Xuanwumen Church

Xuanwumen Church

Xuanwumen Church is a national key cultural relics protection unit.

The South Church is located at No. 141, Qianmen West Street, Xuanwumen, Beijing. It is a historic Catholic church. In 1605 (the 33rd year of the Wanli reign in the Ming Dynasty), Father Matteo Ricci built the first chapel on this site, but it was relatively small. Later, in 1650, Father Johann Adam Schall von Bell, a German Jesuit, constructed the first large church in Beijing. It serves as the cathedral of the Beijing Diocese of the Catholic Church in China. In 1664, Schall von Bell was imprisoned, and the church was temporarily destroyed. After his case was retried and he was vindicated, Emperor Kangxi allocated funds for its reconstruction. In 1775, the church was damaged by fire and was rebuilt again. In 1900, it was burned down by the Boxers and subsequently reconstructed once more in 1902. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, it underwent multiple renovations. The South Church is a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Source: Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development