Venue Introduction

Renji is the first western hospital in Shanghai and the second in China. William Lockhart, a missionary from Britain, rented a house in the inhabited area near Da Dong Men (Big East Gate) of Shanghai County and opened the hospital in 1844, the 24th year of the Qing dynasty Daoguang Emperor. It was then known as 'the Chinese Hospital'. Two years later, the hospital moved to Mai Jia Quan (now Middle Shandong Road), and changed its name to Shantung Road Hospital, also called Renji Yi Guan, which had 60 beds and started an out-patient clinic. In 1927, the hospital received a legacy from the British merchant, Henry Lester, comprising one million taels of silver and four lots of real estate, which were used to expand the hospital. In 1932, a six floor building was constructed for the hospital, and the number of beds was increased to 250. It became Renji Hospital, although some people called it the Lester Chinese Hospital. Till 1949, Renji Hospital had 300 beds.
In November 1952, Shanghai Second Medical College took over control of Renji Hospital from East China Health Care Administration and renamed Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Second Medical College. During the 'Cultural Revolution', the hospital once changed its name to 'Gong Nong Bing Hospital' (workers, farmers and armymen's hospital) and 'The 3rd People's Hospital'. In Dec. 1984, the hospital regained to its former name Renji. In 1985, Shanghai Second Medical College renamed as Shanghai Second Medical University (SSMU), and Renji Hospital became an affiliated hospital of SSMU. At the end of 1990, Renji had 607 beds and 1,211 staff members. In 2005, Shanghai Second Medical University was merged to Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Renji Hospital then became an affiliated hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.