Former Site of the Anglican Christ Church

Former Site of the Anglican Christ Church

The former site of the Anglican Christ Church is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The former site of the Anglican Christ Church is located at No. 60 Shamian South Street, E'tan Community, Shamian Street, Liwan District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. Built in the fourth year of the Tongzhi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1865), it is a rare and well-preserved early structure on Shamian Island. The church faces south and is constructed with brick, wood, and steel, featuring partial reinforced concrete elements in a neoclassical Romanesque style, covering an area of 310 square meters.

The main hall of the church has a large rectangular floor plan, with the longer sides running north-south. The base floor of the tower is a small square, while the upper floors are octagonal. The main hall is located to the north, and the base floor of the tower serves as the porch of the main hall, with arched entrances on the east, west, and south sides. The main hall is single-story with a double-pitched roof, and there is a mezzanine beneath the roof. The tower has four floors; the top floor originally housed a bell tower, though the bell is no longer present. The third floor of the tower has openings that connect to the mezzanine of the main hall, and the mezzanine has openings leading up to a lower mezzanine above the altar. The interior space of the main hall is spacious, with five tall semi-circular arched windows on each side wall. The front and rear walls of the main hall, as well as the corners of the side walls, feature tall classical Ionic pilasters. The central altar wall has three parallel pointed arched windows, with the middle one being the tallest. A large round arch with a keystone separates the altar from the congregation seating area. There are doors on either side of the altar leading to the outside. The mezzanine of the main hall was originally wooden but has been replaced with a reinforced concrete roof truss, roof panels, and inverted beams. Circular openings are made in the arched ceilings where the walls meet the flat ceiling, with corresponding square openings in the mezzanine floor directly beneath them, and additional circular openings in the side walls aligned with the ceiling circles. The top of the tower features a neoclassical Roman dome, topped with a small square lantern supporting a cross. Both the north and south gables of the main hall use classical Roman pointed pediments, with closely spaced small dentils along the eaves and cornerstones used for decoration. The entire church exhibits well-proportioned design and a stately form, reflecting the simplicity and openness characteristic of Christian architecture.

The church is currently used by the Guangdong Provincial Christian Council and is well preserved. It holds significant historical value for the study of the evolution of architectural styles in Guangzhou and the history of religious exchange. In November 1996, as part of the "Shamian Building Complex in Guangzhou," it was designated a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Source: Xiang'an Cultural Center

Shamian Subdistrict: Shamian Subdistrict is a subdistrict under the jurisdiction of Liwan District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. The administrative area it governs is an artificial small island in the Pearl River, known as Shamian Island, or simply Shamian. Located opposite Liuhuamalu Road, it lies in the northern part of Bai'etan and faces the mainland of Guangzhou across Shaji Chong, covering an area of approximately 0.3 square kilometers. It currently hosts consulates of two countries in Guangzhou and is a major hub for expatriates in the city. Shamian Subdistrict administers two communities: Cuizhou and E'tan. The office of Shamian Subdistrict is located at No. 8 Shamian Avenue.

Historical Background: Shamian Island was historically a… More details about Shamian Subdistrict++