South Cathedral, Beijing

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About the South Cathedral of Beijing

Photo of the South Cathedral, Beijing

South Cathedral, Beijing
Author: alexandrine_chan (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, also known as South Cathedral, is the first Roman Catholic cathedral to be built in Beijing. It is located at 141 Qian Men Xi Dajie.

Also called Nan Tang as well as St Mary's Church, the South Cathedral is near the Xuanwu Men subway station. It stands on the site of the former residence of the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci.

Matteo Ricci arrived in Beijing in 1601, bearing gifts such as clocks, mathematical instruments and a world map as gifts to the Wanli emperor. This earned him the much sought goodwill, permitting him to establish a church in Beijing.

The South Cathedral of Beijing was built in 1605. However the original building burned down in 1775. A century later it was rebuilt, but only to be destroyed during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900.

The South Cathedral that stands today in Beijing was built in 1904. It is the largest functioning Catholic cathedral in Beijing. Services are conducted here in Chinese, English and Latin. The cathedral has beautiful stained glass of Catholic Christian motif.