Flower Lane Church is located at Dongjiekou Area, Gulou District, Fuzhou. It is one of the main Christian churches in Fuzhou City.
History of Flower Lane Church
Flower Lane Church was established in 1840 of Qing Dynasty. The original name was the Shangyou Church, which was one of the public churches subordinate to the Methodist Church of Fuzhou. In 1915, the Methodist Episcopal Mission bought this place and built the church into an institutional church, and named it Shangyou Pavilion, which means a social church.
It was once the residence of Zhaoxin, the king of Ryukyu in the Qing Dynasty. During the Revolution of 1911, the Fujian Revolution Army set up the headcounter here. On September 5, 1915, the first baptism was held for new adherents of Christianity. In 1938 it was restored and became the only chapel with granite structure in Fuzhou City.
The Shangyou Pavilion at that time had the classical and elegant construction style, with a flower hall and a fishpond. In order to deepen the impact of Christianity in Fuzhou, Shangyou Pavilion founded the Jinde School, which was engaged in modern culture lessons and served as the preparatory school for He Ling Anglo-Chinese College. Then the school was changed into the Jinde Women Middle School later. During the Anti-Japanese War Period, all the school activities came to an end.
From 1960s to 1970s, no more services were conducted in the church due to complex international relations. In 1979, the Flower Lane Church restored its religious service firstly. Consequently, it became the most popular church in Fuzhou and was renamed as the Flower Lane Church due to its location.
Since 1979, the church has received over 3,000 official visits from 40 countries and regions, which has become the culture exchange center between the Fujian Christianity circle and overseas religious organizations. Up to now, the Flower Lane Church has more than ten thousand adherents from different places.
More than 2,000 adherents and admirers gather in the church on every weekend night. The activities organized by the church include visiting the handicapped, taking care of loners, helping paupers, handling emergencies and keeping order in the community.