Former Site of the Boji Hospital

Former Site of the Boji Hospital

The former site of the Boji Hospital is a cultural heritage conservation unit of Suzhou.

The Boji Hospital was located outside the west gate of Soochow University on Shizi Street in Suzhou. It was a Western-style medical hospital founded in Suzhou, China, by the Southern Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States.

After construction began, eight buildings were erected, including an outpatient clinic, internal medicine and surgery wards, an operating room, a smoking cessation room, dormitories, a laundry, and a kitchen. At that time, there were 30 hospital beds. This was the most important of the buildings, with a simple exterior.

Historical records indicate that in 1883, with funding from the American church and donations from local residents in Suzhou, the Boji Hospital officially broke ground. The hospital was managed by two American doctors, William Hector Park and William R. Lambuth. In 1886, William Hector Park became the first director of the Boji Hospital. As the hospital gradually expanded, a new complex was completed in 1922, featuring a three-and-a-half-story inpatient building and a two-story outpatient building.