A very pleasant walk up through the trees of Sheshan National Forest Park, this cruciform red-brick and granite church is the highlight of the West Hill area. Decent views look out over the suburbs of Shanghai. The original Holy Mother Cathedral was built here between 1863 and 1866, and the current Basilica of Notre Dame was finished in 1935.
All the stained glass was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and is being restored; the glass in the church at present is film coated. Nonetheless, the interior is splendidly illuminated on sunny days. Every May local Catholics make a pilgrimage to the church, climbing up the hill along the Via Dolorosa from the south gate. At the time of writing, the interior was under construction.
