Beijing Christian Church Chongwenmen Church

Beijing Christian Church Chongwenmen Church

Beijing Christian Church Chongwenmen Church, founded in 1870, was the first church established by the Methodist Episcopal Church (the Methodist Church) in Beijing and the entire North China region. It was originally named Asbury Church in honor of Bishop Asbury, the first missionary sent by the Methodist Church to South America. The church’s exterior upon its initial completion was the same as it is today, though it was smaller in scale, accommodating only about four to five hundred worshippers. As the number of church members continued to grow, the Methodist Episcopal Church rebuilt the church on the original site in 1880, and the new church was completed in 1882. The church was burned down during the Boxer Rebellion in the summer of 1900. In 1902, the Qing government allocated funds to rebuild Asbury Church, which was completed in the spring of 1904. This is the current church building.

At that time, Asbury Church owned not only the church building and offices, as well as the pastors’ residences (both located at No. 2 and No. 3 Hougu Hutong), but also properties at No. 1–2 Xiaoshun Hutong, the building at No. 43 Chongnei Street, and three cemeteries. As the church’s various ministries expanded, the Methodist Episcopal Church successively built institutions around the church, including Tongren Hospital, Women and Infants Hospital, Huiwen Kindergarten, Huiwen Primary School, Huiwen Middle School, Mu Zhen Girls' School, a nursing school, as well as Huiwen University (later merged into Yenching University) and Huiwen Theological Seminary (later renamed Beijing Theological Seminary).

In the early years after the liberation, the aforementioned hospitals and schools originally run by the church were taken over by the government and converted into public institutions. In the summer of 1958, as churches in Beijing implemented united worship services, Asbury Church suspended its activities. The church building and affiliated houses were occupied by Beijing No. 13 Girls' Middle School (formerly Mu Zhen Girls' School, later renamed No. 125 Middle School), and the church was used as the school auditorium. During the Cultural Revolution, the interior facilities were severely damaged and the church was unrecognizable. In the spring of 1982, the Beijing municipal government implemented religious policies, and after coordination with relevant departments and negotiations, the church was returned to the church community following the payment of 20,000 RMB to No. 125 Middle School. After extensive renovations, Asbury Church was officially renamed Beijing Christian Church Chongwenmen Church and resumed worship services on Christmas Day of that year.

The architectural style of Chongwenmen Church is distinctive. The entire church complex covers an area of 8,246 square meters. The interior consists of a main hall and a side hall: the main hall has over 400 seats, while the side hall has over 300 seats, separated by a movable partition that can be raised or lowered, allowing the two spaces to function separately or together. The worship space is circular in shape, featuring a unique wooden double-layer umbrella structure, making the architectural design exceptionally unique. In 1990, it was designated as a municipal-level key cultural relics protection unit by the Beijing Municipal People's Government. In 2001, it was further recognized as a national key cultural relics protection unit by the State Council.

In August 2001, the Beijing Municipal People's Government allocated 4.8 million RMB to renovate the church building and its affiliated facilities. The church’s stained glass windows were replaced with traditional church stained glass, the pews were changed to long wooden benches used specifically for worship services, and the affiliated buildings were also refurbished. On December 22, 2002, a thanksgiving service was held to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the church’s reopening and the renovation. In 2004, marking the church’s 100th anniversary, a series of celebratory events were organized with support from all sectors of society.

Chongwenmen Church is currently the oldest Protestant Christian church in Beijing. It is also an international church with a certain reputation both domestically and abroad, having hosted visits from former U.S. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Dr. George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury in the UK, and the renowned evangelist Reverend Billy Graham, who visited on multiple occasions. Foreign embassy officials and international worshippers attend services every Sunday, and the church frequently hosts international inter-church exchange activities.

Address: Ding No. 2, Hougu Hutong, Chongwenmennei, Beijing

Phone: 86-10-65133549, 65242193

Opening Hours

Four worship services are held every Sunday at 7:00 AM, 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM, and 7:00 PM, with a Korean service at 1:30 PM.

Bible study gatherings are held every Tuesday at 7:00 PM.

Evangelism and new believer cultivation gatherings along with a Korean prayer meeting are held every Wednesday at 7:00 PM.

A prayer meeting is held every Thursday at 9:00 AM.

A women’s gathering is held every Friday at 9:00 AM, and a youth gathering is held at 6:30 PM.