Former Site of Puppet Manchukuo Xinjing Health Technology Factory

At No. 3456 Xi'an Avenue in Changchun, a two-story reinforced concrete building with a partial third floor stands as a silent record of scientific ambition and human suffering. Completed in 1935 under the Puppet Manchukuo Ministry of Civil Affairs, this structure began as the Xinjing Health Technology Factory. Its exterior walls bear the physical marks of its creators. The facade was finished with a rough-cast cement render (locally known as pala hui), produced by dragging a nail-studded wooden float across freshly applied cement mortar to create a coarse, ribbed surface texture. On the south elevation, weathered red brick masonry contrasts with dark gray cement roof tiles, while inside, precast terrazzo balustrades with polished handrails define the northern staircase.

Behind these tactile surfaces lies a dark history. In December 1938, the facility joined the Continental Academy of Sciences, focusing on vaccine and serum production. In July 1938, the factory’s director, Abe, distributed plague-infected insects in the poor neighborhoods of Xingyun Road and Nihonbashi, triggering an epidemic that sickened hundreds. Two years later, in October 1940, Shiro Ishii, commander of Unit 731, arrived in Changchun. He ordered autopsies of plague victims inside this factory to develop deadlier bacterial strains.

The building survived these horrors and transitioned through the decades. In April 1944, it became the Kosei Research Institute, shifting its focus to maternal health and nutrition. Following the war, the Nationalist government renamed it the Changchun Health Technology Factory in 1946. By 1953, it served as the foundation for the Changchun Institute of Biological Products.

Today, the site has found a peaceful purpose. Since 2021, the former factory grounds have served as the campus for the Changchun High School of Arts and Sciences. Students now walk past the same rough, hand-scratched plaster walls that once witnessed the darkest chapters of wartime science. Recent urban renewal plans ensure the preservation of these historic structures, keeping the physical memory of Changchun's complex past intact for future generations.