I just post a photograph of Sacred Heart Cathedral of Canton. Compare the photograph with the one with 普慶戲院，the enigma is solved, and 普慶戲院 in the black and white photograph was in Canton.
The church as seen in the black and white photograph is Sacred Heart Cathedral.
There appear to be some inconsistencies between the modern and old image of the cathedral. Does anyone know if it has had any major changes done to it? The central gable between the two spires looks to be significantly larger in the older image.
I'm also struggling to match the photo's location to Canton.
Raymond, please could you upload an enlarged crop of the church in the original photo, like you did for the theatre? That may help with identification.
Greetings. I think the church was located in or near the early Western settlement. The 1938 map shows there was a concentration of houses to the southwest of, and on the north shore of Canton. The map shows a hill to the north but I am not sure it matches. Regards, Peter
The church / cathedral in the original photo is shown on the left above. We'd need a sharper copy of the original photo to be 100% sure, but it looks like a different building to me.
What is the provenance of the photo? It looks like a cathedral which is usually built in the centre of a city, or a town at least. Yet the photo seems to show a semi-rural setting, ie is it a genuine photo or has it been manipulated? I think identifying the location of the hill is the priority.
Agreed. The inconsistencies I mentioned earlier seem to be too much to be accounted for by the damage caused by the CR. It appears to be completely different in style and shape compared to Sacred Heart and reminds me more of St Mary's in Yangon (I don't think it is that one though,I seemto remember Yangon being quite flat). So perhaps not in China at all but one of the many areas in SEA with large Chinese communities. Yes, the hill would be the key.
Comments
history
https://gwulo.com/media/41686
Wonder what that hill behind the theater is. And what is that church behind it on the right?
Where is Nathan road?
Re:Photo
Does not look like Kowloon. Is that the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Guangzhou?
Kowloon?
Agreed. It could be Guangzhou, but it's definitely not Kowloon.
The photograph is from the…
The photograph is from the internet, its origin is unknown. Some wonder it is Canton（廣州），and some say it is Kowloon.
I post the photograph for discussion.
If Canton had 普慶，Kowloon also had 普慶，and so the confusion.
I just post a photograph of…
I just post a photograph of Sacred Heart Cathedral of Canton. Compare the photograph with the one with 普慶戲院，the enigma is solved, and 普慶戲院 in the black and white photograph was in Canton.
The church as seen in the black and white photograph is Sacred Heart Cathedral.
The black and white…
The black and white photograph of Canton is a rare one, and it shows the countryside of Canton in the late 1800s or early 1900s.
today
street view showing the cathedral using baidu map
Cathedral
There appear to be some inconsistencies between the modern and old image of the cathedral. Does anyone know if it has had any major changes done to it? The central gable between the two spires looks to be significantly larger in the older image.
renovation
Sure it has undergone many changes in its 140 years history. There is a wiki in Chinese for it:
https://www.wikiwand.com/zh/石室圣心大教堂#修葺
There is a video about the church:
https://baike.baidu.com/item/石室圣心大教堂/2965291
changes
Thanks Simtang - looks like most damage might have been during the Cultural Revolution.
Re: Location
Although Guangzhou (Canton) has been mentioned, I think the hill in the background needs to be resolved to nail down the location. For a city like Canton, there appears not many tenements in the original photo. A comparison with: https://www.thatsmags.com/guangzhou/post/9867/guangzhou-then-and-now-a-photo-comparison
Re: Location
I'm also struggling to match the photo's location to Canton.
Raymond, please could you upload an enlarged crop of the church in the original photo, like you did for the theatre? That may help with identification.
Theatre in Canton
Greetings. I think the church was located in or near the early Western settlement. The 1938 map shows there was a concentration of houses to the southwest of, and on the north shore of Canton. The map shows a hill to the north but I am not sure it matches. Regards, Peter
Here's how the cathedral in…
Here's how the cathedral in Canton looks today:
The photo on the right below is dated to 1893 (see http://id.lib.harvard.edu/images/olvwork370661/urn-3:FHCL:3997360/catalog) and shows the front of the cathedral hasn't changed significantly.
The church / cathedral in the original photo is shown on the left above. We'd need a sharper copy of the original photo to be 100% sure, but it looks like a different building to me.
What is the provenance of…
What is the provenance of the photo? It looks like a cathedral which is usually built in the centre of a city, or a town at least. Yet the photo seems to show a semi-rural setting, ie is it a genuine photo or has it been manipulated? I think identifying the location of the hill is the priority.
Cathedral
Agreed. The inconsistencies I mentioned earlier seem to be too much to be accounted for by the damage caused by the CR. It appears to be completely different in style and shape compared to Sacred Heart and reminds me more of St Mary's in Yangon (I don't think it is that one though,I seemto remember Yangon being quite flat). So perhaps not in China at all but one of the many areas in SEA with large Chinese communities. Yes, the hill would be the key.