Dai Zhuang Garden

　　Located in Rencheng District, Dai Zhuang Garden was originally the villa of Dai Jian (also known as Shi Ping), a renowned painter from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, hence the name "Dai Zhuang." It was later transferred to Li Shu, a local bureaucrat and wealthy man, who converted it into a garden and renamed it "Jin Garden." Jin Garden was once praised as a "celestial paradise on earth" and ranked as the foremost among the eight famous gardens of Jining at that time.

　　In the fifth year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty (1879), Catholicism was introduced to Jining. The descendants of Li Shu sold the garden to German missionary An Zhita and Austrian missionary Josef Freinademetz. Later, Father Freinademetz raised funds from all sectors of society, and construction began on the expansion of Dai Zhuang Church. By 1926, the site had over 1,000 rooms and hundreds of acres of land. At that time, Dai Zhuang Garden consisted of church buildings, Jin Garden, and the priests' cemetery, among other parts. After the founding of New China, foreign missionaries and clergy returned to their home countries, and the garden was nationalized. It was subsequently used as a rehabilitation ward and sanatorium, and is now the Jining Mental Hospital. The "Jin Garden" has been well preserved. In 1992, it was designated as a provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit.

　　The church buildings consist mainly of the main church, which also serves as the center for religious activities. The church faces east and is built with gray bricks and white mortar, featuring round windows and doors in the Gothic architectural style, rich in religious character. The church has 30 rooms, supported by 18 soaring stone pillars, and is roofed with gray tiles. A stone inscription dated "May, the third year of the Xuantong reign" (1911) still exists, and the building was renovated in 2001 with funding from the Catholic Church. The monastery is located west of the church, a two-story Gothic structure with corridors inside, totaling 85 rooms. The priests’ building is adjacent to the north of the church, topped with red tiles. The bishop’s office is to the west of the priests’ building, featuring a front corridor and stone inscriptions on both sides of the door—one in German and one in Chinese. Built during the Guangxu reign, the nuns’ building is located east of the church, in a flush-gable style, with a total of 125 rooms. There are also other auxiliary facilities such as dormitories, wards, bell towers, and schools.

　　"Jin Garden" is located in the northwest part of the church. The entire garden is compactly laid out, bearing the style of an imperial garden. The eastern section mainly features rockeries and woods. The craggy rocks, winding paths, exotic flowers, ancient trees, and lush greenery create a serene atmosphere. The garden predominantly contains native elm species, along with dozens of other ancient and unique plants such as ginkgo, coptis, juniper, blue sandalwood, bodhi, hackberry, and old locust trees—many of which are over 200 years old. The western section mainly consists of pavilions, terraces, and waterside structures. The five-room waterside pavilion is designed in a flush-gable style. There is also a hexagonal pavilion with a pointed roof, representing a typical southern Chinese garden architectural style. The lotus pond covers four acres and is more than ten feet deep. On the east, south, and north sides of the pond, there are small bridges connecting to pavilions in the pond, creating quaint and exquisite scenes of winding bridges over rippling water. The pavilion in the lake is adorned with carved beams and painted rafters, reflected beautifully in the water. On the eastern side of the garden, there is a moon gate inlaid with a stone plaque inscribed with the seal script phrase “Tour the View and Expand the Heart” (“游目骋怀”), written by Xia Daguan, a court painter and litterateur from the late Ming Dynasty.

　　To the north of the church lies the “Sacred Grove,” covering over ten acres and filled with verdant pines and cypresses, rows of tombstones, and burial mounds. The tomb of Freinademetz is located at the center, with the graves of other priests arranged on either side. Dai Zhuang Catholic Church was the center of missionary activity in southwestern Shandong and also the headquarters of the “China Jesuit Mission” (Societas Verbi Divini) at the time, exerting significant influence both domestically and abroad.