Ascension Church, Liudun

Liudun (六墩, Liùdūn) church in Yancang is a country church built in 1880 by a Dutch priest. After years of use as a factory, the county government paid to restore it in 1998. Experts later described it as one of the places that show how Catholicism first reached the Shanghai countryside.

Who built it?

The church was begun in 1880, the 6th year of Guangxu, by a Dutch priest. In the early 1950s it was one of the three main parishes of Nanhui county, with a priest and nuns in residence. The 1951 count of churches puts it with the West Gate church in Huinan and the church at Hengmian.

What happened to it?

Religious activity declined from 1956 and the buildings were put to other uses. In the Cultural Revolution the church was looted and the bell tower was destroyed; what remained was used as a factory. After 1978 believers raised money for small repairs. In 1998 the county paid for a full restoration, which brought back the building’s earlier appearance, and a reopening ceremony took place on 6 June 2000.

Why do experts value it?

In October 2001 a group of experts concluded that the church was one of the places that show how Catholicism first spread in the Shanghai area, and that its architecture blends religious building with local village building. The culture authorities then applied to have it protected at district level. The site covers 0.36 hectares; the church and tower together are 487 square metres.

What to look for

Look for the bell tower, which the gazetteer lists together with the church. Look too at the outline of the hall, in which the experts saw village building traditions. The compound also has rooms for a priest and visitors and living quarters, listed at 108 and 88.5 square metres.