Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) celebrated the centennial of its founding with a week of special programs in September. Three CMB trustees joined by eight Rockefeller family members, CMB President Lincoln Chen, and Beijing office staff attended various centennial events, including conferences on nursing and medical education,  a ceremonial celebration, and a concluding U.S.-China health summit. The Rockefeller Foundation envisioned PUMC as “the cradle of modern medicine in China,” and established CMB to build this premier medical institution, and the celebratory events provided an occasion to reflect on PUMC’s tradition of excellence and pioneering innovations over the course of a century.

The formal 100^th celebration took place at the Beijing Hotel on September 22, with Vice Chairman of the People’s Congress, Chen Zhu, inaugurating the opening. CMB Trustee Wendy O’Neill, a fifth-generation member of the Rockefeller family, added a personal link to PUMC’s history as she described John D. Rockefeller, Senior’s belief in the power of modern science to transform health and his belief in the potential of China. The following day, CMB Chair Tony Saich welcomed guests to a PUMC-CMB reception in the elegant South Courtyard, and Trustee Fred Hu highlighted his experience as the first Chinese member of CMB’s board. Earlier in the week, Lincoln Chen participated as speaker and moderator at the International Nursing Education Seminar and the International Medical Education Seminar. The CMB-Rockefeller delegation also included Mary Bullock, the CMB-PUMC historian, and CMB advisor Matt Liang, whose father was a PUMC graduate of 1936.