Reposted from the web

Summary: Sousse's old medina became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988 and remains less commercialized than the medina of Tunis. This travel account follows the source's route through the old city, mosque sights, markets, restaurants, seafood, and street observations.

The old medina in Sousse, Tunisia, was named a UNESCO World Heritage site back in 1988, but it is much less developed for tourism than the medina in Tunis, which became a World Heritage site in 1979. The Tunis medina has many guesthouses and hotels converted from historic homes, ranging from budget to high-end options. We searched for a long time, but found very few historic guesthouses in the Sousse medina, so we finally chose Dar Badiaa.

The atmosphere at Dar Badiaa is lovely, but the rooms in these historic buildings are quite small. Don't trust the room sizes listed on booking websites; they are just guesses. The lady who checked us in didn't speak English, only French, so we spent a long time struggling to understand each other.



















Breakfast at the Dar Badiaa historic guesthouse is quite generous, featuring egg pancakes (danbing), flaky pastries (subing), French bread (fagun), curd (ruza), cheese, various jams, pickled olives, Tunisian chili paste (harissa), and local Tunisian desserts, served with strong Tunisian coffee. While we were chatting in the courtyard at night, the guesthouse lady served us classic Tunisian mint black tea and date-filled semolina cookies (makroudh). Makroudh is a classic treat for breaking the fast in the North African Maghreb region. It has a semolina crust, a filling of date paste and dried fruit, and is soaked in syrup after baking.

While drinking tea and chatting that night, we noticed some very old writing on one of the stone pillars in the house. We aren't sure if it is Phoenician.



















The World Heritage old medina of Sousse, Tunisia. The area with better tourism development is the main street, Souk el Cald, which starts from the west gate of the old city, Bab El-Gharbi. It has many small shops and restaurants. We ate at a restaurant on the street called Dar Amna. We chose grilled fish for our main course, which came with French bread, french fries, roasted pepper salad (mechouia), and a Tunisian salad made of cucumber, tomato, and onion. Tunisia became a French protectorate in 1881, which is why French bread became a staple food here. Personally, I find the French bread dry and hard, and not nearly as good as the staple breads in the eastern Arab world.



















Street view of Souk el Cald, the main road starting from the old city's west gate, Bab El-Gharbi.



















Souk el Cald has many tea houses and cafes perfect for taking photos. You can drink local mint tea, eat some pine nuts, and enjoy a slow pace of life.

















At the snack shop by the entrance of the Great Mosque of Sousse, they specialize in Tunisian folded sandwiches (makloub). It is like a mix of shawarma and pizza; the crust is like pizza dough, filled with grilled meat, cheese, harissa, and mayonnaise, then rolled up to eat.



















Restaurant du Peuple, located under the north city wall, specializes in traditional Tunisian food. We ordered the fisherman's stew and Berber lamb tagine, which represent the coastal and inland cultures of Tunisia, respectively. The fisherman's stew contains fish, shrimp, and shellfish, while the lamb tagine is a potato and meat stew. In Tunisian restaurants, you just need to order the main dish. Once you order, they bring out French bread, harissa soup, roasted pepper salad (mechouia), Tunisian salad, and deep-fried Tunisian spring rolls (brik). After you finish, they serve mint black tea.

The Berbers are the indigenous people of Tunisia. Centuries of Arab migration starting in the 7th century led to the Arabization of most Berbers, and by the 15th century, Tunisia was essentially fully Arabized. Although the Berbers and Arabs in Tunisia have merged today, many traditional Berber cultural elements remain, including unique Berber food and music.























A candy stall on the old city street selling something like Xinjiang nut cake (qiegao), and the old-fashioned balance scale is a rare sight. Behind are some decorations from the old town streets, featuring classic Islamic themes like the Nuh boat, the Buraq ridden during the Ascension, and Hamsa (Fatima's hand) tiles.



















Before the 19th century, all of Sousse's residents lived inside the old medina. After Tunisia became a French protectorate in 1881, the French began building a new city north of the Sousse medina. Sousse was bombed repeatedly between 1942 and 1943, and the new city suffered heavy damage. Authorities began rebuilding the new city in 1946, which eventually led to its current appearance.

