One of Beijing's Top 10 Famous Themed Cafés: The Historical Story of 1901 Café at Xishiku Church

A Coffee Shop in a Church with Over a Hundred Years of History!

With the development of the coffee industry in China, coffee has begun to permeate every corner of our lives. Today, you can find coffee shops in hospitals, police stations, and even in prisons abroad. In China, there's even a coffee shop in a place that has appeared in history textbooks.

1901 Café: A Historic Coffee Destination

Inside the Xishiku Catholic Church in Beijing, which can be traced back to the 42nd year of Emperor Kangxi's reign (1703 AD), there is a coffee shop named 1901 café.

In 1703, two teachers were granted a piece of land after curing Emperor Kangxi's illness, allowing them to build a church. That church was the predecessor of today's Xishiku Catholic Church, named the Church of the Holy Savior. After the Second Opium War, the bishop built a tall Gothic building on the original site of the North Church, which displeased Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Tongzhi. It was later relocated to Xishiku and completed in 1888.

The event that made Xishiku Church famous in history textbooks was the Xishiku Church Incident. Xishiku Church was once a place where Qing troops and Boxer fighters engaged in fierce battles.

According to Baidu Baike (China's online encyclopedia), some basic information about this coffee shop can be found. 1901 Café was originally named Channel, but was later renamed 1901 because the church was built in 1901. The building that houses 1901 Café was converted from an auxiliary building of the Xishiku Cathedral.

After more than a hundred years, the appearance of the church has been preserved. The three-story Baroque building, with its antique interior, allows visitors to feel the long history of this church whether they enter or pass by.

1901 Café is located at 101 Xi'anmen Inner Street, Xicheng District, Beijing. Before the Cultural Revolution, this three-story building where 1901 Café is situated served as dormitory for clergy.

Today, the entire three-story building serves as the premises for 1901 Café. The first floor is used for ordering, while the second and third floors are available for dining. The second floor is bright and spacious, while the third floor is a slightly dimmer attic.

Since the entire interior of the building is made of wood, the sounds made when people walk on the stairs and floors enhance the feeling of antiquity.

From the numerous pictures, it can be seen that although the attic on the third floor is dimly lit, it is a quiet place for one to be alone and a good place to have heart-to-heart conversations with close friends.

Walking on the streets and opening various social media apps, what others recommend and check in at are mostly trendy coffee shops with concrete styles, minimalist black and white designs, or some so-called "Iraqi style" decorations. Upon closer inspection, these places have no historical heritage or distinctive characteristics. Coffee, which originally belongs to the realm of slowness, has been pulled into a space that belongs to fastness.

Although coffee as a foreign product has not been consumed in China for a long time in modern times, most coffee shops lack their own characteristics and choose to follow the eyes and tongues of the masses. When asked what makes them different from others, they are speechless. Ultimately, due to their lack of unique features, they end up following the trend and gradually disappearing without a trace.

In this era where coffee shops come and go quickly, why not find a place full of historical stories, sit down, and enjoy the passage of time.

Image Source: Internet

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