Built in 1902 as the French embassy church in the foreign Legation Quarter, St. Michael’s now welcomes Chinese and foreigners to its Chinese-language service.

Located in Beijing's longest hutong, Dongjiaominxiang, the well-preserved St. Michael's church is "small but exquisite," according to Sun Hongtao, who has been a priest managing daily matters there for five years.

St. Michael's can hold about 400 visitors - significantly smaller than Beijing's other Catholic churches - and has remained remarkably free from serious damage since its construction in 1901.

A young woman called Miya, who was taking pictures of the gate outside said, "A friend told me I would be impressed with the delicate St. Michael's statue here. It is said that the believers take him as a guardian angel."

During the Cultural Revolution, St. Michael's Church was shut down, but unlike other churches that were torn down, this church was put under Taijichang Elementary School. The unchanged structure of the church was used as an assembly hall. Repair work started in 1986 and 2000 was just to take care of small things, like painting and mending.

St. Michael's is unusual in that it incorporates some Chinese architectural styles into its supplementary structures, like the two-story rectory and the 10-room church offices. It also sits facing north-to-south instead of east-to-west, which is unusual, according to Shi Hongxi.

Christmas mass: December 24 (5:00 pm and 11:30 pm)

December 25 (7:00 am and 8:00 am)

Tel: 86 10 8511 5405

Address: A13, Dongjiaominxiang, Dongcheng District, Beijing

Source: china.org