Sousse is a major coastal city in Tunisia, but the beach is not very busy and has little entertainment. People mostly just walk, chat, zone out, or drink coffee at the seaside cafes. While strolling by the sea, we were surprised to find a shop called "Justinian" with a portrait of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I printed on it. We bought some pistachios from a handsome young man in the shop and learned to zone out by the sea just like the locals.

During the reign of Justinian I (527-565), many territories lost by the Western Roman Empire were reclaimed, including Tunisia. In 533, the Byzantine army under Justinian I landed in Tunisia and quickly defeated the Germanic Vandal Kingdom, allowing Tunisia to remain prosperous for over a hundred years.



















The ABOU NAWAS BOU JAAFAR hotel by the Sousse beach is now abandoned, but surprisingly, their official website is still up. Looking at old photos, it was very luxurious back then.









At a small restaurant in the new city, we had a grilled meat platter, which was still served with a baguette and Tunisian salad. The platter included chicken, beef, and Tunisian sausage (Merguez).

Merguez is made with lamb and beef, mixed with cumin, harissa, chili, and various other spices, and is usually grilled. Merguez sausage was first seen in the 12th century in Andalusia, which was southern Spain under Arab rule, and later spread throughout North Africa.















Finally, here are some more street scenes from the old medina of Sousse.




























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Summary: This first part of the Jiangsu mosque series documents historic Hui Muslim mosque sites in northern Jiangsu, including Yanghe Mosque, Siyang Mosque, Siyang West Mosque, Shuyang Mosque, Hexia Mosque, Wangjiaying Mosque, Yancheng Mosque, and Baoying Mosque. The article preserves the original mosque names, founding dates, community histories, inscriptions, architectural details, and image order.

I am sharing the 25 historic mosque buildings I have visited in Jiangsu, moving from north to south.

1. Suqian

1. Yanghe Mosque (Yanghesi): First built during the Qianlong reign, rebuilt after 1945.

2. Huai'an

1. Qingjiang Mosque (Qingjiangsi): First built during the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, rebuilt in 1870.

2. Hexia Mosque (Hexiasi): First built during the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty, rebuilt in the late Qing Dynasty.

3. Wangjiaying Mosque (Wangjiayingsi): First built during the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty, rebuilt in 1985.

3. Yancheng

1. Yancheng Mosque (Yanchengsi): Built during the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty, renovated in 1928.

4. Yangzhou

1. Baoying Mosque (Baoyingsi): Rebuilt in 1910, rebuilt again in 2022.

2. Gaoyou Mosque (Gaoyousi): Rebuilt in 1864.

3. Lingtang Ancient Mosque (Lingtang Gusi): First built at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, moved to its current site in the early Qing Dynasty, rebuilt in 1924.

4. Shaobo Mosque (Shaobosi): First built during the Xianfeng reign of the Qing Dynasty.

5. Xianhe Mosque (Xianhesi): First built in 1275, rebuilt in 1390.

6. Majian Lane Mosque (Majianxiang Libaisi): First built in 1714.

7. Huihui Tang Mosque (Huihuitangsi): First built in 1275, rebuilt in 1776.

5. Zhenjiang

1. Shanxiang Mosque (Shanxiangsi): Expanded during the Kangxi reign, rebuilt in 1873.

2. Jianzi Lane Mosque (Jianzixiangsi) Ming and Qing Dynasty stone carvings.

3. Nanmenwai Mosque (Nanmenwaisi) Qing Dynasty mihrab.

4. Xinhe Street Mosque (Xinhejie Huijiaotang): 1930.

6. Nanjing

1. Jingjue Mosque (Jingjuesi): First built during the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, rebuilt in 1877.

2. Original Taiping Road Mosque: First built in the early Ming Dynasty, moved and rebuilt in 2005.

3. Xiaowangfu Lane Mosque.

4. Hushu Mosque: First built in 1392, rebuilt in 1896.

5. Liuhe South Gate Mosque: First built in 1403, raised and renovated in 2013.

6. Liuhe Women's School: First built in 1912, rebuilt in 1930.

7. Liuhe Changjiang Road Mosque: First built in 1424, rebuilt during the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty.

