The Bussière garden in China at war

Photo of Doctor Bussière in the Bussière garden

In the western hills in Beijing, there is a centenary place called the Bussière garden, a historical building which testifies to the deep friendship established between a French doctor and the Chinese people during a special period. He also embodies a sino-French friendship bond which extends over a century.

The creator of this garden is the French doctor Jean Jérôme Augustin Bussière. Having lived in China for more than forty years, he linked his destiny to that of China by his medical excellence, his immense generosity and his flawless courage.

The deep link of a French doctor with China

Born in 1872 in a rural region of the center of France, Doctor Bussière obtained his doctorate at the Military Medicine University in Bordeaux. His professional career led him to practice medicine in several regions of the world, where he acquired solid experience in the treatment of contagious diseases such as plague and cholera. In 1913, at the age of 41, he was invited to China, where he then lived for 41 years.

“During his stay in China, Doctor Bussière successively held the posts of doctor at the Legation of France and director of the French hospital in Beijing. In 1917, he was the first to introduce the plague vaccine in China, “said Yu Peili, deputy director of the Cultural Promotion Center for the Haidian district. Thanks to his professional skills, he quickly acquired a great reputation in Beijing. He treated elites like ordinary people, often offering free consultations at his home located in the Hutong Datian Shuijing with the poor.

In 1923, after the death of his wife and his daughter’s pulmonary disease, he sought a place of convalescence in the air for his daughter. He then praised mountainous land in the bucolic setting of the western hills where he designed a jard villa, giving birth to the Bussière garden. Built on the mountainside, the architectural ensemble combines the style of European castles with that of traditional Chinese gardens.

Doctor Bussière enjoyed a great affection from local villagers. Zhang Wenda, member of the academic committee of the History, Geography and Folklore Society of Beijing, notes that he is still present in the memory of the inhabitants of the surroundings.

At the time, Doctor Bussière’s car often found himself stuck on the roads at the foot of the Bussière garden after the heavy summer rains. Informed of this situation, the teachers and students of the Lycée du Bourg de Wenquan decided to collect funds in order to build a small stone bridge, which they named the bridge of Doctor Bussière, engraving his name on it.

“The existence of this bridge tangibly reflects the deep friendship that united Doctor Bussière to local residents,” explains Ms. Yu.

South pavilion of the Bussière garden

Unwavering courage

In 1937, the Japanese army deliberately provoked the July 7 incident (incident of the Lugou bridge), triggering a war of general aggression against China. Doctor Bussière, representative of foreign doctors in Beijing, wrote to the Chinese Red Cross to offer its services and support the resistance of the Chinese people.

Shortly after, Huang Hao, an underground member of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing, contacted Doctor Bussière by asking him to use his foreigner status to transport essential drugs to the anti -Japanese support base in the western hills. At that time, the Japanese army imposed a strict blockade in resistance areas, notably prohibiting the transport of drugs. Despite the enormous risks, Doctor Bussière accepted the mission without hesitation.

A special medication transport route was thus opened. At the beginning, Doctor Bussière used his car, but with the fuel shortage, and already over the age of 70, he began to transport them by bicycle, continuing this dangerous mission. The first way to the city of Beijing to the western hills exceeded 40 km, crossing many Japanese control stations. People could often see this old man pedaling laboriously on mountain roads, wearing dozens of kilos of drugs.

This transport line was later described as “bike bump” by Chinese president Xi Jinping during his visit to France, in reference to the famous “bump”, a China-Burma-India air bridge during the Second World War.

During this period, the Bussière garden became a secret relay and a refuge. The drugs were given to the resistance fighters, which transported them to the hospitals of the anti -Japanese support bases. At the same time, Doctor Bussière and his assistant Wu Sidan (who later became his wife) practiced surgical operations on the wounded in the VIIIhe road army.

The bridge of Doctor Bussière, located in the west of the village of Wenquan, in the district of Haidian (Beijing) (photos provided by the Department of Communication of the Haidian district)

A garden that perpetuates the Sino-Française friendship

His son, Jean-Louis Bussière, also a doctor, took over the torch of the history of Doctor Bussière in China. He has long gone back and forth between France and China to collect his father’s archives. “I did not think that my father would be as much appreciated in China, it fills us with pride. He made a humanitarian contribution to the Chinese people during his darkest hours, and I am proud of him. Retranging this story, we feel that friendship between France and China is still continuing. »»

China has never forgotten this French friend. In 2001 and 2011, the Bussière garden was registered as a site protected in the district of Haidian and then in Beijing, becoming a basis of Sino-French cultural exchanges as well as one of the first protected revolutionary monuments of the city. In 2013, the Haidian government completely restored this historic building to restore its face of the time. In March 2014, during his visit to France, Chinese President Xi Jinping warmly received Jean-Louis Bussière in Paris.

In 2024, a bronze bust of Doctor Bussière, produced by a French sculptor and offered by the association of the new Franco-Chinese institute of Lyon in China, was permanently installed in the Bussière garden.

According to Huang Yixiong, head of the administration of the Bussière garden, the garden, whose catering began last year, should reopen to the public in September 2025. “In the future, we will organize dialogues between Sino-Français experts and youth exchanges to make the Bussière garden an international trade center, and fully exploit its role as a bridge in Sino-Française friendship. »»

More than a century ago, Doctor Bussière crossed the oceans to come to China. More than a century later, its touching history and its immortal spirit continue to be transmitted. This unique building, carrying a rich history, always plays an irreplaceable role in friendly relations between the peoples of China and France.