The Catholic East Church is located in the east of the midsection of Wangfujing Street. It was rebuilt in 1904 on the ruins of the burned church.
The East Church was originally called Saint Joseph Church, and it was built in the twelfth year of Emperor Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty (1655). It was the second Catholic church built in Beijing after Italian preacher Mathieu Ricci built "South Church" in south part of Beijing at the end of Ming Dynasty.
In 1980,large scale repairs and maintenance were carried out by the government for East Church. The original church school changed its name to Wangfujing Primary School,and the church also recovered normal religious activities.