8. Zhuzhen Mosque: Rebuilt in 1901, renovated in 2001.

9. Zhuzhen Women's Mosque: First built in 1921, rebuilt in 1931.

Suqian Yanghe Town Mosque.

The Suqian Yanghe Town Mosque was first built during the Qianlong reign. It was funded by Yu Qin, a local scholar from Yanghe who had served as an education official in Lishui, Pizhou, and Ningguo, and was built on Rice Market Street in Yanghe. It was destroyed during the Japanese invasion and later rebuilt. The current main hall features a hip-and-gable roof, a post-and-lintel frame, and upturned eaves with wind bells hanging from the four corners. It was listed as a Suqian cultural heritage site in 2010.

Yanghe Town Mosque belongs to the Jahriyya Banqiao Daotang. During the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty, Chang Tingzhang (1785-1870), a Hui Muslim from Siyang, Jiangsu, traveled to Lingzhou (modern-day Lingwu) in Ningxia to study. After completing his studies, he brought the Jahriyya tradition to the Huai-Si region. Chang Tingzhang was famous far and wide for his profound knowledge and had many disciples when he began teaching at the Huaiyin Wangjiaying Mosque. Since then, mosques including the Huaiyin Wangjiaying Mosque, Siyang Zhongxing Town Mosque, and Yanghe Town Mosque have all followed the Jahriyya tradition. Before 1932, the imams of Yanghe Town Mosque were all assigned from Ningxia. After 1932, Imam Ma Chengliang served until he passed away in 1979.























Huai'an Qingjiang Ancient Mosque.

Qingjiangpu in Huai'an was dredged in 1415 (the 13th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty). It was the center of grain transport for the Grand Canal during the Ming and Qing dynasties, where grain transport ships from all provinces were built and repaired. Because navigating the Yellow River section of the canal was very dangerous, and waiting times to pass through locks in Shandong were too long, many merchants chose to leave their boats at Qingjiangpu. They would cross the Yellow River and switch to horse-drawn carriages to continue north, making Qingjiangpu a symbol of the "southern boats and northern horses" transport system.

The most important pier in Qingjiangpu was next to the Yue Lock. It was called the Imperial Pier because both Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong landed there during their southern inspection tours. This was once the busiest and most prosperous place in Qingjiangpu. Hui Muslims began doing business on Yuehe Street in front of the Imperial Pier during the Ming Dynasty, and the earliest Qingjiang Ancient Mosque was built during the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty.

In 1677 (the 16th year of the Kangxi reign), the Governor of the Waterways moved to Qingjiangpu, and it became the center of grain transport. In his collection of notes and stories, Golden Pot Seven Inks (Jinhu Qimo), Qing Dynasty writer Huang Junzai recorded: 'Along the Qingjiang River for over ten miles, the markets were bustling and food was abundant. People from all directions gathered here, shoulder to shoulder and wheel to wheel, in a very prosperous scene.' In 1799 (the 57th year of the Qianlong reign), the Qingjiang Mosque (Qingjiang Gusi) underwent a large-scale expansion, marking the peak of its prosperity.

In 1860 (the 10th year of the Xianfeng reign), the Nian Army captured Qingjiangpu and the Qingjiang Mosque was destroyed. The imam, Ma Huanwen, sadly passed away from illness while preparing to raise funds for the mosque (nietie). Fortunately, an elder from Nanjing named Jiang Hengqing took over, organized the community to raise funds (nietie), and finally rebuilt the mosque in 1870 (the 9th year of the Tongzhi reign).

In 2006, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level. Three historic mosques were included along the canal: the North Mosque in Linqing, the East Mosque in Linqing, and the Qingjiang Mosque in Huai'an. It can be said that the Hui Muslim community in Huai'an grew because of the canal and is inseparable from the canal's grain transport history.

Looking from the opposite bank of the Li Canal, you can see the gate of the Qingjiang Mosque right next to the Imperial Wharf ruins, helping you imagine what the busy grain transport days looked like.

















Inside the courtyard, the main prayer hall and the north wing, known as the Butterfly Hall, are Qing Dynasty structures. Beside the main hall stands a Chinese trumpet creeper (lingxiaomu) over 320 years old.



The main hall is a Qing Dynasty building made of two connected hard-mountain roofs (yingshanding) with a kiln-style hall (yaodian) at the back, typical of traditional Jianghuai architectural style.





















