TORONTO, August 31, 2026 – On August 29, the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Toronto and Bethune Memorial House jointly held a celebration in Gravenhurst, Ontario, marking the 50th anniversary of the memorial house. Nearly 100 representatives from China and Canada, including delegates from Hebei, members of the Bethune family, local government officials, medical professionals, academics and community representatives, attended the event to commemorate Norman Bethune and reflect on the memorial house’s 50-year history.
Former Canadian Senator Victor Oh delivered the first remarks during the ceremony. He was followed by Luo Weidong, Consul General of the PeAt the celebration ceremony, former Canadian Senator Victor Oh delivered the opening remarks. He was followed by Chinese Consul General in Toronto Luo Weidong, a representative from Hebei Province, China, and Gravenhurst Mayor Heidi Lorenz.
Luo said Bethune’s legacy represents more than a chapter of history; it also preserves a rare and important memory of friendship between the people of Canada and China. He noted that although Canada-China relations have experienced difficulties in recent years, the people-to-people foundation represented by Bethune remains strong. As mutually beneficial cooperation continues across different fields, he said he believes there is room for the bilateral relationship to continue moving forward.
Scott Davidson, Site Manager of Bethune Memorial House National Historic Site, told CCTVMedium that approximately 614,000 people have visited the site since it opened, averaging roughly 12,500 visitors each year. Davidson said the 50th anniversary provides an opportunity to celebrate five decades of recognizing a “shared hero,” while also commemorating the longstanding friendship between Canada and China. Parks Canada has previously identified Davidson’s official role as Site Manager of Bethune Memorial House.
Norman Bethune was born in Gravenhurst in 1890. His birthplace officially opened to the public as Bethune Memorial House in 1976. Today, the national historic site continues to introduce visitors from Canada, China and around the world to Bethune’s life through historic artifacts, exhibitions, videos and interpretive programs.
Zhang Ning, director of the Bethune Memorial House in Tang County, Hebei Province, also travelled to Canada to attend the event. Tang County is closely associated with Bethune’s work in China and is where he died in 1939. In an interview with CCTVMedium, Zhang said it was his first visit to Bethune’s hometown and birthplace. Having long been involved in the study, promotion and research of Bethune, he said he had always hoped to visit Canada in person, “to walk some of the roads Bethune once walked,” and gain a deeper understanding of the places connected to his life.
During the event, Zhang Ning and Scott Davidson signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at deepening relations between the two memorial institutions. The agreement focuses on further exchanges involving historical research, information sharing, public education and cultural programs. The English-language name Memorial Hall of Bethune and Kotnis at Tang County has been used by China’s official cultural information service for the Tang County institution.
Following the signing ceremony, guests gathered to cut a cake marking the 50th anniversary before laying flowers at the statue of Norman Bethune. Participants also toured Bethune’s birthplace and watched Bethune in Our Time, a documentary produced by CCTVMedium that explores people who continue to carry forward Bethune’s spirit in different ways today.
During the panel discussion that followed, Canadian physician John Hagen, Bethune family member Warren Bethune, and guests from the University of Waterloo exchanged views on Bethune’s life, medical work, and the contemporary significance of the Bethune spirit. Hagen has long been involved in medical exchanges between Canada and China and has travelled to China on multiple occasions for medical and academic programs.
The celebration concluded beside Bethune’s historic birthplace with a performance of “You and Me,” bringing the 50th anniversary event to a close.
From Bethune’s birth in Gravenhurst in 1890, to his later journey to China, and to the arrival of representatives from Hebei at his Canadian birthplace more than a century later, his story continues to connect two places thousands of kilometres apart. Fifty years after Bethune Memorial House opened its doors, the anniversary offered another opportunity to revisit that history and carry its story forward. (LJI Yuanyuan)
