Hengmian Gu's Catholic Church

Gujialou (顾家楼, Gùjiālóu) church is the oldest surviving Catholic church building recorded in the former Nanhui district, and one of the oldest in the Shanghai area. It is a small hall in a farming village in Kangqiao, and it was built in 1838 by four women.

Who built it?

The church was built in 1838, the 18th year of Daoguang, at a place called Tangjiaxiang in Hengmian township, and it was first named Tangjiaxiang Church. Four consecrated women built the hall, and a board named it the Church of the Four Virgins (四贞堂); the board was destroyed in the Cultural Revolution. The complex was a hall with a vestry, living rooms on four sides, a west wing and a bell tower.

What made the church important?

After 1949 it was one of the three main parishes in Nanhui county. In the 1960s county officials ranked it a class-two church, one of only two in the county. It was therefore a regional centre, even though its hall measures only about 127 square metres.

What happened between 1958 and 1992?

In 1958 the building became a production brigade office and the nave a sewing factory. During the Cultural Revolution the bell tower was demolished and the rest was used as a warehouse by a small factory. A major repair in 1989 was followed by the resumption of religious life in 1992.

Why do experts value the building?

In October 2001 experts judged it the oldest and best-preserved Catholic church surviving in the Nanhui area. They described its basilica plan as an early blend of religious architecture with local village building traditions. On 3 November 2010 Pudong New Area listed it as a cultural relic protection unit. The 2001 count recorded a hall of 127.2 square metres with a vestry, living rooms of 116.2 and a west wing of 28, together 271.4 square metres on a site of 913.

What to look for

Find the protection plaque by the gate, which uses the English name “Hengmian Gu’s Catholic Church”. Look at the hall’s basilica plan, which the experts singled out. The bell tower is missing: it was demolished in the Cultural Revolution.