The north wing of the Qingjiang Mosque is called the Butterfly Hall (hudieting). This is a traditional name for garden architecture in the Jianghuai region, named because the corners of the hall curve upward like the wings of a dancing butterfly.















Two stone steles at the Qingjiang Mosque.

The first is the 'Prohibition Edict Stele' from the 57th year of the Qianlong reign. It was written and erected by the county government to explicitly ban corruption, issued by Wu Li, the magistrate of Qinghe County, Huai'an Prefecture, Jiangnan, who held a fifth-rank title and had been commended five times.







The second is the 'Stele Record of the Rebuilding of the Mosque Main Hall' from the 9th year of the Tongzhi reign, which documents the process of rebuilding the main hall during the Tongzhi period. The inscription records donors from nineteen places: Henan, Shandong, Jinling, Yunnan, Zhili, Chuanshan, Hexia, Lixiahe, Baoying, Gaoyou, Shaobo, Xiannumiao, Taizhou, Xinghua, Dongtai, Rugao, Shuyang, the Xinzi Cavalry, and Yuanpu. Donors from Henan, Shandong, Yunnan, Zhili, and Chuanshan were mostly traveling merchants, reflecting the prosperous 'southern boats and northern horses' scene of Qingjiangpu during the Qing Dynasty. The others were local mosque communities in Jiangsu. Some, like the Shaobo mosque, have since been abandoned, offering a glimpse into the rise and fall of the Hui Muslim community in Jiangsu.







Ancient well



Column base



Coffin for the deceased (tabumaiti xia)



Tombstone of Madam Yang, mother of the Ma family, from the 14th year of the Guangxu reign, and the tombstone of the Sai family of the Ma clan from Anhui.





Tombstone of the Sai family of the Ma clan from Anhui



Stone railing



Drum-shaped stone base with cypress and deer carvings (bailutu baogushi)





Hexia Mosque

Hexia Ancient Town in Huaian is the largest town on the outskirts of Huaian Prefecture. Because the salt from the coastal salt fields in Huaibei was high in both quantity and quality, many salt merchants from the northwest and Anhui came to Huaibei in the late Ming Dynasty to work in the salt industry. The Huaibei Salt Transport Branch was located in Hexia Town at the time. Salt from the fields had to be shipped to Hexia for inspection before merchants could sell it elsewhere. Hexia Town then entered its most prosperous period. Salt merchants built gardens and courtyards there. The Qing Dynasty record Huaian Hexia Annals states: Wealthy salt merchants brought their capital and made their homes in Hexia, and Hexia became extremely prosperous. The wealth brought by these salt merchants made the town's business thrive, and many Hui Muslims also came to settle in Hexia.

Hexia Mosque is located south of Luojia Bridge in Hexia Town. It was first built during the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty. In 1860, during the tenth year of the Xianfeng reign, the Nian Army captured Huaian and burned down ten rooms of the mosque, which were later rebuilt. The main hall of Hexia Mosque is a Qing Dynasty structure with blue bricks, dark tiles, and upturned eaves, showing a typical Jianghuai architectural style. It was listed as a cultural relic protection unit of Huaian City in 2006.

Above the main hall door hangs a chestnut wood plaque inscribed with the words Si Wu Xie (Thinking Without Evil), written by Tian Rui, the acting prefect of Huaian in the tenth year of the Daoguang reign. Plaques originally on both sides, inscribed by anti-Japanese hero Zuo Baogui and Yunnan Commander Ma Chang'an, were destroyed after the 1960s.

The imam (ahong) of the mosque usually stays at a nearby beef and mutton shop. If you call the number posted on the mosque gate, he will come over to open it.

















An ancient well dug in the early Qing Dynasty.































Wangjiaying Mosque.

Wangjiaying in Huaian is located between the old course of the Yellow River and the Salt River. During the Ming Dynasty, the Dahe Guard was established in Huaian Prefecture, and ten military camps were built along the Yellow River. Wangjiaying was one of them. Because travel on the Yellow River section of the canal was slow and passing through locks was dangerous, often leading to broken cables and sunken boats, many merchants chose to leave their boats at Qingjiangpu. They would cross the Yellow River at Wangjiaying and switch to horse-drawn carriages to continue north. Wangjiaying and Qingjiangpu gradually grew into a busy town together.

