Renji Hospital, Shanghai’s Earliest Western Medicine Hospital, Celebrates Its 180th Anniversary.
On November 18, the 5th Shanghai Public Hospital High-Quality Development Forum and the Medical Forum for the 180th Anniversary of Renji Hospital, affiliated with the School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, were held.
Images in this article are all provided by Renji Hospital.
As it welcomes its 180th anniversary, Renji Hospital’s museum has completed renovations and unveiled a new look. This exhibition hall vividly showcases Renji’s century-old red gene and patriotic sentiment, and introduces the concept of medical science popularization. In the exhibition area for major organ transplantation, eight transplantation techniques, including liver, kidney, heart, lung, small intestine, islet, cornea, and bone marrow transplantation, are presented to visitors in the form of glasses-free 3D.
According to records, on February 18, 1844, British physician William Lockhart founded the Chinese Hospital in a private house outside the East Gate of Shanghai’s county town, which was the predecessor of Renji Hospital and also Shanghai’s earliest Western medicine hospital. In June of the same year, the hospital was relocated to Zhangjia Lane, Nancang, outside Shanghai’s Xiaonan Gate, with a capacity for over 30 inpatient beds.
In July 1846, the hospital moved to its new premises in Maijiaquan, and because it was located on Shantung Road, it was commonly known as Shantung Road Hospital or “Renji Medical Clinic”. On November 29, 1952, with the approval of the Health Department of the East China Military and Political Committee, the hospital was taken over by Shanghai Second Medical College and became its affiliated hospital. Subsequently, in 1966 and 1972, it was renamed Shanghai Second Medical College Affiliated Gongnongbing Hospital and Shanghai Second Medical College Affiliated Third People’s Hospital, respectively.
In 1984, the hospital’s name was restored to Shanghai Second Medical College Affiliated Renji Hospital. In 1985, it was renamed Shanghai Second Medical University Affiliated Renji Hospital, and in 2005, it was renamed again as Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Affiliated Renji Hospital.
Spanning three centuries and enduring for 180 years, Renji Hospital has created numerous legends in the history of Chinese and world medicine. The country’s first nursing school, the first orthopedic ward in China, the first artificial heart-lung machine in China, and the first open-heart surgery under acupuncture anesthesia were all born in Renji Hospital. The hospital has cultivated a large number of medically skilled and innovative talents, such as Huang Mingxin, the founder of internal medicine in China, Lan Xichun, the founder of surgery in China, Jiang Shaoji, one of the first academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the founder of Chinese gastroenterology… They have established milestones for the development of Western medicine in China.
According to data, over the years, Renji Hospital’s outpatient and emergency visits, as well as the number of inpatient surgeries, have consistently ranked first in Shanghai. Multiple key disciplines have continuously ranked among the top nationwide in the Fudan specialist rankings for consecutive years. Among them, the gastroenterology discipline has ranked first in the Fudan Hospital Specialty Reputation Rankings for five consecutive years, the number of liver transplantation surgeries has maintained the top position nationwide for 13 consecutive years, and the number of pediatric liver transplantation surgeries has ranked first globally for 11 consecutive years.
In terms of digitization, Renji Hospital adheres to digital empowerment for development. All seven scenarios of “convenient medical services” have been implemented. It was the first in the city to achieve online payment of medical expenses without a card, and has signed contracts with 51 pension institutions in 9 districts across the city to establish cloud clinics. The innovative model of “Internet hospital + nursing home” covers over 19,000 beds. In terms of talent cultivation, in 2014, the Shanghai-Ottawa Joint Medical School was established at Renji Hospital, setting a precedent for the internationalization reform of undergraduate teaching in clinical medicine. In 2019, it collaborated with the French Academy of Medicine and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Strasbourg to establish the “Sino-French Academy of Surgery”, marking another step forward in the internationalization of medical education.
Chen Zhu, Vice Chairman of the 13th National People’s Congress Standing Committee, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Chief Engineer of the Four Major Chronic Disease Special Projects, Chen Yujian, Vice Mayor of Shanghai, Jin Xingming, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Political Consultative Conference, Huang Hong, Member of the Shanghai People’s Congress Standing Committee and Chairman of the Overseas Chinese and Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee, and Ding Kuiling, President of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the opening ceremony.
On November 18, 2024, Chen Zhu, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the opening ceremony in Shanghai.