石室圣心大教堂

This guide to the Shishi Sacred Heart Cathedral in Guangzhou follows Cai Xiao, a stonemason from Jiexi County brought in when French architects found their granite towers rising too slowly. It traces how Kowloon granite was shipped across the water and hand-fitted by Chinese masons working from French drawings they could not read, over twenty-five years from 1863 to 1888. You will hear about the unusual mortar Cai's crews mixed to bind the blocks, and how he stayed on site the whole time. Look closely at the joints between the stones as you walk past the twin spires.