Wangjiaying experienced many floods from the Yellow River, and the town moved east three times before reaching its current location. In 1831, the eleventh year of the Daoguang reign, Viceroy Tao Peng chose Wangjiaying as the new distribution center for Huaian salt. After that, eighteen salt warehouses and seventy-two salt bureaus were opened in Wangjiaying. Salt boats traveled back and forth every day along the three-hundred-li waterway from the Huaibei salt fields to Wangjiaying.

The prosperity of Wangjiaying attracted a steady stream of Hui Muslims to settle there. The first Hui Muslims to arrive in Wangjiaying were the Ma and Sha families, who came via Lingwu County in Ningxia, Shandong, and Zhenjiang. Later, Hui Muslims with the surnames Jin, Dai, Chang, Ge, Fan, Li, and Yang also settled here.

Wangjiaying Mosque was first built during the Yongzheng reign. It started as three thatched rooms next to the Lotus Pond at Wangjiapo. After Wangjiaying became a salt distribution center in the late Daoguang reign, the mosque moved to the south bank of the Salt River, with imams Chang Tingzhang and Dai Mingxuan in charge of religious affairs. Imam Chang Tingzhang, known as Third Master Chang, was originally from Jining, Shandong. He was born in 1785, the fiftieth year of the Qianlong reign, in Taoyuan County, Huaian Prefecture, Jiangsu (now Siyang). In his youth, he studied in Lingzhou (now Lingwu County, Ningxia) and continued his religious studies in Jining, Shandong, after completing his initial training. In 1810, the fifth year of the Jiaqing reign, the 26-year-old Imam Chang Tingzhang was invited to Wangjiaying Mosque to lead religious affairs. Imam Chang Tingzhang had deep knowledge of Arabic classics, astronomy, and medical theory. According to the Wangjiaying Annals, a man named Third Master Tao from Hangzhou died in Huaian during the Daoguang reign. Because it was the heat of midsummer, Imam Chang Tingzhang personally bought a boat and traveled south along the canal to escort the body back to Hangzhou to fulfill his duty to the family.

In 1860 (the 10th year of the Xianfeng reign), the Nian Army burned down the Wangjiaying Mosque. In 1867 (the 6th year of the Tongzhi reign), Imam Dai Jingzhai, the son of Imam Dai Mingxuan, built a few thatched huts. Later, with donations from the community, they built a main prayer hall with three rooms made of grass.

After Imam Chang Tingzhang passed away in 1870 (the 9th year of the Tongzhi reign), Imam Dai Jingzhai took charge of religious affairs. In 1884 (the 10th year of the Guangxu reign), he replaced the grass-roofed building with a tiled one. Because Imam Chang Tingzhang had studied at the Jahriyya Banqiao Daotang in Jinjibu, Lingwu County, Ningxia, when he was young, the Wangjiaying Mosque later invited five successive Jahriyya imams from Jinjibu to lead religious services and teach. Subsequent imams also went to Ningxia for further study, making Wangjiaying Mosque one of the nine branch centers of the Banqiao Daotang.

In 1912, the Wangjiaying Mosque built a new main gate, a south lecture hall, a kitchen, and a water room. In 1920, with funding from the Jinshan Tang in Gansu and money from selling dozens of willow trees from the public cemetery, they rebuilt the three-room tiled porch in front of the main hall and added three new rooms for the east lecture hall. Currently, there is a stone tablet from 1920 commemorating the Republic of China renovation on the inner north wall of the main hall, but the top part is covered.

In 1958, the Wangjiaying Mosque moved to the east side of the West Horse Road in Wangying. In 1961, it moved to its current location because the land was requisitioned for a bank building. During the destruction of the Four Olds, the main hall's plaques reading "The Way Spreads in the Central Land," "The Religion Follows the Western Regions," and "Stop at the Ultimate Good," along with the gold-lettered Arabic plaques and the couplet reading "See the formless, hear the soundless, rectify the intention and be sincere, become a sage and a worthy, the original nature;" “The Way stands here, movement brings harmony, reach others through oneself, benefit the people and the world, the land is complete” were all smashed and burned. Funeral supplies were also destroyed, and the main hall was used as a warehouse by a shoe and hat factory.

