Xuanwumen Catholic Church

　　Xuanwumen Catholic Church is located inside Xuanwumen and is the first church in Beijing. It was built during the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty when the Catholic Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci was permitted to preach in Beijing.

　　In the seventh year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1650), Johann Adam Schall von Bell, a German then serving as the head of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, rebuilt the church on its original site. Because of its location in the southern part of Beijing, it became commonly known as the South Church and served as the center of activities for Jesuits in Beijing during the Qing Dynasty. This church is currently in use by the Chinese Catholic Church.