St. John's Cathedral

Completed in 1849, St. John's Cathedral is the oldest western religious building in Hong Kong. An Anglican cathedral dating from the period of British rule, it is built in a traditional English Gothic style.

The foundation stone for St. John's Cathedral was laid by governor Sir John Davis on March 11, 1847. It was completed in 1849 and extended in 1873.

The Japanese attacked Hong Kong on December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor. Despite the ongoing shelling of the island, Christmas morning services were held with a congregation of 100 in the cathedral that year. The first service after the arrival of the Royal Navy at the end of the war was held on September 9, 1945.

In 1996, St. John's Cathedral was made a Declared Monument (#60) of Hong Kong. Today it remains an active cathedral and the major center of Anglican Christianity in Hong Kong.

The Neo-Gothic cathedral has a cross plan with a tall square tower at the west end. It houses three beautiful stained glass windows, as well as a collection of British military colors, standards and guidons.