Demolition starts on contested church in China

28 April 2014| last updated at 06:29PM

Chinas Communist Party keeps a tight grip on religion, fearing challenges to its authority, but allows worship at state-controlled churches.

Authorities had approved the construction of the Sanjiang Church in Wenzhou city with an area of 1,881 square metres (20,240 square feet) but the finished building was roughly four times that size, state media have reported.

Images posted online showed the church surrounded by several bright yellow excavators, some gouging holes in the side of the towering structure.

Today the Wenzhou Sanjiang church is being demolished, where will our more than 1,000 believers gather after this? Why tear down our church? Caoyuan Zhibing said in a microblog posting which included a photo said to be from the scene, in the eastern province of Zhejiang.

Thousands of worshippers have previously flocked to the church to protect it, but online postings said police locked down the area on Monday, blocking traffic.

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Demolition starts on contested church in China