Nanjing St. Paul's Church

Nanjing St. Paul's Church

Nanjing St. Paul's Church is a cultural tourism attraction.

Nanjing St. Paul's Church

Nanjing St. Paul's Church is the St. Paul's Church of the Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui in Nanjing. With a history of over 80 years, it is the first formal Christian worship church in Nanjing. It is now a cultural relic protection unit of Nanjing. St. Paul's Church is located at No. 396 Taiping South Road in the historic city of Nanjing. The church was completed in 1923,

St. Paul's Church was designed in the neoclassical revival style popular in the West at the time. It is not large in scale and is a typical small Western European village-style church.

The construction of St. Paul's Church took several years from site selection to completion. The Anglican Church began preaching in 1910 when Bishop G. M. Gillespie rented a house on Mafu Street in Nanjing. In 1912, an old building on Menlian Bridge—now Taiping South Road—was purchased. In 1913, the old house was demolished in preparation for rebuilding the church. The construction of the church was overseen by Bishop G. M. Gillespie, who raised a donation from a devout Anglican believer in the United States. This believer’s son had died in World War I, and he donated the funds in his memory.

St. Paul's Church was designed in the form of a traditional church. The construction was supervised by Qi Zhaochang, an architect from the University of Nanking, and built by the Chen Mingji Construction Company. The total construction cost, including equipment, was $12,000 USD, equivalent to 48,000 silver dollars at the time. It was completed in 1923 and officially named St. Paul's Church. A grand consecration ceremony was held.

St. Paul's Church is elegant and refined in design. Its exterior is a rather authentic example of Gothic architecture, but the internal structure replaces the Gothic pointed ribbed vaults with traditional Chinese wooden framework.

The building materials used for the church were of high quality. The walls were constructed using polished bricks from the old Nanjing city wall. All window sills, door panels, mid-wall bands, bell tower roof, battlements, and coverings—as well as the bases of interior pillars and arch supports—were made of white stone from Gaoshi Mountain. The pulpit, lectern, baptismal font, altar, and rail posts inside the church were also finely crafted from polished white stone. The inner surfaces of the wall bands and arch supports were intricately carved with calligraphy by Mr. Cheng Tongfu, and gilded by Bishop Jiang Jianzu.

Address: No. 396 Taiping South Road, Qinhuai District, Nanjing

Type: Church

Recommended visiting time: 10–30 minutes

Phone: 025-86647225

Opening Hours:

Wednesday 14:00 Prayer Meeting, Thursday 14:00 Prayer Meeting. Saturday 8:50–10:15 Service, 19:30 Youth Gathering. Sunday services start from 7:15 and continue until 15:00, with a total of 4 services. The church is not open to the public at other times.