An imposing building at the summit of Sheshan Hill, the Basilica of Our Lady of Sheshan dates back to the year 1873. The church is located in Songjiang district and is revered by Catholic Chinese among the local population of Shanghai. The 70 feet tall church presents a beautiful view when seen from afar and the path leading up to it is a nature-riddled hike that soothes the mind. An active place of worship on Sundays, it has regular service which was halted for a while during the Covid-19 pandemic. Annually on May 24 (except this year), there are huge international pilgrimages to this site for special blessings.
Spread over 2 acres of land it has a capacity to seat a 3,000 strong congregation of worshippers. The site was originally a Buddhist monastery with a Maitreyan hall and all but fell into disuse. The land was purchased by christian missionaries in 1963, when previous building was demolished to make way for residential complex for travelling missionaries and church officials. A small chapel for worship on the side as well as a compact pavilion was built for housing the Madonna statue.
When things got difficult for catholics in Shanghai, with churches being brunt under the Taiping Rebellion, the worshippers pledged to build a bigger church if their region was spared; which came to pass. Accordingly, a well-designed church was erected with materials brought up the hill rather strenuously by manual labor. The architecture was a mix of oriental and western features but was found inadequate for the growing catholic community. Over time there were other additions to the complex including a complete overhaul of the main church building in 1935 that really expanded the original to accommodate more worshippers. However, trouble again struck this dominating basilica during the Cultural Revolution where it sustained much damage to its iconography and structure. Now though, the Basilica stands mighty on the western Sheshan hill as a beacon of hope to all catholics. There is even an observatory built on the same hill by the very hands that were involved in the original building design of the church.
Tourists and devotees travelling to Sheshan Basilica can either take the metro/ bus which takes longer but is considerably economical; or take a taxi which goes directly and quickly but costs more. Shanghai subway line 9 makes a stop at She-Shan station but there’s still a 25-30 minutes’ walk to the church unless travelers take a bus or taxi. These get you to the base of sheshan hill. From there a 15-minute walk on the incline will make way to the smaller church at the midpoint, where regular services are held. Another 15 minutes will take visitors to the famous church on top, which is closed most days. But the views are breathtaking and architecture amazing, so there’s still a reward for all the climbing! Along the way there are biblical scenes etched into the hill side that provide quite the spiritual experience to those going up.