Sacred Heart Church, Xiaolaiqiao

Xiaolaiqiao Catholic Church (小涞桥耶稣圣心堂, Xiǎolàiqiáo Yēsū Shèngxīn Táng) is a church where one part of the building outlived the rest. In 2016 the district government listed its bell tower as a heritage point, and that tower is the first thing to look for at the site.

A small church of 1936

The church was founded in 1936 in Guanghua Village, in what was then Huacao Town and is now Xinhong subdistrict. It belonged to the Caijiawan parish. By the time of the 1984 county survey the hall measured 200 square metres and the annexes 240 square metres.

Why only the tower?

In 1970 the hall and 100 square metres of annexes were pulled down. The bell tower stayed intact, and the remaining rooms became a production-team warehouse. The diocese regained the property in the early 1990s. After repairs paid for by the diocese, religious activity resumed in May 2006, run from Qibao church, and the site was registered as a fixed religious venue on 25 December 2008. It was small: a 369 square-metre plot, 221 square metres of floor space, room for 200.

That did not last long. In 2010 resettlement linked to the Hongqiao Integrated Transport Hub suspended religious activity here. A plaque announced by the Minhang culture bureau on 5 September 2016 lists the church’s bell tower as a District Heritage Protection Point.

What to look for

Look for the tower itself. The plaque names the “bell tower” as the protected item, so the heritage mark applies to it and not to the later buildings around it. If you can read the Chinese on the plaque, the date is 5 September 2016.