Christ's Church, Ürümqi

Christ's Church, Ürümqi (Chinese: 乌鲁木齐市基督教会明德路堂) is a Protestant church located in Tianshan District of Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China.

Christ's Church, Ürümqi
乌鲁木齐市基督教会明德路堂
Christ's Church, Ürümqi
Christ's Church, Ürümqi Location in Xinjiang
43°47′25.6″N 87°37′31.4″E
Location	Tianshan District, Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China
Denomination	Protestantism
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	1945 (1945)
Founder(s)	Li Kaihuan, Zhai Mingxia
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architectural type	Church building
Years built	1945
Completed	1995 (reconstruction)
Specifications
Floor area	2,400-square-metre (26,000 sq ft)
Materials	Granite, bricks
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	乌鲁木齐市基督教会明德路堂
Traditional Chinese	烏魯木齊市基督教會明德路堂
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wūlǔmùqíshì Jīdūjiàohuì Míngdélù Táng

History

In February 1945, Li Kaihuan (李开焕), a member of the OMF International, and his wife Zhai Mingxia (翟明霞), a member of the Baptists, went to Xinjiang to preach. On August 26, Li held a general meeting of all believers and began preparations for the establishment of the church in Xinjiang. The Church Building Committee was built in March 1946 and began to raise funds for the construction of the church. Zhang Zhizhong, the then Governor of Xinjiang, also donated money.

Li died in 1959 and was buried in Dongshan Ecological Park. His wife continued religious activities. In 1966, the Cultural Revolution broke out, religious activities were forced to stop and the church was used as an electronic research station. After the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, a policy of some religious freedom was implemented. The church was returned to the church in 1985. A new church with a total area of 2,400-square-metre (26,000 sq ft) was carried out in October 1994 and was completed before Christmas in 1995.