While there are many other beautiful villages in the area, Cizhong stands out because of the lovely Catholic church that dominates the centre of the village and its surrounding vineyards. The church was built by French missionaries nearly a hundred years ago in a vaguely Gothic style, topped by a three- storey clock tower. Local influences such as the eaved roofs and glazed tiles that were incorporated into the structure, as well as the palm trees flanking its main entrance, lend it a distinctively exotic appearance. The views from the top of the tower over the village and the mountains are dazzling.
Inside, the church is quite austere, but for its ceiling which is painted in different shades of blue and decorated with a mixture of floral and Taoist motifs. Naive paintings showing the different stages of the Way of the Cross hang from the walls with Chinese characters underneath, telling the story. The church benches, which are raised no more than 20 centimetres from the floor, are uncomfortably low for Westerners, unused to squatting, and the sight of the prayer books in Chinese lining them seems incongruous to our eyes.
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