The Beijing Social Welfare Hospital, located in Qinghe in northwest Beijing's Haidian District, officially opened on December 27, 2001. However, by 5 p.m. on opening day, no patients had arrived for medical treatment. The serial number on the first registration bills specially made for low-income patients remained at 00001.

Our journalists started off at 2:55 yesterday afternoon by bus for the hospital from the Dongdan stop, two kilometers east of Tian'anmen Square, the heart of the city of Beijing. By 3:35 the journalists had made it to the Jishuitan stop where they changed to bus No.345 that took them to Qinghe in 35 minutes. After a 5-minute walk along the Qinghe River, the journalists arrived at the welfare hospital at 4:15. The journey took one hour and twenty minutes and cost 4 yuan.

Three hours and 8 yuan may seem not too bad for a round-trip bus trip, but it would take even more time and money for those patients who live farther away in the southern parts of the city. One laid-off worker who is not in good health, a woman surnamed Cai, commented: "What a long journey. A patient would have to spend 10 yuan and a whole day for a single medical treatment."

Why is the sole welfare hospital in Beijing set up outside the Fifth Ring Road? A leading official from Beijing Municipal Civil Affair Bureau explained: "We originally thought to build the hospital somewhere near to the Fourth Ring Road as a location convenient for most patients. But for some reason, in the end that plan was not realized."

The official did not explain in more detail, but said: "We came up against some difficulties during construction even though the municipal authority and relevant departments tried their best. The municipal authority allocated a great deal of funding and even transferred 15 percent of sales income from the welfare lottery to the project. We did everything we could."

Of course, Qinghe's welfare hospital is just the beginning of a project to help the poor. A city measure recently passed -- The Preliminary Medical Assistance Program for Low-Income Households in Beijing -- will soon be put into effect. According to the measure: "The civil affairs administrations in different districts and counties along with public health departments will designate one or two non-profit state-owned hospitals to offer medical relief services for low-income patients in the city."

It has been learned that a list of such hospitals offering medical services to low-income families in Beijing is well under way.

(北京青年报[Beijing Youth Daily] December 27, 2001, translated for china.org.cn by unisumoon)