Saint Sophia Cathedral China
St. Sophia’s Church was built in March of the 33rd year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1907). It was originally an army church built during the construction of the Middle East Railway for the Fourth Infantry Division of Eastern Siberia. In the same year, Russian tea merchant I. Fei Chiskakov invested in the reconstruction of an all-wood church based on the army church. In 1911, a brick wall was built outside the wooden wall to form a brick-wood structure church.
On September 27, 1923, St. Sophia’s Church was rebuilt for the second time. It took 9 years and was completed on November 25, 1932. It became the largest Orthodox church in the Far East. The Sophia Church was designed by Russian architect Koyasikov. It is magnificent, elegant, and magnificent. It has a height of 53.25 meters, a building area of 721 square meters, and can accommodate 2,000 people. At the top of the main entrance is the bell tower. The seven bronze bells are exactly 7 notes. The hands and feet of the bell ringers must be trained to strike the mellow bells. The architectural plan of the church is arranged in a Greek cross style, influenced by the Byzantine architectural style. The main dome and bell tower also have the traditional Russian “tent roof” and “onion head” shapes.
In 1986, the Harbin Municipal People’s Government listed it as a first-class protected building. In November 1996, it was listed as the fourth batch of national key cultural relics protection units. From June 2nd to September 2nd, 1997, the Harbin Municipal People’s Government carried out a comprehensive renovation of the church according to the original design. The Sophia Square was expanded by 7000 square meters and turned into the Harbin Architectural Art Museum to promote and promote the unique architectural culture of Harbin.
In 2000, the Harbin Municipal People’s Government organized the expansion of the Harbin Architectural Art Plaza, the Central Leisure Plaza and the Urban Construction Planning Exhibition Hall. It was completed and put into use on October 1 of that year. After the expansion, the area of the architectural art square has increased from 6000 square meters to 10000 square meters, and the central square has an area of 36,154 square meters.
The interior of St. Sophia’s Church is now open to the public as the “Harbin Architectural Art Gallery”, and the “Harbin Urban Construction Planning Exhibition” is on display in the museum, divided into “historical cities”, “construction history”, and “planning for tomorrow” “The three parts show systematically the features of Harbin’s historical and cultural city, the evolution of a modern metropolis, and the future development prospects of the city.
The urban construction planning exhibition hall construction project was completed on July 1, 2001 and opened to the public. The underground exhibition hall has a total construction area of 3,972 square meters. It is the first modern exhibition hall constructed in Harbin. It is divided into exhibition, demonstration, reception, office, sand table control, and exhibits. Six areas such as storage. Located in the center of the exhibition hall is the 1:600 sand table of Harbin urban construction planning, with a total area of 396 square meters, representing an urban area of 142.56 square kilometers, covering five administrative areas: Nangang District, Daoli District, Daowai District, Power District, and Xiangfang District area.
St. Sophia’s Church constitutes Harbin’s unique and exotic cultural landscape and urban customs. It is also a historical witness to the invasion of Northeast China by Tsarist Russia and an important treasure for studying Harbin’s modern history.
St. Sophia’s Church plays an irreplaceable role in promoting the construction of Harbin’s multiculturalism, promoting Harbin’s opening up, friendly exchanges and social and economic development.
Sacred Heart Cathedral
The Shishi Sacred Heart Cathedral is located on Yide Road in the center of Guangzhou City. It is the most magnificent and distinctive cathedral in the Catholic Diocese of Guangzhou. It was built in 1863 and completed in 1888. It took 25 years to build and has 130 Many years of history. Because all the walls and pillars of the church are made of granite stone, it is also called “Stone Chamber” or “Sacred Heart of Jesus Church” or “Stone Chamber Catholic Church”. It is a provincial key cultural relics protection unit.
The total area of the church is 2754 square meters, the east-west width is 35 meters, the north-south length is 78.69 meters, and the height from the ground to the spire is 58.5 meters. The church is a “gothic” architecture, comparable to the world-famous Notre Dame de Paris in France. Surrounding the Shishi Catholic Church, trees are evergreen throughout the year, surrounded by flowers, and colorful. At present, believers and tourists from all over the world are visiting the stone room.
