Church
Sieh Yih Church
息焉堂xī yān táng
A Byzantine-style cemetery chapel of 1930-31 with a copper-green dome; the cemetery was destroyed in 1967, the chapel reopened in 2008.
Directory and photographs supplied by 中二halo君. Photographs used with permission. · Xiaohongshu · Bilibili
- Built
- 1930–1931
- Architect
- Not recorded
- Style
- byzantine-revival
- Heritage listing
- Shanghai Excellent Modern Architecture (上海市优秀近代建筑) · municipal · Second batch (per Chinese Wikipedia) · 1994Shanghai Municipal Protected Cultural Relic (上海市文物保护单位) · municipal · Eighth batch (per Chinese Wikipedia) · 2014
- Status
- Visitor access not yet confirmed
The ochre-walled church with its green-tiled domes and a square bell tower, seen across the canal wall.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · BilibiliWhat you're looking at
- The pumpkin-shaped dome, about ten metres high, weathered to a green copper colour
- The brick bell tower beside the church
- The memorial stone explaining the vanished cemetery
- Two bilingual heritage plaques at the gate, giving the name as Sieh Yih Chapel
The tall pale-yellow bell tower with gold Chinese characters running down its face, and the arched window of the church beside it.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · Bilibili
The interior, with tall pointed arches meeting overhead, wooden pews and a statue behind the altar.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · Bilibili
A tall pointed stained-glass window above carved Stations of the Cross.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · Bilibili
Looking up into the circular dome ribbed with arches and ringed by small windows.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · Bilibili
A municipal heritage-protection plaque in Chinese and English next to a Mass-times board.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · Bilibili
The wrought-iron gate and stone piers at the entrance lane, with a street number plate beside it.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · Bilibili
The street frontage, with the bell tower showing above the compound wall and gate.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · Bilibili
A black stone tablet with a cross and Chinese inscription standing in a courtyard corner.
Photo: 中二halo君 · used with permission · Xiaohongshu · BilibiliThe story
Sieh Yih Church (息焉堂, Xīyān Táng), at Kele Road in Changning District, is one of the strangest Catholic buildings in Shanghai. It is a small Byzantine-style chapel with a green copper dome, and it is all that is left of a Catholic cemetery.
Why was a cemetery given a church?
A memorial tablet at the gate says Xiyan Cemetery (息焉公墓) was founded around 1929 by Catholics including the educator Ma Xiangbo (马相伯, Mǎ Xiàngbó), Zhu Kongjia, Pan Shiyi and He Lizhong. The name means roughly “rest here.” The tablet gives the area as about 75 mu; the Changning gazetteer says 63. The cemetery had a church, a bell tower, a funeral hall, a memorial terrace and fourteen life-size bronze Stations of the Cross. The gate board with the words 息焉公墓 was in Ma Xiangbo’s own handwriting.
What does the building look like?
The Changning gazetteer says the chapel has a floor area of 239 square metres and a pumpkin-shaped dome more than ten metres high. A large bell tower carried four bronze bells that could be heard ten li away. Chinese Wikipedia, used here as a lead only, says the chapel was consecrated on 29 August 1931 and mixes pointed Gothic arches with a Romanesque-style bell tower. The designer is disputed. English Wikipedia notes attributions to both Pan Shiyi and the Hungarian-Slovak architect László Hudec; Chinese Wikipedia says Pan designed it and Hudec was only credited. This entry names neither as settled.
What survived the cemetery’s destruction?
The cemetery was destroyed in 1967. In 1968 part of the land became Xinjing Middle School, and in 1974 the rest became the Shanghai Zoo’s breeding farm. Only the church, bell tower and funeral hall survived. The 1984 county survey lists the chapel as intact and used by the West Suburb Park and an army unit.
Worship resumed after repairs in early 2008, under the Shanghai Catholic Diocese. The church was listed as an excellent modern building in 1994 and became a municipal protected relic on 4 April 2014.
What to look for
At the gate there are two bilingual plaques. One gives the name as “Sieh Yih Chapel” and the other as “Catholic Sieh Yih Church (Church of the Assumption of Our Lady)”. Beside the church, look for the brick bell tower and the memorial stone that records the cemetery. A sign also lists a number for visit reservations; check it before going.
Signs at the church, in full (2)
The wording of plaques and notices as photographed. Timetables and rules may have changed since.
