Yüqiao Han Catholic Church

Yüqiao Han Catholic Church

Located beside Shandong Provincial Highway 101 in the western part of Yucheng City, it is one of the four major Catholic churches in Shandong and a national 2A-level tourist attraction. Originally built in 1911, it was designed and funded by Germans, and gradually expanded. By 1939, it had developed into a religious building complex that included the Catholic church, clergy residences, and 75 residential bungalows, capable of accommodating 1,300 people for religious activities.

After the liberation, a large number of high-ranking Kuomintang generals, including Wang Yaowu, were imprisoned here. In 1966, the church was severely damaged by the Xingtai earthquake, but the clergy residences remained intact. In 1993, the Shandong Provincial Government approved the reconstruction of the church. The main body of the church is a three-story hexagonal pyramid Gothic structure, standing 36.3 meters tall at its highest point. The ground floor serves as the nave, the middle level of the foyer functions as a music recital hall, and the top floor is a bell tower housing a large bell manufactured in Germany in 1911. The reconstruction largely restored the church’s original appearance and scale.

Source: Yucheng City Local Chronicles Compilation Committee