Fitch Memorial Church (Hongde Church)

Opening hours: 09:30 - 16:30

Known in English as the Fitch Memorial Church was this church was completed in 1928 for the American Presbyterian Mission and was also called the Hongde Church of Northern Shanghai. The name Hongde, is an elegant rendering of the name of the missionary George F. Fitch, chosen to commemorate both his and his wife's contributions to Christianity and culture in China.

This building is the only church in Shanghai constructed in a traditional Chinese palace style. During the 1920s, a surge in Chinese nationalism led the Christian community to launch an indigenization movement, which argued that church architecture should also be Chinese. In 1925, Pastor Jiang Shixu proposed that because this church was meant to face the local Chinese community and serve Chinese believers, it should adopt a Chinese style, an idea that gained widespread support.

The design was created by the architect Yang Xiliu, a graduate of the civil engineering department of Nanyang University, which is known today as Shanghai Jiao Tong University. It was constructed by Jiangyuji Construction Company, a firm founded by Chinese Christians. In 1994, the building was recognized as part of Shanghai's second batch of outstanding historic buildings.

What makes this structure remarkable is how it blends two very different architectural worlds into something both unexpected and harmonious. On the outside, it appears purely Chinese. You can see its double-eaved roof covered in grey tiles with swept-up eaves, traditional dougong brackets, bright yellow walls, red columns, colourful decorative paintings under the eaves, and a pair of stone lions guarding the entrance.

Step inside, however, and the space is purely Western. It follows a classic basilican plan, featuring a central nave flanked by side aisles, which is the standard layout for a Western church.

If you look closely at the exterior, you can also spot clever hybrid details. The red cement columns on the facade are arranged in pairs. This was a classic French architectural device, quietly worked into a traditional Chinese palace elevation.

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