Former Site of Marling Hospital

Former Site of Marling Hospital

The former site of Marling Hospital is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The former site of Marling Hospital is located at No. 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province.

It covers an area of over 60,000 square meters, with a building area of more than 81,700 square meters. The tallest structure has 12 floors, and the site includes both outpatient and inpatient departments. In 1886 (the 12th year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty), Canadian missionary and doctor Marling (1860–1947) came to Nanjing to practice medicine and preach. He initially set up preaching halls in the Drum Tower area and Huashi Street in the southern part of the city (now near Changle Road on San Shan Jie), along with clinics that offered free treatment to poor patients and promoted Christianity. The following year, the American Christian Church decided to raise funds to build a mission hospital for him. A local named Jing Weihang donated a plot of land on the southern slope of the Drum Tower as the site. In 1892, a two-story building was completed and named “Christ’s Hospital,” becoming the first Western-style hospital in Nanjing. Since the hospital was headed by Marling, it became commonly known as “Marling Hospital.” In 1911 (the 3rd year of the Xuantong reign), the medical school established by the American Christian Church-affiliated University of Nanking began using the hospital as a teaching facility. In 1914, it was renamed Ginling University Drum Tower Hospital.

On April 23, 1949, when Nanjing was liberated, the military administration took over the University of Nanking Hospital. In June 1951, the Nanjing Municipal People's Government assumed management and renamed it Nanjing People’s Drum Tower Hospital, placing it under the Nanjing Health Bureau. Major structures from the former Marling Hospital still stand today. The building constructed in 1892 faces south, is 31.5 meters wide, 12 meters deep, and has a construction area of 1,277 square meters. It features blue bricks with red brick accents, round arch windows, and dormer windows protruding from the roof. Together with another two-story building to its north, it showcases American colonial architectural style.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units