In 1979, under the leadership of Imam Ge Weili, the Wangjiaying Mosque was rebuilt in a traditional style. It was completed in 1985 and underwent two more renovations and expansions in 2003 and 2006, resulting in its current appearance.

Imam Ge Weili was born in 1924. He went to Ningxia to study in 1937. After completing his training and receiving his credentials in 1945, he became the imam of Wangjiaying Mosque and took on the role of imam in 1966. The religious work at Wangjiaying Mosque is now handled by Imam Fan Weiming, a student of Imam Ge Weili.

















The Republic of China era inscription reads as follows:



The Wangying Mosque was founded during the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty. By the end of the Daoguang reign, our community was at its peak. The population was large, and businesses were thriving. With the old Imams Chang Tingzhang and Dai Mingxuan leading religious affairs one after another, the lecture hall was always full, and many students were trained. This is recorded in the local history and can be verified. In the Gengshen year of the Xianfeng reign, the Nian rebellion suddenly occurred. The mosque was burned to the ground, our people fled or died, and the population gradually dwindled.

In the sixth year of the Tongzhi reign, Imam Dai Jingzhai, the son of the old Imam Dai Mingxuan, followed his father's teachings and took over the religious duties. He first built a few thatched huts to teach the faith morning and evening. However, for prayers, it was too simple and exposed to the elements; For gatherings, it was too small to hold everyone. The Imam was deeply worried about this. He persuaded people to donate and built a main prayer hall with three rooms made of grass. Later, he discussed it with Yang Xuting, Ma Yunfeng, and Guo Daosheng. With their help, in the tenth year of the Guangxu reign, they rebuilt the tiled main hall and lecture halls, and things began to return to normal. As more of our people lived here, the original public cemetery became crowded, and after many years, there was almost no space left. The Imam was concerned that there were few cemeteries for the community, and whenever a major funeral occurred, it was difficult to manage. He planned to buy a piece of land to provide for the future. He got the agreement of Mr. Ma Yunfeng, but before the matter was finished, Mr. Ma passed away. What a pity! Fortunately, Mr. Ma's brother, Runzhi, carried out his brother's wishes. With the strong support of the village elder Mr. Li Yunpo, they set aside differences, raised funds, and bought two new cemeteries. The benefits provided by the imam (ahong) to our people are thorough and complete. This is largely due to the support of those passionate about public welfare, but it is also the result of the imam's decades of solitary, painstaking effort and his sincere devotion.

In the first year of the Republic of China (1912), we worked to continue the legacy of our predecessors by adding a main gate, a south lecture hall, and a kitchen. Mr. Ge Ziming funded the construction of the washroom (shuifang) with a donation of several hundred thousand. We also invited Imam Wang Pinqing from Gansu Province to teach scripture. Visitors from all over who came here always spoke highly of him. In recent years, wind and rain have damaged the buildings, and the main hall is at risk of collapsing. We met to discuss the situation and sold dozens of willow trees from the perimeter of the cemetery, raising over two hundred thousand. We also received a donation of many roof tiles and timber pieces from the Jinshan Hall in Gansu. We then built three tiled, curved-eave rooms in front of the main hall and fully repaired the surrounding walls, the three-room east lecture hall, and the courtyard of the inner gate. This massive project was completed through a combination of public funds and donations from afar. We feel ashamed that we lack the personal wealth to do more, but we share these details because, despite two hundred years of constant change, our mosque still stands tall. This is largely due to the efforts of our ancestors and village elders. We sincerely hope that future generations will remember the hardships of those who built this place and preserve it forever so it may last without decline. We have recorded the full story here.

July, the ninth year of the Republic of China (1920).

Jin Jiasheng, Jin Jialin, Guo Chunlin, Yang Fangtian.

Chang Bingkui, Li Shunjie, Chang Guanying, Mu Hongbin.

Jin Jiayuan, Ma Jianong, Fan Zhaofeng, Yang Guiyuan.

Ge Futang, Li Dianqing, Ma Jiarang, Mu Hong'en.

