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每年有大量的外國人來華定居，對他們來說，擔憂之一就是在中國這個非基督教國家，要找到教堂并非易事。下面，我們就為大家介紹下中國尤其是首都北京的教堂...
B: Large numbers of foreigners are coming to live in China every year. Before arriving here, many Christians may worry about finding churches in this non-Christian nation.
A: But actually, many visitors to China have found that Christianity is more popular with the Chinese than they originally thought. Churches can be found all over the country, and some Chinese families even have generations of believers.
B: There are more than 20 thousand churches in China. They are not only venues of worship for both domestic and foreign believers, but also places for people to learn about the development and influence of Christianity in China. In fact, the earliest western architectural works in China were religious sites.
A: Christianity was first introduced in China in the early seventh century during the Tang Dynasty. At that time, Chinese people mainly believed in Buddhism, Daoism, or Confucianism. In an effort to reach the people, the churches built by early missionaries were all in the form of Buddhist temples. But in the mid-9th century, a pious Taoist Tang emperor forbade Christian sermons, thus leading to the disappearance of Christianity in China.
B: Christianity didn't see a resurgence in China until the 17th century when preaching by European missionaries gained the support of the Ming emperors. Churches began to be built all over the country.
A: Most of the early churches in China were originally built with a combination of religious features and traditional Chinese architecture. Their exteriors were in a traditional Chinese style, but the interiors were designed and decorated in a distinctively religious manner.
B: In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, western Christian missionaries flooded into China and built more churches all over the country. In many places, churches differed little from their western counterparts.
A: We know Beijing is home to a large number of tourist attractions. Places of worship are not on the usual tourist itineraries, but churches in Beijing are really well worth a visit.
B: There are more than 30 churches in Beijing. Some of them offer English-language Masses on weekends to meet the needs of foreign believers.
A: Four Catholic churches surrounding the Forbidden City in the heart of Beijing are the best known and most popular ones among worshippers and visitors. They are located right on the four sides of downtown Beijing, so they are more commonly known among the locals as the East, South, West and North churches rather than their original religious names.
B: The four churches were all built by western missionaries. The South Church is the oldest one in Beijing, dating back to the early 17th century. Its origins were associated with the Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci, who arrived in Beijing in 1601 to spread the gospel.
