Category: World Touch

Some 50 million visits in 2006 are set to rise to 130 million by 2020. China’s capacity is no less important than its many tourist locations and the huge exotic fascination it generates. They keep coming, foreign tourists that is. Their number has become an endless flow. Currently, the Middle Kingdom ranks fourth on the ‘Most Visited Country’ list in terms of capacity but the future has all the signs of a boom in the making.

Guangzhou’s historic Sacred Heart Cathedral, the only granite Gothic church in mainland China, has been reopened after more than two years of renovation work paid almost entirely from the coffers of the provincial Communist government. The cathedral is located in downtown Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, and is commonly known as the Shishi or Stone House Church because its walls and pillars were built with large granite blocks. Over the years it has become a major point of interest for Chinese and foreign worshippers and tourists.Full-scale renovation began in July 2004. It included replacing the roof, cleaning and repairing the granite walls, and reinstalling a mechanical clock and bronze bells in the two bell towers. The lighting, sound system and furniture were upgraded and more greenery was planted in the church compound. Its stained glass windows were replaced with new ones from the Philippines. They depict Bible stories and saints. Beside the altar are a pair of windowpanes portraying Italian Jesuit Father Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) and Catholic Chinese imperial official Paul Xu Guangqi (1562-1633), Ricci’s first baptized Chinese.