In China’s southern Fujian Province, the main building construction of a tulou church, an enclosed and fortified earth building, is complete, with the interior design and decoration being carried out next.
On January 22, Sunday, which was also Chinese New Year 2023, a pastor of a church in Hukeng Town, Yongding County, Longyan City, gave a sermon to local residents and tourists.
Chinese culture, especially local Hakka ("guest people") culture, will be incorporated into the decoration concept and architectural style. The outer circle of the first floor of the main body will be open to the outside world, and a public teahouse is about to be set up for local people and tourists at home and abroad. On the second floor, 21 homestays with local touches have been set up as tourist (or Christian) service stations. The third floor, covering an area of 900 square meters (0.22 acres), is used as the main venue for large-scale gatherings. In addition, the back mountain forest is designed and constructed according to the requirements of ecology, temples, and churches.
The Yongding District CC&TSPM demolished the original Hukeng Church, which had great potential safety hazards, as a key project of adhering to the principle of developing religion in the Chinese context, which had received support and praise from the governments and the provincial CC&TSPM. The foundation stone was laid on December 31, 2020.
However, there is still a funding gap in construction due to the three-year epidemic.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