Xiyan Church: Heritage and Visitor Signs
息焉堂：文物保护与参观标牌 · see the photo
English printed on the sign
A Historical and Cultural Heritage Protected at the Municipal Level
Sieh Yih Chapel
1 Kele Road
Promulgated by Shanghai Municipal People's Government on April 4, 2014
Issued by Shanghai Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage
Catholic Sieh Yih Church (Church of the Assumption of Our Lady)
Mass Schedule:
• Weekdays: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday at 7:00 a.m. Mass in the Small Chapel
• Saturday & Sunday: at 8:00 a.m. Mass in the Main Church
Address: No. 17 Kele Road, Changning District, Shanghai
Our translation of the Chinese
Shanghai Municipal Heritage Site
Xiyan Church (息焉堂)
1 Kele Road
Shanghai Municipal People's Government
Designation announced on 4 April 2014
Plaque erected by the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage
Xiyan Catholic Church
(Church of the Assumption of Our Lady)
Mass times:
Weekdays: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 7:00 a.m., in the small chapel
Saturday and Sunday: 8:00 a.m., in the main church
Address: 17 Kele Road, Changning District, Shanghai
Telephone for arranging a visit: 021-52199769
Chinese text
上海市文物保护单位
息焉堂
可乐路1号
上海市人民政府
二〇一四年四月四日公布
上海市文物局立
天主教息焉堂
（圣母升天堂）
弥撒时间：
平日：周一、周二、周四小圣堂早7:00弥撒
周六、主日（周日）大教堂早8:00弥撒
地址：上海市长宁区可乐路17号
参观预约联系电话：021-52199769
Xiyan Church: Cemetery Memorial
息焉堂：墓园纪念碑 · see the photo
Our translation of the Chinese
Xiyan Catholic Church (息焉堂), built in the Byzantine style, stands southwest of Hami Road and Kele Road. It was originally one of the buildings of the Catholic Xiyan Cemetery. Around 1929, Catholic laypeople including Ma Xiangbo (马相伯), Zhu Kongjia (朱孔嘉), Wang Bao[final character unclear] (王宝〔末字未能确认〕), Pan Shiyi (潘世义) and He Lizhong (何理中) initiated the establishment of Xiyan Cemetery. It occupied approximately 75 mu and contained a church, a bell tower, a funeral assembly hall, a memorial platform, Stations of the Cross devotional features (苦路通功), and trees including pines and catalpas. The cemetery could be reached from Hami Road by crossing the cemetery bridge over Xinjing Creek. The entrance archway at the end of the bridge bore a horizontal inscription, “Xiyan Cemetery”, in Ma Xiangbo's handwriting; the lintel of the cemetery gate was inscribed “Gate of Heaven”. During the Cultural Revolution, the cemetery was destroyed, leaving only the church, bell tower and funeral assembly hall. The site was redeveloped as Xinjing Middle School and Shanghai Zoo. In 1994, Xiyan Church was listed as one of Shanghai's protected outstanding modern buildings. Following the implementation of religious policy and restoration work, the Catholic Diocese of Shanghai resumed religious activities here in early 2008. This memorial is respectfully erected to commemorate these events and to offer consolation to the souls of those formerly buried here.
Chinese text
天主教息焉堂，拜占庭风格，位于哈密路、可乐路西南，原为天主教息焉公墓建筑之一部分。按1929年左右，由天主教教友马相伯、朱孔嘉、王宝〔末字未能确认〕、潘世义、何理中等发起创建了息焉公墓，占地约75亩，墓区内建有教堂、钟楼、会葬所、追思台、苦路通功及松楸等。由哈密路过公墓桥越新泾港可入墓区，桥头入口牌坊上有马相伯手书“息焉公墓”横额；墓区门眉上刻有“上天之门”字样。“文革”期间公墓被毁，仅存教堂、钟楼和会葬所，该地块被改建成新泾中学及上海动物园。1994年息焉堂被列为上海市优秀近代建筑保护单位。落实宗教政策后经修缮，于2008年初由天主教上海教区恢复宗教活动，谨立此碑以志纪念，并告慰原安葬于此之亡灵。
How to visit
- Status
- Visitor access not yet confirmed
- Opening times and prices not yet confirmed; check before you go.
- Nearest metro
- Metro directions will be added after a site visit.Plan a metro journey here →
Chinese address — show this to a taxi driver
可乐路17号
17 Kele Road, Changning District, Shanghai
Amap (高德地图) works best in mainland China; Apple Maps on iPhone. Both open in the app when it is installed.
The map position is approximate; the entrance has not been checked.
Nearby
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Sources
- 1.Photographs of Shanghai churches and their signs, by 中二halo君 (上海教堂实拍照片（中二halo君）), 中二halo君, 中二halo君, 2026 — sign photographed at the churchfieldwork
- 2.Changning District Gazetteer, Catholicism (长宁区志 · 第四节 天主教), Shanghai Local Chronicles Office — 圣母升天堂gazetteer
- 3.Shanghai County Gazetteer, Catholicism (上海县志 · 天主教), Shanghai Local Chronicles Office — 1984年上海县天主教堂情况表gazetteer
- 4.Chinese Wikipedia: Xiyan Church (息焉堂 - 维基百科 (lead only, medium confidence)), Wikipedia — 历史; 信息框; 历史; 历史; 建筑website
- 5.Church of the Assumption, Shanghai (Wikipedia; lead only), Wikipedia — lead; infoboxwebsite