St. Francis Cathedral, Xi'an

St. Francis Cathedral (simplified, traditional) is a Catholic cathedral located in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. Its construction began in 1716 and was completed in 1727. Since 1930, the church has been the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Xi'an. The church has a history of land disputes with various Chinese governments that has continued into the 21st century. Though the Qing government proscribed Christianity in 1724, some underground missionary activities remained, and the church was completed three years later. It was eventually confiscated by the Qing government, but returned in 1866 and rebuilt in 1884. It was closed in 1966 and reopened in 1980. The cathedral combines Chinese and western architectural styles. It currently houses the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Yellow River Soup Kitchen, and also contains a relic of St. Francis of Assisi.

Church data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).