The largest catholic church-St. Miller Church was located at Xianshan Hutong Catholic Church of the Capital City Qiqihar, which was built in July of the 17th year of the Republic of China (1928) by the Swiss Godfather Enholf to grow followers. The godfather spent 29,800 silver dollars in purchasing 45 rooms of Leng Baizhi to build a new church. Enholf demolished the purchased house in the 19th year of the Republic of China (1930) to build St. Miller Church on the site of the house (the present Haishan Hutong). The construction was completed at the end of the 20th year of the Republic of China (1931), and the catholic religious activities were started from then on. St. Miller Church is the largest one in Qiqihar, which covers 6,625㎡, with the building area of 4,524㎡. The main building big church is of the Gothic type, which is reinforced framed construction with the building area of 1,250㎡. The height of the main tower is 43m, with a big north-south Latin Cross on the top of tower. The big church is bright and spacious, which could hold 4,000 followers. The entire building is grand and splendid. Besides served as the religious activity place, this church is also the Prelate Bishop Mansion and General Church of Qiqihar Prelate Parish, which has 25 branch churches and 70 public offices. Foreign missionaries from Switzerland, Germany, France, Poland, Britain, and Canada and so on once successively undertook missionary activities in this church. Loud, clear and rhythmical tolls with five tones come out from the Bell Room on the church. There are approximately 1,000 people gather at the church to attend religious activities on Lord's Day, with the maximum of more than 4,000 people. Public Security Organ of Qiqihar Municipal Government uncovered Hu Ganpu Spy Case in the church in July of the 36th year of the Republic of China (1947). Therefore the church was handed over by the government, and the religious activities were stopped. Dozens of foreign clergies were sent back to their countries. Hereafter, the church was successively impropriated by Down-to-South Cadre Training Team, Nenjiang Provincial Committee CCP Party School and Beiman Construction Engineering Company, etc. The church was seriously destroyed during the Cultural Revolution period. Over 100 Red Guards broke all the 50 cross strip windows assembled by five color thick flower pattern glasses imported from Germany with wood sticks under the excuse of Sweep Away the Four Olds on June 28th, 1966. The Red Guards changed the Latin Cross on top of Bell Room into a big red pentacle made of steel plate in the summer of 1967, and they blocked the interspaces on four sides of the over 20-m-high cement Latin Cross whose function was to magnify the tolls with bricks, and they plastered the bricks with cement and wrote four slogans like Bear Class Struggle in Mind Constantly etc in the next year. The religious policy was carried out after The Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of The Communist Party, the ownership of the church was returned back to Harbin Catholic Parish in 1982, Qiqihar City Catholic Church was entrusted to return the ownership of the church to Harbin Catholic Parish, and Qiqihar City Patriotic Catholic Association was entrusted to charge rent toward the using unit of the church. The church was ranked to be a Municipal-Level Cultural Relics Protection Unit in February of 1987. The Bureau of Religious Affairs of State Council appropriated special funds to repair the Bell Room of the church in 1991, to dismantle the red pentacle on top of Bell Room, to build a cement Latin Cross by imitating the original one, to remove all the bricks blocked in the four large long crosses surrounding the main tower and to recover its former appearance.
Catholic Swiss Bethlehem Foreign Church Seal Boer Holy Cross Nun Association sent more than 20 foreign nuns to Qiqihar Parish in the 19th year of the Republic of China (1930), to assist the missionary activities and establishment of Jesus Baby Theresa International Vestal Virgin Abbey, with the address at Xianliang Hutong. The purpose of the abbey was to train Chinese nuns. This abbey was under Qiqihar Catholic Parish (the later Prelate Parish). The abbey started to enroll Chinese nuns shortly after the establishment. The training of nuns was divided into the Pre-Novitiate Period and the Cultivated Period, and the courses were divided into religious and cultural courses. The cultural courses to the nuns were offered at North China Girl's Primary School, and the course was same to the courses opened by the National School. The abbey was transferred to Laha Town in the 28th year of the Republic of China (1939) for fund difficulty. The abbey was stopped in September of the 34 th year (1945).
Qiqihar Catholic Church established the private Affiliated Primary School of North China Middle School in the 19th year of the Republic of China (1930), which was called North China Primary School in brief. The school was divided into two sections of boy's and girl's, which are respectively located at North China Boy's Middle School and North China Girl's Middle School. At the beginning of establishment of the school, the boy's school and the girl's school respectively enrolled 6 classes of 320 students including some children of non-religious followers. The courses opened were same with equivalent level and equivalent class national schools. The religious course of the religious students was offered at Catechetical school. There was only a Director in the school to be responsible for teaching management and the administration tasks were done by the Principal of North China Middle School. The boy's school and girl's school of North China Primary School were combined in the 27th year of the Republic of China (1938), which was called Private Qiqihar City Longjiang National School. The Catholic Church established Corpus Christi Guide at the school in order to make the religious students be devoted and diligent at study and be respectful to teachers under the leadership of the Godfather, and each religious student could get a Corpus Christi on Lord's Day. The school was handed over by the Municipal Government after the liberation of Qiqihar City.
Qiqihar City Catholic Church established Private North China Middle School in the 19th year of the Republic of China (1930), which was divided into boy's school and girl's school, so that it's respectively called North China Boy's Middle School and North China Girl's Middle School. North China Boy's Middle School was located at the east Hutong of St. Miller Church and the North China Girl's Middle School was located at the west Hutong of St. Miller Church (the present address of Yucai Primary School). There were 4 classes of 200 students in the Boy's School and there were 3 classes of 120 students in the Girl's School. Some of the students and teachers were non-religious followers. There was the post of Dean in North China Middle School to be responsible for the administrative tasks of North China Middle School and Primary School. There were full-time Principals and Directors respectively for North China Boy's Middle School and North China Girl's Middle School to be responsible for specific teaching management. The Catholic Church established Y.M.C.A. and Sisters Association in the 23rd year of the Republic of China (1934) respectively in North China Boy's Middle School and North China Girl's Middle School, in order to make the religious students to be devoted to their study and to be respectful to teachers. North China Middle School was incorporated with other several schools to be Combined Middle School in 1947, and North China Middle School was suspended from then on. |
Asia Travel 
Articles: (
Newest publication