iSee Sacred Heart Cathedral

The most Magnificent Church in Guangzhou

Next to the lively Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street, there is an oriental “Notre Dame Cathedral”. It is a giant cross embedded in the center of the city from the aerial view. The towering twin spires, the granite carved beams of the Gothic buildings, and the beautiful stained glass in the church make it a religious shrine and a place to take wedding photos.

Major Destruction

Although the cathedral is a rare cultural relic, it is inevitable to be damaged. The first sabotage was during the War of Resistance Against Japan, when a Japanese plane struck a lightning rod at the tip of the tower, causing an explosion that shattered part of the Napoleonic stained glass. The second subversive destruction was that during the Cultural Revolution in China, all religious oil paintings were torn off, and the only remaining stained glass of the Napoleonic period after WWII was also broken. The flower windows were broken, and the stone pillars were burned. Went through several repairs, but there were still cracks.