Langzhong Gospel Church

Langzhong Gospel Church

Langzhong Gospel Church is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Sichuan.

The Gospel Church, located at No. 7 Yangtianjing Street in Langzhong City, also known as St. John's Cathedral, was funded by the British missionary George Clarke, one of the "Cambridge Seven," designed by an Australian engineer, and built in the 34th year of the Guangxu reign (1908 AD), boasting a history of over a century.

Langzhong Gospel Church is one of the earliest Western-style buildings in Sichuan and also the largest existing Christian church in Southwest China. At one time, it served as the headquarters of the Eastern Sichuan Diocese of Christianity.

The church faces east and is cruciform in layout. Its exterior is a classical European Gothic structure, while the interior employs traditional Chinese beam-and-column construction. Covering an area of 6,000 square meters, with a built-up area of about 1,600 square meters, it can accommodate over 2,000 worshippers. The interior features both Western preaching and scripture facilities as well as traditional Chinese gilded inscriptions. The entire building is a fusion of Chinese and Western elements, a masterpiece of cultural integration.

In 1999, a Canadian English-language publication provided an in-depth introduction to the Langzhong Gospel Church. In May 2001, a Taiwanese television station came specifically to Langzhong to film the church, airing it during prime-time on their TV program “Journey to Famous Chinese Cities,” drawing significant attention among Taiwanese audiences. Faculty and students from institutions such as Tianjin University of Technology, Sichuan University, and Sichuan Fine Arts Institute have successively visited Langzhong to research the church’s architectural design, technical style, and artistic features. Experts believe that the Langzhong Gospel Church is a rare gem among foreign religious buildings and holds immense cultural relic value.

Protected area: bounded by the existing perimeter wall.

Construction control zone: 50 meters beyond the protected area.