The article describes the peculiarities of the existence of the Orthodox Church in China during a difficult period, when the main carriers of the Orthodox faith – emigrants, immigrants from the territory of the former Russian Empire left the country. The research was based on archival sources, as well as some available publications. The author shows that in the early 1950s Orthodoxy in China began to decline. The idea of creating an independent Chinese Orthodox Church, which will be implemented in the future, also dates back to this time.