Paul Octave Ristelhueber (July 19, 1849 – March 12, 1925,[1] known in Chinese sources as 林椿) was a French diplomat stationed in Qing China.
He served as the French consul in Fuzhou (1877-80),[2] Guangzhou (1883-84)[2] and Tianjin Concession (1884-91).
[3] In 1905,[1] he became the Director of the Societe Francaise de Construction et D'exploitation de Chemins de Fer en Chine Ligne du Chan-si, the company that oversaw the construction of Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan railway in Qing China.
[5] Ristelhueber was born in Guadeloupe, the French West Indies and died in Paris.
He married Marie Anne Dannet and had two sons, of which Jean René Marie Ristelhueber became a French diplomat, stationing in Beirut (1908) and in Tunis (1924-28).