The statue of Vietnamese physician Le Huu Trac at the Quy Hoa National Leprosy Dermatology Hospital. The hospital is famous for its statue garden.

Statues of world-famous physicians make Quy Hoa National Leprosy Dermatology Hospital in Quy Nhon Town worth a visit.

Established in 1929 by French priest Paul Maheure, the camp still treats lepers as well as being home to early 1,000 former patients. The poet Tu, who died of the disease, contracted leprosy in 1933 and stayed there between September and November 1940.

The area, bordered by the sea, with its twisted roads, timeworn buildings, gardens and lawns is very scenic and receives tens of thousands of visitors a year.

The statue garden was set up in 1996, by Dr. Tran Huu Ngoan, who was the hospital’s director from 1954-1994. There are 40 white rock statues and busts of the world’s most famous physicians which are arranged in rows along a shady road. Each statue has details about the doctor: their dates of birth and death, and their personal contributions to medicine.

At the garden entrance is the statue of Le Huu Trac (1720- 1791) who called himself Hai Thuong Lan Ong (Lazy man in Hai Thuong). Trac is the most famous physician from Vietnam, leaving behind many remedies that are still applied today. He is a good example for other physicians since he never refused any patient, no matter how rich or poor.

The garden also honors Avicenna from ancient Greece; France’s Ambroise Paré (1510-1590), who pretended to make the sounds of rain and birds to help his patients sleep; and Hippocrates, the so-called forefather of Western medicine, also from Greece.

The stone physicians, who will never be forgotten for their contributions to humanity, look as if they are deep in thought about the mysteries of medicine.

Quy Hoa Leprosy Camp was originally built to treat 30 patients but by 1954, it had a capacity of 700. Since 1976, many former patients have decided to settle there.

Reported by Phan Huy Tram