Wanghailou Church

Wanghailou Church

Wanghailou Church is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The location of Wanghailou Church sits precisely on the north bank of the ancient Sanchahekou (Three Forks River Confluence). In those days, there stood the Wanghailou (also known as Haihe Tower), a residence where Qing emperors stayed during their imperial tours, as well as the renowned local sites of Jinhai Temple and Chongxi Guan (originally named Xianglin Yuan), which the emperors frequently visited to offer incense. After 1862, when French imperialists forcibly leased the north bank of Sanchahekou, they demolished the original ancient Chinese buildings and constructed the “Notre-Dame des Victoires Church” (symbolizing “the mercy of the Virgin Mary and the celebration of the victory in the Second Opium War”), which served as the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Tianjin.

Wanghailou Church is built in the Gothic style, facing south with a northern orientation, covering an area of 3,000 square meters. The main structure is built with a stone foundation and brick-wood construction, featuring a rectangular floor plan that is 53.5 meters long from north to south, 15 meters wide, and 22 meters high. At the front, there are three flat-roofed bell towers arranged in the shape of a traditional Chinese mountain-style brush rack. The water spouts along the eaves on both sides of the walls are inlaid with eight carved stone animal heads each, through which water gushes out like fountains. Flanking the central hall are rows of columns that divide the interior into three aisles. The central altar is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, opposite which stands the choir loft, with the walls adorned with paintings depicting the Passion of Christ. The floor is paved with black-and-white square tiles, while the ceiling and walls are painted, and all doors and windows feature pointed arches, with stained glass windows illustrating the story of Christ’s suffering.

After the church was completed, French invaders, under the pretext that “places for preaching must be quiet,” leveraged their imperial power in China, gathered local thugs to commit crimes, colluded with the authorities to forcibly demolish nearby residential houses, and drive away street vendors. This led to a large number of residents around Sanchahekou being displaced and left without means of livelihood.

In the ninth year of the Tongzhi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1870), the shocking “Tianjin Massacre” occurred here. The “Notre-Dame des Victoires Church” was burned down, rebuilt in 1897, and then set ablaze for the second time during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. It was restored again in 1904, damaged in the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, and on July 9, 1982, the Tianjin Municipal People's Government designated the “Wanghailou Church Site of the Tianjin Massacre” as a municipal-level cultural relics protection unit. In 1984, the municipal government allocated special funds for its restoration, and in 1988, the State Council classified it as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Scenic Area Level: Tourist Attraction

Address: North Side of West End, No. 292 Shizilin Street, Hebei District, Tianjin

Suggested Visit Duration

1 hour Transportation

Take bus routes 15, 172, 461, 574, 600 Inner Loop, 600 Outer Loop, 633, 653, 675, 681, 804, 849, 856, 863, 903, 907, 908, 954 to Wanghailou Station.

Ticket

Free

Opening Hours

Daily Mass at 7:00 AM; Sunday Masses at 6:00 AM, 7:30 AM, and 7:00 PM

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units