is a fictional character from the medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy, which has aired for 20 seasons on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States.

Her relationships with fellow doctors Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) and George O'Malley (T. R. Knight) were central to the show's early seasons.

Her exit, though bittersweet, was written in a way that honored her character's ambition and professional dedication, leaving her to continue her career in Zurich as the head of a prestigious cardiothoracic department.

[1][2][3][4] Cristina Yang is introduced as a graduate from Stanford University and a fellow surgical intern to Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) and George O'Malley (T. R. Knight); the five of them working under resident Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson).

After Burke is shot in the arm and develops a hand tremor, Yang helps him cover it up by forming a covert partnership wherein she performs most of his surgeries.

Yang then proceeds to go on her honeymoon to Hawaii with Meredith to recover, returning to discover that Burke has disappeared from her life and transferred to a different hospital.

Without a teacher, Yang begins to seriously doubt the purpose of remaining in her place at Seattle Grace when the program falls to twelfth on a list of the best teaching hospitals and Burke wins the Harper Avery award without mentioning her at all, despite her saving his career.

Yang meets Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd), an army trauma surgeon when he patches her up from being stabbed in the stomach by a falling icicle outside the hospital.

Cristina loses her shot at being the first resident to perform a solo surgery despite being unanimously chosen by the attending surgeons, having been disciplined from failing to report the irresponsible behavior of the new interns.

The pair begin a tentative relationship, hampered by Hunt's therapeutic progress and his hot and cold professional behavior, wherein he frequently ignores or penalizes Yang to avoid the appearance of favoritism.

Hunt hires ex-colleague from the Army, Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), to become the chief of cardiothoracic surgery as a "gift" for Yang, after she breaks down over having no new head of cardio.

Due to having severe PTSD and being unable to do her job correctly anymore, Cristina quits and begins bartending and eventually throws a housewarming party.

Afterward, Yang, Meredith, Derek, Mark Sloan (Eric Dane), Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) and Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) are involved in an aviation accident while on the way to Boise, Idaho to perform surgery on conjoined twins.

Yang leaves Seattle to become a cardiothoracic surgical fellow and goes, as planned, to the Mayo Clinic, but has difficulties adapting to her new colleagues' way of working.

Shocked, Cristina agrees, but later finds out that the potential conflict of interest regarding the plane crash lawsuit was a key motive behind Owen's request and confronts him.

Yang, Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez), and the other surviving doctors buy the hospital with the help of the Harper-Avery Foundation to prevent it from closing, and each become members of the new directing board.

When Dr. Shane Ross, a second-year resident, stands up to Meredith for her, Cristina kisses him, and later begins sleeping with him, as well as becoming his mentor and passing on the skills learned from Altman.

Cristina is nominated for the Harper Avery award and is a strong candidate, however she is passed over due to her relationship with the Harper-Avery Foundation, that co-owns Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital.

She credited Shonda Rhimes' influence as a black woman running the show as instrumental in the decision to cast her, emphasizing the importance of diverse representation by saying, "which makes a big fucking difference.

"[8] In 2009, when asked why Oh signed on for Grey's Anatomy, Oh said: The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) characterized Cristina Yang as "competitive", "ambitious", and "intelligent", while also noting her flaws as being "bossy", "aggressive", and "tactless".

James Pickens Jr., who portrayed Dr. Richard Webber, added: "That character itself set a bar in terms of how we look at millennial women: independent yet vulnerable, seriously competitive yet caring.

The storyline echoed an earlier arc in season 2, where a planned abortion turned into an ectopic pregnancy—a choice made for more dramatic storytelling at the time.

Voices included Yang on its list of "The Most Loyal TV Best-Friends of All Time", and Lauren Shotwell of Television Without Pity described her as the only character among the five original interns who "regularly acts like an actual doctor.

"[33] Yang's relationship with Owen Hunt also received praise, with Monfette commenting that their interactions were well-balanced for maximum drama, and they revealed a softer side of Cristina.

[34] Jennifer Armstrong of Entertainment Weekly praised their relationship, particularly in the episode "Elevator Love Letter", where she said Sandra Oh and Kevin McKidd delivered Emmy-worthy performances.

New York Magazine commended Grey's Anatomy for being one of the few shows willing to address the topic directly, calling the abortion "the only plausible resolution" for Cristina's pregnancy.

[16] Tanner Stransky of Entertainment Weekly reflected on Cristina's decisions following Owen's affair, calling her actions both silly and profound depending on the perspective.

[36] Robert Bianco of USA Today praised Cristina's storylines in Season 8, particularly for how they explored complex emotional responses to past trauma.

Liane Bonin Starr of HitFix appreciated the fresh perspective it offered on Yang, stating that it allowed viewers to see a new side of her character, which was refreshing after many seasons.

wrote, "In Grey's Anatomy's 10-year history, the doctor-duo has been through a lot together: weddings, deaths, bomb-threats, drownings, shootings, plane-crashes, superstorms, you name it, they've lived (and danced) through it."