Former Site of Chengzhi Hospital

Former Site of Chengzhi Hospital

The former site of Chengzhi Hospital is located in Huaiyin Village, Dongye Town, Wutai County. In the 23rd year of the Republic of China (1934), Zhao Chengshou, a native of Huaiyin Village who was then the Commander-in-Chief of the Cavalry of Yan Xishan’s Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, personally funded the construction of this hospital to address the difficulty local villagers faced in accessing medical treatment and medicine. The hospital integrated both traditional Chinese and Western medicine, offering completely free treatment to villagers, which was warmly welcomed by the local community. The former site faces south and covers an area of 2,241 square meters. It consists of two courtyards accessed through a single entrance. Along the street is a row of eleven rooms, with a central gateway flanked by five rooms on each side as storefronts. These have a depth of six rafters, with a rolled shed and flush gable roof covered in grey tiles, serving as the outpatient area. The second row makes use of the natural terrain and consists of eleven stone-vaulted cave rooms. The middle room features a protruding porch with a single-eave hip-and-gable roof, fronted by a table curtain and bracket sets, with a depth of one rafter, stone-carved column bases, and bracket arms, among other features. It is painted in rich colors. This forms the second hall. The two halls are thus connected. The east and west wings each consist of three rooms, with several auxiliary rooms nearby. A total of seven rooms are used as wards. After the hospital was shut down, the site was used as a grain storage facility for decades. In 1982, when the grain depot was relocated, the site became the village committee’s activity center.

Source: Xinzhou Website

Huaiyin Village: Backed by Longshan Mountain and fronted by the Hutuo River and the Xiaohuanghe River, where the two waterways converge, Huaiyin Village boasts uniquely beautiful scenery and a mild, moist climate at an altitude of 740 meters. Spring arrives particularly early here, earning it the reputation of “Early Greenery in Huaiyin.” The entire village faces south and has a long, narrow layout stretching 4 kilometers from east to west. Villagers’ homes are spread across high ridges and deep valleys, among which are numerous courtyard homes built during the Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as many cultural relics and historic sites. Notably, situated in the center of the village is a school built as early as 1934. The school is divided into five levels following the terrain and consists of seven courtyards, arranged in a staggered and well-balanced fashion, exemplifying typical Ming and Qing architectural style. In 201... More details about Huaiyin Village ++