楊艷

2021年春天，位于渝中區(qū)山城巷仁愛堂的“荒野花園”在網(wǎng)絡(luò)爆紅，哥特式建筑搭配“玫瑰瀑布”，制造出獨特的法式浪漫，引得眾多游客前來打卡。

距離中興路公交車站約100米處，就是“山城步道”入口。拾級而上，經(jīng)過改造的山城巷有了新變化。山城巷從前叫“天燈街”，夜晚從遠處遙看，這一帶萬家燈火猶如星星點燈。加之地勢高，宛若在天上，故此得名。沿路的老宅鋪面開了許多餐廳、火鍋店、茶館、咖啡館、DIY手作店，還有各種潮范兒標(biāo)識，濃厚的文藝氣息撲面而來。

走過一段懸空棧道，穿過一道古樸石門，猶如時空轉(zhuǎn)換，驀地闖進莫奈的神秘花園，這里便是法國仁愛堂舊址了。

眼前，長了青苔的鐘樓保留了舊址原始風(fēng)貌。地下室的格局依稀可見，周邊的空地被重新布置一番。遺存的建筑構(gòu)件猶如歷史留下的化石標(biāo)本，也被充分利用起來，充滿藝術(shù)感。鐘樓、城墻、地面點綴各種綠植和鮮花。從教堂頂端傾瀉而出近20米長的“玫瑰瀑布”景觀，給人以震撼的視覺沖擊效果。廢棄與重生，荒蕪與生機，充滿沖突的藝術(shù)氛圍，體現(xiàn)了城市兼容并蓄、創(chuàng)新發(fā)展的希望之光。

“玫瑰瀑布”“玫瑰花池”與老建筑交相輝映，在夕陽余暉下盡顯法式浪漫。看到這片美麗的“廢墟”，讓人更加好奇它百年間的輝煌過往。穿過花園可到達仁愛堂正大門，教堂雖歷經(jīng)百年，但仍完整保留了原貌。室內(nèi)6根白色古羅馬柱撐起空間，兩側(cè)墻上對稱分布著拱形門窗，精致的菱形木格窗花和羅馬柱顯露過往的榮光。

1891年重慶開埠之后，大量外國人涌入，開洋行、修教堂、建醫(yī)院……據(jù)渝中區(qū)文管所資料顯示，仁愛堂建于1900年，1902年竣工投入使用。由法國技術(shù)人員繪圖設(shè)計，由教堂、神父樓、修女樓、醫(yī)院、鐘樓、教會學(xué)校和附屬建筑組成，占地12.25畝。整個建筑從高空俯瞰呈“工”字排列，為仿羅馬式磚木結(jié)構(gòu)，融合了西方建筑和傳統(tǒng)中式建筑風(fēng)格。

仁愛堂建筑最著名的機構(gòu)當(dāng)屬仁愛堂醫(yī)院，是由法國人籌建的重慶第一座西醫(yī)院，由瑪麗亞方濟圣女修會負責(zé)管理，法國人阿特里昂為首任院長。據(jù)史料記載，仁愛堂醫(yī)院創(chuàng)辦初期僅設(shè)門診部，由教區(qū)聘請?zhí)丶s醫(yī)生應(yīng)診，1934年設(shè)住院部;1945年設(shè)立仁愛高級護士職業(yè)學(xué)校辦班教學(xué)，學(xué)制3年，面向社會招生;1948年新建樓房，改善醫(yī)療設(shè)施、增加病床，門診部設(shè)內(nèi)科、外科、婦產(chǎn)科、小兒科、口腔科、五官科等。

抗戰(zhàn)時期，在重慶的各國使領(lǐng)館為躲避日軍飛機轟炸，在屋頂都刷上各自所在國的國旗。所以，這一片建筑基本都保留了下來。那時，仁愛堂醫(yī)院曾設(shè)“難童救濟及救養(yǎng)第十所”，為空襲受災(zāi)的兒童提供救濟。

仁愛堂鐘樓遺址一側(cè)的老墻上，還依稀可見“四川省重慶中醫(yī)學(xué)（校）門診”幾個紅色字跡。據(jù)介紹，1944年仁愛堂醫(yī)院改名為“陪都中醫(yī)院”，也就是曾經(jīng)的重慶市第一中醫(yī)院的前身。

1951年4月，原西南軍政委員會衛(wèi)生部接辦仁愛堂醫(yī)院及仁愛高級護士職業(yè)學(xué)校時，將教堂、神父樓及修道院也一并接收，取名“新渝醫(yī)院”。

重慶市人民政府于2001年2月決定將仁愛堂教堂、神父住房、修道院房屋共3000余平方米劃撥給天主教會，經(jīng)過維修，教堂于2002年6月11日對外開放。

仁愛堂就像個一位衣著華麗而神態(tài)滄桑的老者，見證著重慶的開埠歷史。值得一提的是，仁愛堂舊址位置居高臨下，地處山城巷所在山體頂端。在這山頂，看江景也是絕佳，不愧為長江岸上曾經(jīng)的地標(biāo)。

Located in French Benevolence Hall （Ren Ai Tang） in Mountain City Lane of Yuzhong District， the "Wilderness Garden" goes viral online in the spring of 2021.

