A 99-year-old hospital on Taipei’s Dihua Street has been named a city heritage site, because of its original facilities from the Japanese colonial era, including a sunlit surgical suite.
After conducting a review of the property, all 17 members of the Taipei Cultural Assets Review Committee on Monday voted to designate Two Chiangs Hospital (兩江醫院) a cultural asset.
The hospital opened in 1923 on present-day 28 Dihua St Sec 1 in the city’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area.
Photo: CNA / Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs
It was named after the two physicians who opened the facility: general practitioner Chiang Ching-chin (江景勤) and surgeon Chiang Li-to (江立托).
The first floor housed the clinic and operating room, while the second and third floors were residential.
Typical to the area, the upper floors facing the street each have three windows supported by four columns, with the inner two on the top floor designed in Corinthian style. The pillars on the ground floor have decorative corbels, while the sign in raised concrete remains in its original condition.
The interior has not been changed, preserving the functionality of the clinic and operating room, the committee said.
A special skylight was designed at the back entrance to light the operating table, bringing natural light from the second floor via a square cone-shaped device, it said.
The residential area upstairs still has its original wooden partitions, futons and cabinets, offering a glimpse into how the space was used.
There have been no alterations to the original architecture, materials or style, giving the building major historical value, the committee said.
During the review, Chiang Shih-yuan (江世元), Chiang Ching-chin’s grandson, talked about his grandfather’s background.
Originally from Pingtung County, Chiang Ching-chin was sent by the Japanese colonial government to study at hospitals in Tokyo, Kyoto and Nagoya before settling in Dadaocheng, he said.
His own grandfather, Chiang Chang-jung (江昶榮), was one of three people in Pingtung’s Liouduei (六堆) Hakka community to pass the imperial exam, but could not assume a post due to the Sino-French War, he added.
Later in an interview, Chiang Shih-yuan said that the property had been illegally occupied by someone who rented it out without permission.
The owners tried to solve the problem through various channels, but now Chiang Shih-yuan said he hoped the building’s designation as a historical site would allow it to be restored and opened to the public as soon as possible.
According to the Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs, the process began in 2020, but was not approved until now as the land and building are held by different owners.
Both sides have agreed to the designation and are to receive compensation, while communication is to be maintained with them throughout the restoration process, it added.
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