Loutang Catholic Church

Loutang Catholic Church

Loutang Catholic Church is a Shanghai Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Loutang Catholic Church is located at No. 141–158, Renmin Street, Loutang, in an industrial area, and dates back to the Qing Dynasty.

Also known as St. Peter’s Church, it was first built in the third year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty (1877 AD) and was approved to resume religious activities in 1990. Peter was one of Jesus’ twelve apostles, and this church is named after him—thus, upon entering, you will see his statue. This church, which has a history of over 100 years, features a roof and eaves that blend traditional Chinese folk architectural styles, especially with the dragon and phoenix design carved on the spire beneath the cross, making it quite unique. Jiading is sometimes referred to as “Educated Jiading,” alluding to the region’s historically strong tradition of missionary activity.

Wu Li, known as one of the “Six Great Painters of the Qing Dynasty,” came to preach in the Loutang area as early as the 18th century. Local fishermen also practiced Catholicism, but due to their low literacy levels, priests responsible for preaching in the Jiading area would deliver sermons in the local Jiading dialect. The Catholic church has been listed by the National Cultural Heritage Administration as one of the significant new discoveries from the Third National Cultural Relics Survey in 2008.

Loutang Catholic Church was designated as a district-level cultural relics protection unit in 2010 and was upgraded to a municipal-level cultural relics protection unit in 2014.

Protected area: the boundary of the structure itself.

Construction control zone: 10 meters beyond the boundary of the structure itself.

Industrial area: Shanghai Jiading Industrial Park is a municipal pilot industrial park approved by the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government. Located in the northwest of Shanghai along the Shanghai–Nanjing development axis, it borders Taicang of Jiangsu Province to the north, connects to Jiading New Town to the south, neighbors the Shanghai International Automobile City and Kunshan of Jiangsu Province to the west, and is adjacent to Baoshan District of Shanghai to the east. It lies at the center of the Yangtze River Delta’s fifteen-city cluster.

Shanghai Jiading Industrial Park covers a total area of 78 square kilometers. The park is divided into two key development zones: the South Zone, established in October 1992 with a developed area of 24.8 square kilometers, and the North Zone, established in 20… More details about the industrial park++