Hangzhou part 8 - The Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Hangzhou

The Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Hangzhou is one of the oldest Catholic churches in China. It was built during the Ming Dynasty, about 400 years ago. We had quite a trip finding it though! On the internet it said that cab drivers know if simply by the name "The Catholic church" in chinese. So we showed the cab driver the Chinese characters. He got on the phone, then looked at us and did the sign of the cross. We laughed and nodded.

We drove all the way across town and ended at the big Protestant church in Hangzhou. It looked like any other church in America to me! He realized his mistake and we drove to the other side of town. We finally found it. We had a nice man unlock it so we could take a look and get pictures. We met some nice people. It was really interesting being in a place like that... here. They still have sunday services every week, along with other studies. The cathedral is located next to a convent.