He was a bit nervous, but the mound of gifts on the carriage made him feel better. Among them, a map with China as the center of the world and a precious clock, which was the emperor’s favorite. Eight days after he gave it to the King, r it stopped, and Ricci was the only one to repair it.

Perhaps moved by his perseverance, perhaps by the need of someone to repair the watches and clocks, the emperor asked Ricci to stay and allowed him to build a small church outside the palace wall.

Nantang Cathedral, or the South Church was the first church built in Beijing, and it was where Ricci prayed. The original building is said to have had a Chinese look outside, but a western interior.

The current South church was built in 1905. After four separate renovations, it has gradually shed the Chinese skin and put up a real western face. Still, one can find some evidence of it’s ancient Chinese roots, like the garden where a statue of the Virgin Mary stands, and the stone monuments which record the history of Ricci, and of his friendship with the emperor.

Ricci and Von Bell’s relationship with emperor paid off. Christianity flourished all over China in the following years. Most of the churches met in traditional Chinese style buildings which included an interesting combination of local architectural features and religious flavor.

It’s said that the crane is the national bird of China. Everywhere you look, you see construction sites. It’s proof that China is a country running towards the modern age. Many of the blueprints are drawn by the worlds’ top architects from different countries. The earliest works of western architects in China were all churches, and the very first one was in Shanghai.

Xu Jiahui, the commercial center of Shanghai. It means the place belonged to the Xu Family. And its ancestor, Xu Guangqi, was a friend of Ricci’s.

St lgnatius, middle age Gothic style, shaped in a Latin cross in square design. There are all kinds of stories about the largest Catholic church in Shanghai. Some said it was designed by a French architect, some believe it was a Spaniard. One legend asserts that the large altar was transported in one piece from Paris in Easter of 1919, and that this church was at one time, the largest in the Far East.

At least one thing is certain: the 60 meter high Catholic Cathedral built in 1910, was the first completely western styled structure in China. As a reminder of its history, there is a picture of Ricci and Xu Guangqi, Ricci’s friend who helped him translate many western science books into Chinese.

Built on a western blueprint, designed by westerner, and incorporates every feature of a Gothic church: apse, arcade, capital, clerestory, crocket, vault, rib…The church has 19 altars, and a sanctuary large enough seat 2500 people.

In fact, almost 50 years before the St lgnatius Cathedral was built, under the unequal treaty between China and France that was signed under gunfire, western countries won the right to build churches wherever they desired and in whatever form they liked. In many big cities, churches began to differ in no way from their western counterparts.

In the early 19 century, the city of Shanghai had 120 churches, and tens of thousands Christians. In the capital of Beijing，there are four churches surrounding the emperor’s place: north, south, east and west.

More and more Chinese came to the church, firstly out of curiosity, later out of the love of God.

This street used to be called Jiang Mi alley. Jiang Mi was the kind construction material you can find on Chinese structures, like the Great Wall or in the emperor’s palace. In the early 20th century, the material was also used to build churches, and in time, the alley saw more and more western faces and embassies, until its name was changed to Eastern Diplomatic alley. The new name moved into history book and words beside that are fire and war.