The entrance of "mountainous city footpath" is about 100 meters away from Zhongxing Road bus stop. Going up the stairs， one could spot new changes in the renovated Mountain City Lane. Previously known as "Lantern Lane"， Mountain City Lane， when viewed from a distance at night， dots the sky with household lighting. In addition to the high terrain， the lane looks as if it were in the sky， hence it is named as "Lantern Lane". Immersed in an overwhelming artistic ambiance， one may find a slew of restaurants， hot pot shops， tea houses， cafes， DIY handmade shops， as well as all kinds of stylish signage in the old roadside storefront.

Having gone through a suspended plank road and passed an ancient stone gate， one would feel like barging into Monet's Secret Garden with intertwined time and space. Here lies the former site of the French Benevolence Hall.

The mossy bell tower unfolded before the eyes preserves the original style and features of the former site. The pattern of the basement remains faintly visible with the surrounding open space rearranged. The relics of the building components， like the fossil specimens left by history， are also fully utilized， teemed with an artistic sense. Bell tower， city wall and ground are embellished with various green plants and flowers. The landscape of 20 meter-long "Rose waterfall" pouring out from the top of the church brings a breathtaking visual impact. Desertion and rebirth， desolation and vitality， the artistic atmosphere brimming with conflicts， reflects the light of hope of the city's inclusive and innovative development.

"Rose waterfall" and "Rose pond" complement with the old architectural landscape， showcasing French romance in the sunset. The sight of this enchanting "ruins" makes one even more curious about its century-old glory. Passing through the garden， one can reach the main gate of French Benevolence Hall （Ren Ai Tang）. Despite centuries of vicissitudes， it still intactly preserves its original appearance. With six white Roman columns inside bolstering the whole interior， arched doors and windows symmetrically lay on both sides of the walls， revealing the past glory by exquisite rhombic wood grilles and Roman columns.

Since port opening of Chongqing in 1891， a legion of foreigners flocked into the city， with foreign firms opened， churches and hospitals built... According to Cultural Relics Management Office of Yuzhong District， French Benevolence Hall （Ren Ai Tang） was first built in 1900， then completed and put into use in 1902. Designed by French technicians， it is composed of a church， a priest building， a nun building， a hospital， a bell tower， a church school and annexes， covering an area of 12.25 mu. Assuming the inverted "H" shape from a bird's eye view， the entire building incorporates Romanesque brick and wood structure and integrates Western architecture and traditional Chinese architectural styles.

The most famous organization of Ren Ai Tang buildings is Ren Ai Tang Hospital， which is the first Western Hospital in Chongqing built by the French， managed by Franciscan Missionaries of Mary， with the French Arterion serving as the first president. According to historical records， in the early stage of its establishment， Ren Ai Tang Hospital only set up an outpatient department with special physicians appointed by the parish for consultation. In 1934， an inpatient department was set up; in 1945， Ren Ai Senior Nursing Vocational School was set up with the 3-year teaching program and social enrollment; in 1948， it built new buildings， ameliorated medical facilities and increased beds with internal medicine， surgery， obstetrics and gynecology， pediatrics， stomatology， and ENT set up in the outpatient department.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression， the embassies and consulates in Chongqing painted their own national flags on the roofs to ward off the Japanese aircraft bombing. Buildings in this area， therefore， were by and large preserved. At that time， Ren Ai Tang Hospital once set up "The 10th Relief and Care Center for Children in Need" to provide relief for afflicted children of air strikes.

Some red letters of "Chongqing Traditional Chinese Medicine （School） Clinic in Sichuan Province" are dimly visible on an old wall on one side of the former site of Ren Ai Tang bell tower. It is reported that in 1944， Ren Ai Tang Hospital was renamed as "War-Time Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital"， namely the predecessor of Chongqing No.1 Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital.

In April， 1951， the former Ministry of Health of Southwest Military Administrative Committee took over the Ren Ai Tang Hospital and Ren Ai Senior Nursing Vocational School along with the church， the priest building and the monastery， and named them as "Xin Yu Hospital".

In February 2001， Chongqing Municipal People's Government decided to allocate over 3，000 square meters of the church， priest lodge and monastery houses to Catholic Church. After maintenance， the church was opened to the public on June 11， 2002.

Like an elderly in a resplendent gown yet with a weathered look， French Benevolence Hall （Ren Ai Tang） witnessed the port-opening history of Chongqing. It is worth mentioning that the former site of French Benevolence Hall （Ren Ai Tang） perches at the mountain top of Mountain City Lane with a commanding position. As the mountain top here also offers a superb river view， no wonder it was the landmark on the riverbank of the Yangtze River.