The church was originally established by the Jesuits in 1703 near Zhongnanhai (opposite the former Beijing Library), on land bestowed by the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty to the Jesuits in 1694, following his recovery from illness thanks to medical expertise of Fathers Jean-François Gerbillon and Joachim Bouvet.
Some high-ranking Communist Party leaders in Beijing grew curious at reports of Zhang's alleged powers, and Zhang was one of the "Healers with Extraordinary Powers" invited into the Zhongnanhai leadership compound to treat the daughter-in-law of General Chen Geng.
The Xinhuamen entrance lies on the north side of West Chang'an Avenue.
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PNG"?title=Empress Dowager Cixi">Empress Dowager Cixi and servants on a boat in Zhonghai in the early 1900s.
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The view behind the entrance is shielded by a traditional screen wall with the slogan "Serve the People", written in the handwriting of Mao Zedong.
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During the reign of the Empress Dowager Cixi, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor would often live in the Zhongnanhai compound, travelling to the Forbidden City only for ceremonial duties.
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Following the political turmoil that culminated in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, security was greatly increased.
Qi now began to directly intervene in Politics by inciting Red Guards to forcefully bring Peng Dehuai back from Sichuan and to enter the Governmental District of Beijing, Zhongnanhai, to attack Liu, Deng, Zhu De und Tao Zhu.