Editor’s note: Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, is a city of about 4 million in northern China. Throughout history, Taiyuan has been the capital of several different dynasties, a crossroads and thoroughfare for invaders from the north, and a cradle of Chinese civilization. Today it is an energy and coal capital of China, and is famous for its vinegar and handmade noodles.
Join us this October as we pray for the city of Taiyuan, and hear from local pastors about how their city has changed in the past five years.
China Partnership: How has Taiyuan changed in the last five years? What changes have occurred in your church?
Pressure on House Churches
Brother Wu: House churches – especially in Taiyuan – have faced a lot of attention and pressure. Under these broader movements, our church has suffered two major rounds of persecution in the past five years. It’s impacted us a lot, as we lost our fixed worship space.
I was detained four times in one year. Huang Mujiang was in jail for two years. And there’s more. All this majorly impacted us.
Tan Jian: I’ll try and note some positives. Ten years ago, Taiyuan had a well-known mayor, Geng Yanbo. Geng began transforming Taiyuan from a heavily polluted city to one with much better infrastructure. In the past three or four years, two metro lines have opened.
As for the church, we’ve experienced a lot of persecution. Pastor Wu’s church was hit; ours was, too. I was detained four times in one year. Brother Huang Mujiang was in jail for two years. And there’s more. All this majorly impacted us. Now, when we think about church ministry, our first consideration is usually present realities.
Sobering Reality
Huang Mujiang: Transportation is more convenient – traffic really changed under Geng. There’s a metro, more trains, and high-speed rail. Before, we had to transfer lines to get to other cities, but now, with high-speed trains, some places are a same-day trip.
There’s now a bigger focus on historic preservation in Taiyuan, and the 2024 movie “Black Myth: Wukong” made Taiyuan trend. Life’s pace is speeding up.
Here’s one sobering thing: in 2024, for about a month, people were jumping into the river almost every day. Taiyuan sits in a valley between two mountains, with the Fen River running through. For one month, nearly every day, someone jumped from a different bridge. It was shocking. Once, while I was crossing a bridge to visit a brother, someone jumped. Police stood on both sides of each bridge 24/7, and rescue teams waited in the river.
Although churches have faced persecution, we’re still trying to build, church plant, and better structure the church in Taiyuan. We’re also trying to connect with other churches.
Never miss a story
I’ve also noticed that the ACG [anime, comics, and gaming] subculture is a bigger and bigger thing. On busy streets in the evenings, you often see people in cosplay outfits. Just the other day, we saw two girls filming in cosplay just by an old Catholic church in Taiyuan. I also see the LGBTQ culture becoming more visible and more common.
Moving Underground
Wang Zhudong: On the positive side, there’s better transportation and healthcare. But overall, the economy is clearly down. Many malls have closed, and there aren’t many young people on the streets during the weekdays. Because of the bad economy, a lot of young people have left.
For one month, nearly every day, someone jumped from a different bridge. It was shocking. Once, while I was crossing a bridge to visit a brother, someone jumped. Police stood on both sides of each bridge 24/7, and rescue teams waited in the river.
Shanxi University City is near us, right next to Taiyuan. That area has more than 10 universities. A decade ago, it was not hard to go on campus and find Christian student fellowships. But since the pandemic, universities have tightened their management of religion. The fellowships I know of have been suspended, and campus ministry is very difficult. Outsiders can’t go on campus, and those in the schools with religious faith are watched closely. A lot of churches have paused campus work, leaving only a few ministries on the margins.
Because of the bad economy and the many young people who are leaving, churches are aging and losing vibrancy. Because of the tighter regulation, local authorities pay more attention to churches. Then, persecution pushes the churches further underground, making them smaller and more hidden. At the same time, the churches are aging.
One example is that, last month, two or three sisters from related churches were visited at their homes by state security. Why? Just because they forwarded a prayer request on WeChat! Now their churches have split into small group gatherings of just a few people. They are moving more and more underground.
Low Wages, Long Hours, High Pressure
Bo Kang: The city is busier. Church time is compressed to evenings, early mornings, and Sundays; the rest is squeezed out. But it’s not just churches – the whole city is like this.
Pressure has increased. The economy is seriously down. A lot of shops are closed, and many companies are running at a loss. People used to relieve stress by going to the movies, singing, or grabbing meals. Now, they go to the countryside on the weekends, because going outside is about the only way left to decompress.
Education puts heavy time and financial burdens on families. Parents invest huge amounts of energy in managing their kids’ education, leaving children and adults exhausted. There’s more and more debt, whether in mortgages or credit card loans.
Not many people have five-day-a-week jobs. A lot of jobs require six-day workweeks, and some don’t have any time off. Most of our church members are employees, not business owners. They often work over-time every day. If they start work at 8 in the morning, some don’t get home till 11 or midnight.
One child said, “Where does my dad go?” He never sees his dad, because dad has already left when he wakes up, and isn’t home when he goes to bed. The pressure to survive has entangled many brothers. Because of this, sisters shoulder much of the church service, while brothers focus on providing for their families. They don’t have time or energy for church. Wages are low, working hours are long, and pressure is high.
If we hear another church is being persecuted, our members are not alarmed. Instead, they just say we must hold fast to our faith. If persecution comes, we’ll face it. If not, we’ll press on.
With the city’s conservative mindset, marital relationships in Taiyuan are often suffering. We see a lot of marriages in trouble in neighbors near our church. As people reach their 30s and 40s – when marriages should be affectionate – a lot of couples just live parallel lives, each doing their own thing. They wait until the kids get to college. Then, they might divorce, or just continue on with their separate lives.
The root causes are social structures and pressure. The church needs to offer a lot of pastoral comfort, and there are many areas where the church needs to breakthrough.
As for our own church, we haven’t been persecuted yet. We aren’t growing fast, but it’s slow and steady in numbers, theological foundation, life maturity, and the numbers of servants and co-workers.
I’m grateful that – even though there’s pressure in education, work, family, and church – most of our members desire to live for the Lord. They try to glorify God at work, to repent in their families, and to prioritize God’s work in the church. They strive to face their families and their work with joy. Even during the pandemic, they did not lose heart.
If we hear another church is being persecuted, our members are not alarmed. Instead, they just say we must hold fast to our faith. If persecution comes, we’ll face it. If not, we’ll press on. That encourages me.
Brother Wu, Tan Jian, Huang Mujiang, Wang Zhudong, and Bo Kang are pseudonyms for house church pastors in Taiyuan.
Pray for Taiyuan Christians to stand firm in their faith despite persecution, pressure, and hard times throughout society.
