pile up — food that won't descend, Qi that presses upward — Zhongting helps clear the space and restore the natural flow.
Point family & character
CV-16 belongs to the Conception Vessel (CV), the great Yin channel that runs up the front midline of the body. It sits between the two most famous chest points of the channel — Shanzhong CV-17 above and Juque CV-14 below — bridging the upper chest and the upper abdomen.
Five-element dynamics
The Conception Vessel is a Yin vessel that gathers and regulates all the Yin channels of the body. CV-16 sits precisely at the transition zone between the chest — ruled by the Heart and Lungs — and the epigastric region — home of the Stomach. When the Stomach's Qi rebels and rises instead of descending, or when food accumulates and presses upward against the chest, this 'central courtyard' is the place to open. It belongs naturally to the Earth dynamic of the Middle Burner, helping to restore the downward, receptive movement that the Stomach needs to do its work.
Location
CV-16 is found on the front midline of the chest, at the level of the xiphosternal junction — the small notch where the lower end of the main breastbone meets the tip of the xiphoid process. It sits 1.6 Cun below Shanzhong CV-17 and just above the soft xiphoid area.
Anatomy & fascia
The point lies directly on the sternum, over the xiphosternal joint — the junction between the body of the sternum and the xiphoid process.
Needling
The needle is inserted transversely or obliquely, directed downward along the sternum — following the same approach used for neighbouring points on the chest midline.
The golden tip
If you feel a sense of fullness or pressure in the centre of your chest — especially after eating — try gently pressing or massaging the point at the base of your breastbone, where the hard bone meets the soft tip. Stroke downward slowly, from the mid-chest toward the upper belly, several times with a warm hand. This follows the natural descending direction the Stomach Qi should take, and can bring relief to that stuck, congested feeling.
For education only — not medical advice. Consult a qualified practitioner.