(Photo : Church in China)

Generally speaking, people won't think of China when they mention church, which is not the Chinese feature. There are many famous churches around the world, the Chiesa del Gesù in Italy, Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris, the Cathedral Church of St. John in New York, etc. What should we expect from churches in China? Chen Xiaotie is the person who know about it.

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The Saint Sophia Cathedral in Harbin was the first church he photographed. In 1999, he went back to Harbin for the summer vacation from university. His uncle brought him out for lunch and showed him the historical buildings around Harbin. The Saint Sophia Cathedral looked like a castle. Chen wondered why there was such an interesting church in China. He started doing research by himself when he went back to school.

Ten years after 1999, Chen is still continuing his study about church in China. He reads a lot of books, travels around, and spent most of his money on upgrading his photographic equipment. He tried to apply for funds, but few people are interested in the topic. In terms of architecture, the ancient Chinese style, such as courtyard, is usually more popular than the church. The reason may be the church origins from western countries. They were built during the war period and left while the war is over. Chinese people know little about the religion and church, and they may even don't know there is a church right next to their home. It is reasonable that no one is willing to provide financial support to Chen. However, he doesn't give up. It is hard, but he loves it. Sometimes he has to ask his girlfriend for assistance. If his girlfriend complaints, he will tell her the story of Ang Lee and his wife that Ang's wife did not want Ang Lee to give up his dream of making films.

It is estimated that Chen has taken photos of three hundred churches, and the photos are up to 100,000. He told us that he really appreciates the past ten years. He has growth and learned a lot from the research. He believes that concentration is more important than the skill, which is leading his work till today.