Recently, Yingjiang County, on the Yunnan border, is reconstructing its only church --- Zion Church which was demolished as a dangerous building after the earthquake in 2011.
The local believers started to reconstruct it in 2015 and have to gather in a temporary shed in the past five years. The simple place has a lectern, wood pews, and many plastic stools put in the corner in case of need. However, Teacher Cao Fucheng of the church tells CCD that it rains a lot in Yingjiang. When it comes to rainy days, the rain drums loudly on the iron roof, which affects the service.
Founded in 1988, the multi-ethnic church has over 1400 members, most of whom are Han, Jingpo and Lisu. Others are the Dai and Palaung, etc. Cao said that it has three Sunday services in three languages with the total attendance of over 500 to meet the worship need of the Han, Jingpo and Lisu people.
The original church suffered from severe damage in the 2011 Yunnan earthquake and was demolished according to the request from the local authorities while it is reconstructed but delays happened due to the lack of funds
Until 2015, a construction team was set up and the project that would cost over 7 million yuan started on March 18, 2015. It was estimated to be completed in the early 2016. A large part of the funds came from the believers' donations and currently, there is a shortfall in the funding.
Yingjiang County is located in Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan province, bordering Burma's Kachin State to the west, where many national minorities reside. It has a border of 214.6 km with Burma, with a population of 320,0000. There're 30,000 Christians and 156 churches here.
