A church in a scenic town in Fujian Province was designed by a German architect with glass as its walls.
On March 19, staff members from Flower Lane (Huaxiang) Church in Fuzhou City, along with believers, drove to visit Julong Town Church in Huian County, Quanzhou City.
Vice Director Zhang Wenbin of the administrative board of Julong Town Church served as a full-time "tour guide."
Huian County's Julong Town is said to be one of China's top four characteristic real estate towns, attracting people from all over the country and abroad who yearn for a secluded paradise-like life to settle here. Comprising over 6,000 homeowners, the new town is a real estate project.
To meet Christian’s need for gatherings, a businessman has been providing a place with three floors covering a floor area of nearly 500 square meters (0.1235 acres) for gatherings since 2016.
This original church could no longer accommodate the gatherings and activities of nearly a thousand believers, so they decided to build a new one.
"Dirk U. Moench, who was married to a Fujian woman and also drew sketches for Flower Lane Church and Luoyuan Church, designed the current Julong Town Church. The church is located at the edge of the neighborhood center in Julong Town. It is a modern-style artistic building with a spiritual, slender, towering, and sharp 'Noah's Ark' style. From a distance, the cross stands tall, and the bottom four floors are designed with the concept of the 'Four Gospels.' The main building has the shape of Noah's Ark and stands at the highest point of the town, symbolizing the invitation for all people to listen to God's words and enter the Tabernacle to receive the Lord's salvation," Director Zhang explained.
More than 700 people can fit inside the temple, which takes its inspiration from the "Sermon on the Mount" and has a transparent glass curtain wall.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