Ma Jialin, Ge Zhenqing, He Wenquan, Zhou Fengling.

Sha Faxiang, Liu Lianyuan, Zhou Riyang, Mu Hongye.

Yancheng Mosque.

Yancheng Mosque is located on Xicang Lane (historically called Xicang) in the Yancheng urban area. It was first built during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty as three thatched rooms by five Hui Muslim families: the Ha, Huo, Ding, Liu, and Xue families. It was expanded in 1720 (the 59th year of the Kangxi reign) and rebuilt again in 1928 into the current brick-and-wood main hall.

The Republic-era 'Continued Records of Yancheng County' states: 'The mosque is located on Xicang Street in the city. It was founded during the Ming Yongle period. In the 59th year of the Qing Kangxi reign, land was purchased to expand it, and it was renamed the Mosque (Qingzhensi). Recently, it was renamed the Hui Church (Huijiaotang). The leader of the faith is called an imam (ahong).' In the second year of the Republic of China (1913), the Yancheng branch of the Jiangsu Islamic Association was established. In the 18th year (1929), it was renamed the Yancheng branch of the Chinese Islamic Association.

During the War of Resistance Against Japan, Yancheng Mosque suffered two disasters. On March 30, 1938, it was bombed by the Japanese military. On April 26 of the same year, the Japanese military occupied Yancheng and set fire to the city. Except for the main hall, which survived, all other buildings were destroyed.

The main hall of Yancheng Mosque features traditional Jiangsu architectural style, with flying eaves in the front and a kiln-style niche (yaowo) in the back. The main hall still preserves the original wood-carved circular frame featuring a dua, which is very exquisite. According to Imam Xue Long from Zhenjiang, the inscriptions on the top and bottom of the main hall plaque use Arabic, Persian, and Xiao'erjing. They translate to: Completed on an auspicious day in the eighth lunar month of the 17th year of the Republic of China, respectfully erected by Abdullah Yang Luji. This is very precious.

The imam of Yancheng Mosque from 1936 to 1979 was Bai Hanzhang. Imam Bai was from Minquan, Henan. He graduated from the Beijing Niujie Islamic Institute in 1922. Later, he served as an imam in Jurong, Zhenjiang, and Nantong, Jiangsu. He became the imam of Yancheng Mosque in 1936 and served there until he passed away in 1979.

























Baoying Mosque

Baoying Mosque was originally located in Guojia Lane inside the east gate of the county town. Its founding date is unknown. It was rebuilt in 1910 (the second year of the Xuantong reign) at the entrance of Luoxiang Lane at the foot of the south city wall. With the help of Tao, the wife of anti-Japanese hero Zuo Baogui, and led by Imam Zhao Dezhai and others, many people including the Gao Mu Ma Jin family from Shandong, Anhui, Zhejiang, Huaiyin, Yangzhou, Yancheng, and Baoying raised funds to complete it in 1914. Baoying Mosque closed after 1958. It was rebuilt on the original site in 2002 and officially opened in 2006.

Baoying Mosque still has the water well dug during the 1910 construction and the ginkgo tree planted at that time. Imam Li at the mosque is from Siyang, Jiangsu. He usually runs the nearby Li's Beef and Mutton shop. If you want to enter the mosque, just call the number on his door. Imam Li is very welcoming. He says that Baoying Mosque still has some local Gao Mu who come to the mosque for Friday Jumu'ah prayers, which is better than some mosques where almost all the attendees are friends (dost) from the Northwest. Imam Li comes from the Zhepai Banqiao Daotang, but he treats all sects equally, and the religious community in Baoying County is very united.










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Summary: This fourth part of the Jiangsu mosque series records historic mosque sites in Nanjing and Liuhe, including Taiping Road Mosque, Caoqiao Mosque, Xiaowangfu Lane Mosque, Hushu Mosque, South Gate Mosque, Changjiang Road Mosque, and Zhuzhen Mosque. The article preserves founding dates, women's mosque history, Da Pusheng family records, stone tablets, ancient trees, and surviving architectural details.

















The front hall of the former Taiping Road Mosque served as the office for the chairman of the Chinese Islamic Association between 1945 and 1949, where Bai Chongxi once worked.

