On the front of the church is a pair of towering twin spires, thrust into the sky. On the west side of the stone tower is a large clock, and on the east side is a large bell tower with four large bronze bells shipped from France; inside the hall is an arched vault with pointed ribs and high forks; on the front door and on the four walls The flower window lattices are all gassing, all doors and windows are inlaid with darker red, yellow, blue, and green glass made in France. This glass can avoid the strong outdoor light from entering and keep the indoor light soft all year round, forming a loving and solemn religious atmosphere. Surrounding the Shishi Catholic Church, trees are evergreen throughout the year, surrounded by flowers, and colorful. At present, believers and tourists from all over the world are visiting the stone room.
Wangfujing Catholic Church,
Commonly known as the East Church, also known as St. Joseph’s Church and Bamiancao Church, is located at No. 74 Wangfujing Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is the second church built by the Jesuits after the Xuanwumen Catholic Church in Beijing.
It is one of the four major Catholic churches in Beijing. It was founded by two missionaries, Lelesi from Italy and Avansi from Portugal. At the end of Ming Dynasty, two people were preaching in Sichuan. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, they were taken to Beijing by the Qing soldiers and served as a servant in the Suwang Mansion. In the twelfth year of Shunzhi (1655), Fulin gave them a house and a vacant land (the present site), and they built a church on the vacant land, that is, Beijing The second church (the first is the South Church), which is the earliest east church. In the courtyard of the east hall, there is the Catholic Church in the middle, sitting east and west, there are about 30 rooms, and there are 3 crosses on the top of the hall, the middle is large, and the sides are small. The hall is supported by 18 circular brick pillars, and many paintings such as the Passion of Jesus are hung on both sides. There are classrooms in the south and west of the hall, and a courtyard in the east with flower ponds, bungalows, and buildings, which are the residences of priests. There were many holy images painted by the court painter Lang Shining in the east hall, which were abolished after a fire in the 12th year of Jiaqing (1807). In 1884, the Roman-style lobby was rebuilt, and it was burned down during the Boxer Movement. In 1904, it was rebuilt with “Boxer Indemnity” (jointly built by France and Ireland), which is now the East Hall. In the courtyard of the east hall, there is the Catholic Church in the middle. It faces east to the west. It is 25 meters wide and has a total of about 30 rooms. It is located on a bluestone foundation. There are 3 crosses on the top of the hall. The hall is supported by 18 circular brick pillars with a diameter of 65 cm. The pillar base is square. There are many oil paintings of the Passion of Jesus hanging on both sides of the hall. It covers an area of nearly 10,000 square meters. For the key protection of cultural relics in Dongcheng District. The northern section of Wangfujing Street in Beijing is undergoing renovation, and the original wall surrounding the mysterious church has been demolished, attracting everyone’s attention. The gray European-style spire building has become more mysterious because of its old age, and the newly paved square in front of the door has a richer humanistic color surrounded by greenery. The surrounding modern buildings reflect the Wangfujing Catholic Church
Under the background, Wangfujing Catholic Church has become a new attraction on this street. The square in front of the church covering an area of more than 8,000 square meters has been paved. There are seats on both sides of the square for pedestrians to rest. On the south side of the church, the largest green space on Wangfujing Street, covering an area of more than 1,000 square meters, will soon appear. It will be a three-dimensional garden of flowers, shrubs, and trees. Since it is dominated by roses, it has a nice name-Rose Garden. A stream of artificial spring water flowing out of the rose garden is called “stacked spring” because it cascades down on the south side of the square. The entire church square is more than 1 meter above the ground, making it more distinctive. It is said that there will be a wine cellar under the rose garden because it is completely designed as a Western-style Catholic church.
Beijing Wangfujing Church is a Roman architectural style church, a model of the integration of Chinese and Western architectural styles. Although it is in a busy city, it has not diminished its holy temperament. During the festival, sometimes passing by inadvertently, the vigorous electric organ and the sun-like singing of the choir will come out from inside, rippling in the winter air.
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