A Chinese Affair Part I

In Finland there is a saying that something is a Chinese affair. It means that it requires quite a lot of effort to understand what the thing is about, and despite trying hard, is not quite understandable after all.

Well this place is a real Chinese affair.

And quite literally too.

This building is a former mental asylum. The yellow part is from the early 1960’s, the grey part from the 1970’s. There’s even a wing from the early 1990’s to the left. All in all it was a huge complex, which also included staff apartments, two saunas and large land areas for farming.

Nowadays it also includes some exotic animals in concrete.

The first part of the story is very familiar. In the early 2000’s health care in Finland underwent large changes. Mental asylums often located far from big cities were too large and in the wrong place. Most of them had been built in the 1950’s and 60’s and needed big repairs.

Such was the story with this hospital, which closed down in 2006. A large recreation area with an underground skiing arena and a golf course was planned, but nothing came of the plans.

Then the building along with all the apartments nearby was sold to a Chinese company. The price for the complex and all of its grounds was just around 300 000 euros. The municipality later bought back parts of the area with more than 100 000 euros reducing the sale price even further. Several complaints about the deal were made, but rejected.

The Chinese owners started a business offering accommodation and traditional Chinese treatments like massage and acupuncture in the old buildings. They sold the apartment buildings with a hefty profit, and later hired a part of the buildings back to the city to be used by a kindergarten.

Just a few years later the police stormed the place along with other Chinese owned properties in the area. Several people were arrested on suspicions of illegal entry, the CEO of this company was charged for bribery and breach of employment legislation. Even the former city mayor was charged for bribery for accepting massages free of charge.

The mayor was cleared of all charges and the Chinese businessman vanished abroad. Apparently all activity in the hospital had ceased by 2012. The roof was leaking, rainwater flooded the basement and froze there during winters. And I was here to see the complex with my own eyes after a tip by a friend.

The newest, 1990’s built wing can be seen here.

This would turn out to be one of my strangest locations ever, and the oddities started already on the outside. The sign forbids unauthorized access and the smaller text adds, that if you enter the premises despite the orders, the owners take no responsibility.

I mean, how am I supposed to interpret this? If I enter and injure myself, I’m on my own. Or if I enter, they are allowed to sell my organs in the black market and turn the rest of my body into kung-po chicken?

It gets even worse here. The graffiti says ‘Finland to Finns’, which is basically another way of saying immigrants out.

And these heroes have drawn Swedish flags. May I facepalm?

Nobody had cut the grass in ages and it was raining heavily. I was wearing leaky rubber boots, which weren’t of much help.

The newest wing hadn’t suffered very much vandalism. I was looking for a point of entry, but so far hadn’t been very lucky in it.

I’m not a great fan of 1990’s architecture. I mean this is just dull and hasn’t aged well.

Spot the difference? The new wing is almost fully intact from the outside. And nearly all windows of the old main building are broken.

A cupboard has left its nest for its first and last flight.

Here the damage was far more significant. Spot the chairs on the roof for watching sunsets.

Behind the old main building is a wing for technical areas like heating and stuff. I later heard that there was even a morgue and a chapel here.

This area failed to provide any points of entrance, so I started backtracking.

At the very end of the newest wing I found a door ajar. Unfortunately there were two doors and the inner one was locked.

I am highly suspicious about entering huge locations through central main entrances, but this time it was the only option.

Welcome inside.