Sheshan Basilica, church building in Shanghai, China

Sheshan Basilica is a Latin-cross church on the summit of Sheshan Hill in Songjiang District, Shanghai. Its granite exterior has red-brick walls, a 38 m square bell tower at the southwest corner topped by an olive-shaped dome and a 4.8 m bronze statue of Mary holding the Child Jesus, and a roof partly covered in green glazed tiles. The nave is 55.81 m long and 24.68 m wide, with a 16.46 m ceiling and seating for 3,000; the marble high altar is inlaid with jade and trimmed with gold.

French Jesuits bought land on Sheshan in the early 1860s and built a hilltop church designed by Brother Léon Mariot, dedicated in the early 1870s. It was demolished in 1923; the present basilica, designed by Father Alphonse De Moerloose and supervised by Father François-Xavier Diniz, was built from 1924 to 1935. Pope Pius XII raised it to minor basilica on 12 September 1942, and the Marian image was crowned in 1946.

Each May, during the Marian month, thousands of Catholics follow a fixed route: prayers at the mid-level Zhongshan Church, then the Stations of the Cross up the zigzag path, Mass in the basilica, and finally the Three Pavilions. Fishermen believers traditionally row boats to the foot of the hill, mooring them in the nearby creeks.

The building is accessible to visitors for sightseeing as well as for prayer and worship services. Plan your visit to avoid times when religious ceremonies are taking place if you prefer a quieter exploration.

The building has been called "four withouts": no nails, no wood, no steel, no beams. Stone was shipped from Fujian to the foot of the hill, then carried up by hand; pilgrims also hauled materials as voluntary labour. The 38 m tower is topped by an olive-shaped dome on 16 columns, bearing a 4.8 m, 1.8-tonne copper statue of Mary holding the child Jesus, consecrated in 2000.