consul of France, Baron Gilbert de Trenqualye, delivered speeches. Two foundation stones were blessed and laid. The words "Jerusalem 1863" were engraved on the east one and "Roma 1863" on the west one, in reference to the Catholic Church's origin in Jerusalem in the east and headed on Earth by the Pope in Rome in the west. One kilogram of soil taken from Rome and one stone from Jerusalem were laid under the respective foundation stones. The construction of the cathedral turned out to be very challenging, mostly because of its all-granite structure and the lack of machinery, which meant the cathedral had to be built by hand. None of the Chinese workers at that time had seen a western cathedral before, not to mention had any experience of building one. Communication was another major problem when the French and the Chinese didn't speak each other's languages. The construction progress was slow for the first few years. Eventually the French employed a Chinese man named Cai Xiao () from Jiexi County as foreman. Cai had many years of experience in building stone houses in his hometown, which enabled him to bring in a lot of unique and creative methods. He barely left the site since being employed. The construction of the cathedral took most of his youth but was able to be finished in his lifetime. The cathedral was mostly funded by Napoleon III. When bishop Guillemin met him in Paris in 1858, the emperor, urged by his wife Eugénie, offered a personal grant of 500,000 francs. In 1873, a bill was passed in the National Assembly of France with 491 ayes against 100 nays, allocating another 75,000 francs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be used on the cathedral. The cathedral was finished in 1888 after 25 years of construction. Architecture The façade of the cathedral was modelled on the Basilica of St. Clotilde in Paris and its nave and apse were inspired by the Toul Cathedral. The cathedral features a nave of 28.2 metres high, flanked by two lower aisles and 14 small side-chapels. With a floor area of 2,924 square metres, it is the largest Roman Catholic church in the Guangzhou archdiocese and the largest cathedral in the Gothic style in China and Southeast Asia. The cathedral is 32.85 metres wide, 77.17 metres long, and the twin towers rise 52.76 metres high. The west tower is