[2024 Lankao Attraction] Travel Guide for Kaifeng Catholic Church (Updated Oct)

The largest Catholic church in Henan| Kaifeng Catholic Church

|Kaifeng Catholic Church. The largest Catholic church in Henan| Exploring the lesser-known attractions in Kaifeng day1 Kaifeng Catholic Church (Really beautiful, great for photography, worth a visit : Located at 41 Lishiting Street, Shunhe Hui District, Kaifeng City (near the bookstore street, near Old He University) : Free admission Kaifeng Catholic Church is the cathedral of the Henan Archdiocese and one of the famous churches in China. It covers an area of about 10 acres. It was built under the supervision of Italian missionary Bishop Tan Weixin in 1917, took three years to complete, and was completed in 1920. It has a history of nearly a hundred years and is one of the most well-preserved ancient European-style buildings in Kaifeng. The church has a strong European character and is a famous Gothic building. During the Anti-Japanese War in 1938, the Japanese invaders bombed Kaifeng. Because Japan and Italy were both Axis countries during World War II, the seminary hung the flags of Italy and the Roman Curia (i.e., the Vatican) on the bell tower of the church to avoid destruction, and opened its doors to refugees. Whenever the Japanese planes bombed, villagers from 14 villages near the eastern suburbs of Kaifeng, such as Xiaohuayuan, Dahua Garden, Yangyipu, Baita, Pitun, Qiantai, Biancun, Wenzhuang, and Shagang Temple, flocked here for refuge. In September 1938, out of gratitude, the villagers engraved the 'Monument to the Defense of the Henan Catholic Seminary in the War Disaster' in the northeast of the gate as a memorial, leaving a good story.