Shishi Sacred Heart Cathedral (shí shì shèng xīn dà jiào táng 石室圣心大教堂) is located onYide Road (yī dé lù 一德路) in Guangzhou (guǎng zhōu 广州), beside the Pearl River (zhū jiāng 珠江). Built in 1863 and completed in 1888, the Shishi Sacred Heart Cthedral is of more than 100 years. Because of all the church walls and pillars are made of granite stone, it is also known as the "Sarcophagus"(shí shì 石室) or "Sarcophagus Sacred Heart of Jesus Church”(shí shì yē sū shèng xīn táng 石室耶稣圣心堂), "Sarcophagus Catholic Church”(shí shì tiān zhǔ jiào tang 石室天主教堂). With its magnificent arches, tall towers, window lattices with floral designs, the cathedral is the most distinctive in Guangzhou, and it attracts many people all over the world.


 
History of Shishi Sacred Heart Cathedral
Shishi Sacred Heart Cathedral was originally the residence of the Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces (liǎng guǎng zǒng dū 两广总督) in the Qing Dynasty (qīng cháo 清朝). After the Second Opium War (dì èr cì yā piàn zhàn zhēng 第二次鸦片战争), based on the Sino-French Treaties of Tientsin (tiān jīn tiáo yuē 天津条约) which was issued by Emperor Daoguang (dào guāng huáng dì 道光皇帝) in February 1846 and promised compensation for churches destroyed and properties taken from the mission, i the French Government asked for the compensation for churches destroyed and properties from the mission. With the support of Emperor Napoleon III and the Catholics of France, the first vicar apostolic of Guangdong, was in charge of the design and oversaw the construction process. He invited a French architect, Nancéen Léon Vautrin, to design the cathedral and the neo-Gothic design was approved in 1863. After 25-year construction, it was completed in 1888. The whole project costs more than 400,000 gold francs.

 
Shishi Sacred Heart Cathedral
The cathedral is a Gothic architecture. It covers the area of 2,754 square meters, with 35 meters wide, 78.69 meters long from north to south, and the twin towers rise as high as 58.5 meters. The west tower is a clock tower while the east tower serves as a bell tower, inside which there are five gigantic bronze bells shipped in from France in the 19th century.

In the hall, the roof is arch doom. The adjacent of window on the front door and the walls surrounded are closed-palm shaped. All windows and doors are fit with the glass that are made in France, which are deep red, yellow, blue, green, and other colorful glass mosaic. These colorful glasses can avoid outdoor light into the room so that there is a solemn pomp in the cathedral.

Location: Yide Road, Guangzhou
Admission fee: Free
Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Masses Schedule:
Weekday Masses: 6:30 a.m. - 7:00 a.m. (Cantonese)
Saturday Mass: 7:30 p.m.(Mandarin)
Sunday Masses: 6:30 a.m.- 8:30 a.m.(Cantonese)
                      10:30 a.m.(Mandarin)  
                      3:30 p.m.(English)
Transportation: take No. 8, 9, 61, 82, 40, 58, 194 and then get off at the Yide Road Stop