Halal Travel Guide: Houhai Mosque — Republican-Era Muslim Building in Beijing
Reposted from the web
Summary: Houhai Mosque — Republican-Era Muslim Building in Beijing is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: I visited the Houhai Mosque on the west bank of Houhai in Beijing yesterday and learned quite a lot. The account keeps its focus on Houhai Mosque, Beijing Mosques, Muslim Heritage while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.
I visited the Houhai Mosque on the west bank of Houhai in Beijing yesterday and learned quite a lot.
The Houhai Mosque sits on the north bank of the river connecting Houhai and Xihai, just east of Desheng Bridge, so it is also called Desheng Bridge Mosque. The mosque was reportedly built during the Qing Dynasty, but the current structure was rebuilt in 1946. It features a typical Western-style architecture from the Republic of China era, though it has since become a crowded residential compound due to historical reasons.
The mosque gate faces south and is a Western-style gatehouse. Once you enter, the main prayer hall is on the west side. The main hall has a modified hip roof. It originally had a front porch, but that has been enclosed, though the traditional painted decorations remain on the porch. According to the Survey of Beijing Mosques, there were traces of the words "Mosque" on the west wall of the main hall, but when I visited, a building had been constructed outside that wall, so I could not find a spot to see it.
When I arrived, the owner of the room at the southernmost end of the main hall was renovating, which gave me a chance to see the inside of the hall. The biggest surprise was that the renovation work peeled away the outer layer of the wall, revealing the original traditional calligraphy of scripture on the wall facing the direction of prayer. As the renovations continue, the calligraphy will likely be hidden from view again soon.
Summary: Houhai Mosque — Republican-Era Muslim Building in Beijing is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: I visited the Houhai Mosque on the west bank of Houhai in Beijing yesterday and learned quite a lot. The account keeps its focus on Houhai Mosque, Beijing Mosques, Muslim Heritage while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.
I visited the Houhai Mosque on the west bank of Houhai in Beijing yesterday and learned quite a lot.
The Houhai Mosque sits on the north bank of the river connecting Houhai and Xihai, just east of Desheng Bridge, so it is also called Desheng Bridge Mosque. The mosque was reportedly built during the Qing Dynasty, but the current structure was rebuilt in 1946. It features a typical Western-style architecture from the Republic of China era, though it has since become a crowded residential compound due to historical reasons.
The mosque gate faces south and is a Western-style gatehouse. Once you enter, the main prayer hall is on the west side. The main hall has a modified hip roof. It originally had a front porch, but that has been enclosed, though the traditional painted decorations remain on the porch. According to the Survey of Beijing Mosques, there were traces of the words "Mosque" on the west wall of the main hall, but when I visited, a building had been constructed outside that wall, so I could not find a spot to see it.
When I arrived, the owner of the room at the southernmost end of the main hall was renovating, which gave me a chance to see the inside of the hall. The biggest surprise was that the renovation work peeled away the outer layer of the wall, revealing the original traditional calligraphy of scripture on the wall facing the direction of prayer. As the renovations continue, the calligraphy will likely be hidden from view again soon.
