[PLACE] 20121223 Sacred Heart Cathedral 石室圣心主教座堂 @ Yuexiu, Guangzhou

15:24 4-Star Attraction , Architectural , Attractions , Cathedral , Catholic , China , Design , Gothic , Guangzhou , Guide , Interior , Place , Stone , Yuexiu 1 Comments

The Sacred Heart Stone Cathedral is an ancient Roman Catholic cathedral located in the centre of Guangzhou City, at Yuexiu district.

The Catholic cathedral is a rare scene to find in city like Guangzhou where Taoist and Buddhist temples are seen everywhere. The cathedral was commissioned by the late bishop Philippe François Zéphirin Guillemin, M.E.P and designed by French architect, Léon Vautrin.

The construction of the cathedral started in 1861 and finished in 1888. Standing on built up area of 2,924 square meters and the highest tower at 52.76 meters, the cathedral is one of the four remaining Gothic style stone cathedral and it is also China's biggest stone structured building. The cathedral has a very interesting history of its purpose of construction and the journey of construction as well. You can read more from the wiki link below:

English: Sacred_Heart_Cathedral_(Guangzhou)
中文: 石室圣心大教堂

广州市越秀区一德路
Nearest Metro Station: Yide Lu Station,
Telephone:
Opening Hours: 8:30am - 11:30am, 2:30pm - 5:30pm, 7:30pm - 8:50pm

TO GO

Disclaimer: Google services are barred in China. You need to either bypass the "Great Wall" or use a VPN. Alternatively, you may use their domestic sites such as Baidu Map.

I walked to the cathedral from Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street after my lunch at Guangzhou Restaurant. However, the cathedral is accessible via Guangzhou Metro Line 6 (Red) and drop off at Yide Lu Station. The cathedral is walking distance from the Metro station.

Alternatively, you may take public bus number 4, 6, 61, 82, 86, 823, 6 (night), 16 (night), 33 (night) and drop off at Yide Lu stop.

ATTRACTION

What's so special about this cathedral? The main attraction of this cathedral is the architecture and design of this ancient (ancient? It's about 150 years old) Catholic cathedral. The Gothic style and stone structure reassembles those in the European countries. 

It is not that straight forward in locating the cathedral as it is not accessible directly from the main road. However, you just need to pay a bit attention when you are at Yide Lu to locate its high towers and just walk into the alley leading to it.

It was a gloomy weekday and not much crowd is seen here. You need a fairly wide angel lens to be able to capture the whole building.

Public is allowed to enter the cathedral for visiting but must be reminded not to interfere with any activity inside and to keep disturbance to the minimum. Having that in mind, I prepared my camera prior to entering the cathedral and have my camera settings set for dark interiors with my ultra wide angle lens attached.

I was not aware that photography was not allowed until I took the picture above and was told by the lady in charged (politely) that not to take photos and pointing to the signboard. I was lucky enough to have one perfect shot before I was told to keep my camera. I stand right in the middle of the cathedral and set my composition properly before the shutter button was pressed.

Just to note that the picture above was enhanced in Lightroom and the original picture was actually quite dull, mainly due to weather and also internal lightings were dull as well. Nevertheless, the enhancement brings out the architectural design and structure of the cathedral, which is rare to find in China.

It's a pity that the maintenance and upkeep of the cathedral is lackadaisical. Given proper care and publicity, the cathedral can be a main attraction for tourists given its unique architecture and history. Perhaps, the Catholics would prefer a lower profile to preserve their place of worship than having huge amount of tourists flocking in daily.

SUMMARY

Recommended for a detour if you are around Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street. The tour will only take up 30 minutes of your time to visit this unique cathedral.

Attraction	☆☆☆☆ unique stone structure and gothic design
Cleanliness	☆☆☆☆
Entrance Fee	Free
Opening Hours	Daily
Wifi	N/A
Parking	Limited
Website	N/A

GPS: 23.114039, 113.260119