| The
Community Church |
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 Located at 53
Hengshan Road and built in 1924, the Community Church is the largest
Christian church in Shanghai which imitates the English style. It
is a brick-and-wood structure with a wood frame roof. |
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| Shanghai
She Shan Cathedral Church |
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The She Shan Cathedral stands on the hill named She Shan  which
lies to the north of the Songjiang county. This building was constructed
during 1925-35. The design of the cathedral is similar to a Roman
style influenced by eclecticism. The Baroque domes and Gothic inner
ornamentations are in harmony with each other. Along the zigzag path
leading up to the Cathedral, there are 14 "hard-walking pavilions"
at each turn of the corner-that portray what Jesus had suffered during
his lifetime.
| Shanghai
Orthodox Eastern Church |
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Situated at 55 Xinle Road is the home of the Orthodox  Eastern
Church with a distinct Russian style. It was built in 1934 and the
outer walls are rendered with a mixture of yellow sand and cement.
There are portraits of the Tsar on the inner walls. On the roof are
many-domes of varying sizes in peacock blue.
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| South
Beijing Church (1605) |
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The South Beijing Church located at 141 West Front Gate Street is
the oldest Catholic Church in China. It was originally built in 1605
by Matteo Ricci as a small church in Xuan Wu Men but later, Johann
Adam Schall von Bell, the German missionary took over as the father
of this church. In 1650, it was expanded into the biggest Catholic
Church in the city of Beijing. The first king of the Qing Dynasty
(Sun Zhi, 1,644 ?1,662 A.D.), visited and consulted von Bell 21 times
during his reign. In 1775, the temple was destroyed in a fire but
Emperor Qian Long (1,736 ?1,796 A.D.) rebuilt the temple at a great
cost. On June 14, 1900, the church was burnt down again and was rebuilt
in 1904. The entire church is 40 meters long, 20 meters wide and 15
meters tall. On the East and West wings there are two tablets recording
the history of the church and the biographies of Matteo Ricci and
von Bell. The communist Chinese did a good job in maintaining the
church. Currently it is the main Catholic Church in the Beijing district. |
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