This is Part 1 of a series of albums relating to my visit to Weifang, Shandong Province, to find the memorial marker for the famous athlete and missionary to China, Eric Liddell.
Liddell died in the Weihsien Japanese Concentration Camp but left an inspiring legacy of commitment to China and humanity.
(Related blog posting: Eric Liddell – Early Olympic Hero in China )
Click on first image for full-screen viewing.
City of Weifang, Shandong Province, is the location of the memorial site for Eric Liddell.
To locate the memorial, we first located the Weifang People’s Hospital.
We understood that the memorial was at the Weifang Second Middle School, located nearby.
We found the gates of the school and, although a holiday, we were allowed entry.
We passed some older buildings on our way to the school’s central administration building.
We stopped to check this older building and historic markers and learned it is now a museum to the Japanese time here.
But the memorial we came to see was not here, so back out to the narrow street and another location.
We pass more historic buildings of similar architectural design.
Local people who knew the story of Liddell were eager to show us the way.
These gates proved to be a back entrance to a very historic site.
Guided by our new local friends, we soon spotted the Liddell memorial.
The memorial was erected by people of Scotland who continue to celebrate the life of Eric Liddell.
On the back side, a tribute to Liddell is inscribed in Chinese.
I had achieved my goal, but these local friends now filled me in on a much bigger story.
The memorial is located in the courtyard of this large historic building which was once a hospital.
We learned that this site had once served as a Japanese internment camp.
But the area was first developed as a centre for missionary work, including schools and hospital.
Dorms built for college students were later used by the Japanese to hold hundreds of foreigners.
Today, tourists may learn only a little of the origins of this site since the focus is now on the Japanese history.
Liddell died here and was buried nearby but new developments have erased any markers.
A small park is now located here as part of the grounds of a huge modern hospital.
In its sign, the modern hospital continues to preserve its connection to the first mission hospital here. [LAST PHOTO]
First published: 2015/07/30
