Thursday, September 07, 2000, updated at 18:36(GMT+8)
Life
Beijing Renovates Catholic Church
The Chinese capital of Beijing has recently finished renovating a Catholic church in the downtown commercial center of Wangfujing.
The St. Jausse Church, also named "Eastern Church" built in 1655 and occupying an area of 2,387 square meters, is the second oldest Catholic church in Beijing.
The local government started the renovation in May, and besides the church itself, it also built a front square with a scope of 1.2 hectares. Trees and grass were planted and various lighting facilities were installed to show off the gorgeous building at night.
The church opened to Catholics in 1980 after repair work was done by the local government. The building, a combination of ancient western and Chinese architectural styles, was damaged three times.