Béthanie Sanatorium, Nazareth Seminary and Nazareth Press

This photo shows Béthanie Sanatorium on the left and Nazareth Seminary and Press on the right. In the mid-19th century, Paris Foreign Mission looked for a place in Far East as a restorative place of their diseased priests. They finally chose to build their new Sanatorium in Pokfulam, after comparison with some other places in Southeast Asia. The building was completed in 1875 and named Béthanie. In 1884, Paris Foreign Mission bought the nearby Douglas Castle and converted it into Nazareth Seminary and Press. The Press was the biggest in Far East for printing books in oriental languages from late 19th to early 20th centuries.