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STORY: Thousands of Chinese Christians flocked to church to attend a Christmas Eve service in Beijing on Wednesday (December 24).
The Church of the Immaculate Conception, one of Beijing's oldest Catholic churches, drew Catholic, Christian, and many non-religious attendees as it held a traditional service on Christmas Eve.
Although China remains an officially atheist state, its Christian population has experienced an upsurge in recent years.
The Catholic Church in China is divided into two communities - an official Church known as the Patriotic Association answerable to the Communist Party, and an underground Church that swears allegiance only to the pope in Rome.
China and the Vatican severed ties more than 50 years ago and only around 25 million people in the world's most populous nation are Christians.
