SHENZHEN WEATHER MAP

Protestant Church in Shenzhen

Meilin Christian Church

One of the largest churches is the Meilin Christian Church in Futian. The church building is massive and built to resemble Noah’s Ark. The first missionaries in the Shenzhen area were Rhenish and arrived in 1846. During the following hundred years, 27 churches were established in what was then known as Bao’an County. The church, the direct ancestor of the Shenzhen Christian Church, was founded in 1898 in Luohu and ceased operation in 1949 when its pastors were sent to the countryside.

The work of the church resumed in May 1984 when the government instituted the freedom of religion policy. At that time the congregation was numbered only seventy people.

The Luohu Heping Church was in the middle of the Luohu CBD and the congregation grew rapidly, so in 1997, the Luohu Heping Church moved into a rented factory building in Songyuan Road. By this time the congregation was over 3,500 people.

In 1998 the city government set aside a large area of land in Meilin on the slopes of Hua Gua Mountain for a new church. Construction started in 2000 and in 2003 the church was blessed.

The church now is put to numerous uses, with four services each Sunday and a congregation of 5,000 people. The church has conversion missions twice a year and baptizes seven hundred people per year.

This church also provides services in Korean for Shenzhen’s large Korean community. Address: 126 Meilin Road Meilin, Futian 126

St. Anthony’s Catholic Church

St Anthony’s is a large modern church in Futian is always full. Mass is in Mandarin but on big occasions the epistle and gospels are read in English. For Christmas and Easter mass attendance is huge, so it is a good idea to arrive early. And remember there is an odd thing in Chinese Catholic churches. You are expected to clap the sermon. We find this useful because it wakes us up. We also love the quality of the music. Mass is almost always sung in full form. The chants are a mixture of classical Gregorian and Buddhist style and are very evocative. And need we say that the congregation is very young? Long lines of children in red soutanes make up an offertory procession each Sunday.

The Church in Nantou is next to Nantou ancient city and reached by a small street, just outside the old city wall. Although it isn’t old 1913, it is the oldest remaining Catholic Church in the area. It was built by a French order as a foundling home. This was one of the main activities of missionaries during the 19th century when it was common Chinese practice to abandon unwanted children, particularly girls. It was believed by many Chinese, who could see no logic in saving abandoned children, that they collected the children to eat them. The small church is an adjunct to the main building. It is in the French style and is currently being restored.

Futian

Shenzhen Catholic Church St. Anthony’s Church

Address: Nonglin Road, Zhuzilin,Futian

Buses: 21, 26, 54, 101, 113, 123, 204, 209, 301, 320, 370, 383

Nanshan

Nantou Catholic Church

Address: Nantou Ninth Street, Nantou Cheng, Nanshan Tel: 0755-26611334

Buddhist Temples Hongfa Temple Wutong Mountain

Hongfa Temple

Lake of the Immortals Park, Luohu Buses: 113, K113, 311

Hong Yuan Temple Yangtai Mountain

Shiyan Lake Resort. Shiyan, Bao’an