Shanxi, Zezhou County, Daji Rose Virgin Mary Church

Also known as Xiaozhai Catholic Church, it consists of three parts: the church, the city wall, and the houses. According to legend, at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, to resist the chaos of war, Wang Tailai, a wealthy Shanxi merchant known as 'the richest under heaven', built three fortresses in Daji Town of Zezhou County. Xiaozhai got its name because it was the smallest of the three. Xiaozhai Catholic Church was funded and built by two Dutch people in 1914. The architectural features of the Rose Church reflect the fusion of Eastern and Western cultures, with an exterior that is a Chinese-style fortress and an interior that is a Western-style church. In addition to Western-style arched doors and windows and a bell tower, it also incorporates the traditional Chinese cultural elements of foundations and the 'five ridges and six beasts'. With a Western-style church and Chinese-style city walls, it stands as an exemplary model of the interplay between Chinese and Western cultures.