To implement the "Shenzhen Three-Year Action Plan for Promoting Green and Beautiful City Development (2023–2025)," the Christian community in Bao'an District, Shenzhen, held the inaugural ceremony for the "Green and Beautiful Church" initiative at Bao'an Church on May 29.
During the ceremony, officials from the Bao'an District Committee United Front Work Department (Bureau of Ethnic and Religious Affairs) affirmed the positive significance of the Christian community's involvement in the city's greening efforts, expressing hope that the initiative would foster social consensus and promote the establishment an ecological homeland, reported Guangdong CC&TSPM.
As a visual embodiment of the "Green and Beautiful Church" initiative, a tree-planting ceremony was held at the event, where participants jointly nurtured the soil for an imported Mediterranean olive tree that is more than 500 years old. The tree symbolizes the deep-rooted history of Christianity' within Chinese culture, reflecting the vision of harmony between religion, the times, and nature.
The origins of Bao'an Church in Shenzhen date back to 1907, when the German Rhenish Missionary Society established a preaching station in Xixiang (now Xixiang Residential District), marking the introduction of Christianity to the Bao'an area. Following China's reform and opening-up, believers resumed gatherings, and the congregation began to grow steadily. In 1992, the site was officially registered as a meeting point, and in 1994, Xixiang Church was formally established. Plans for a new church building were initiated in 1998, and the church was renamed "Bao'an Church." The new facility was completed in 2000. Today, Bao'an Church serves approximately 3,000 worshippers each Sunday and offers a variety of fellowships and gatherings.