The brick carving titled 'Purifying the Heart and Gazing at the Palace' (xixin zhanque) from the water room of the former Taiping Road Mosque.



The former Taiping Road Mosque collection includes the 'Postscript to the Filial Piety Arch for Mother' written by Jiang Guobang. It records that Jiang, a wealthy Nanjing merchant, lost his father early and was raised by his mother, Madam Ma. In 1911 (the third year of the Xuantong reign), he petitioned to build a memorial arch for his mother's filial piety. Due to the change in government, it was finally completed in 1914.

Jiang Guobang came from the wealthy Jiang merchant family of Jinling, but he was indifferent to fame and wealth, dedicating himself to the study of traditional Chinese classics. Jiang Guobang was very filial. To provide his mother with a good place for her retirement, he spent a large sum of money to buy the Small Ten Thousand Willow Hall (xiaowanliutang) by West Lake in Hangzhou, later naming it 'Jiang Manor' (Jiangzhuang), which was one of the three major manors of West Lake at the time. Jiang Guobang oversaw the reconstruction of the Taiping Road Mosque in 1924 and later built a filial piety arch for his mother inside the mosque. The arch no longer exists, leaving only the stone tablet record.







The Qing dynasty well railing and the Guangxu reign stone tablet at Caoqiao Mosque. Caoqiao Mosque was first built during the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty, destroyed by fire during the Taiping Rebellion, and rebuilt in the early years of the Tongzhi reign. Because it was located in Qijiawan, a neighborhood where Hui Muslims lived, Caoqiao Mosque once had the largest number of congregants in Nanjing. Historically, Caoqiao Mosque had no property of its own; its daily expenses were covered by the Beef and Bone Trade Association located within the mosque. After 1958, Caoqiao Mosque was occupied and later rented to the Nanjing Woodware Factory, suffering severe damage. The property was returned in 1985 but remained closed until it was demolished in 2003.







Xiaowangfu Lane Mosque.

Xiaowangfu Lane Mosque was first built in the late Tongzhi reign of the Qing dynasty. It is one of the few remaining old buildings among the 33 mosques in Nanjing from the Republic of China era. The mihrab (mihalabu) niche currently in Jingjue Mosque was moved here from the Xiaowangfu Lane Mosque. Xiaowangfu Lane Mosque was used as a residence for a long time. It has now been vacated and may be put to new use.

In 1917, Xiaowangfu Lane Mosque founded the private Wuben Primary School to teach cultural subjects and Islamic knowledge. It moved to the entrance of Xiaowangfu Lane on Fengfu Road in 1953 and became a municipal school in 1956.



















Hushu Mosque.

Hushu Mosque was first built in 1392 (the 25th year of the Hongwu reign). It was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion, and the main hall was rebuilt in 1896 (the 22nd year of the Guangxu reign). In 1911, five tile-roofed rooms were built on the left side in front of the main hall, with the water room on the left, dormitories on the right, and a guest hall in the middle. In 1919, three rooms of the front hall, five rooms of the main hall, and two rooms of the east wing at the main gate were rebuilt.

Around 1932, a primary school for Hui Muslim children was established inside Hushu Mosque, which moved out of the mosque in 1956. In 1964, the main hall of Hushu Mosque was demolished during the 'Four Cleanups Movement' and was occupied by the Hushu Straw Bag Factory, Hushu Hardware Factory, and Hushu Supply and Marketing Cooperative during the Cultural Revolution. The main hall was rebuilt in 1988. The roof of the main hall at Hushu Mosque was originally built in a palace style with upturned eaves, but it was changed to a flat roof after renovations.







The gate piers from the original construction in 1392.







A ginkgo tree transplanted in 1689.









Liuhe South Gate Mosque.

Liuhe once had seven mosques and three schools for women. Today, the Changjiang Road Mosque, South Gate Mosque, and Zhuzhen Mosque are open, and the historic buildings of the South Gate Women's School and Zhuzhen Women's School have been preserved.

Liuhe South Gate Mosque was first built in 1403 (the first year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty), renovated in 1553 (the 32nd year of the Jiajing reign), destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion, and later rebuilt. One of the four famous imams of the Republic of China, Imam Da Pusheng, had three generations of his family—from his great-grandfather to his father—serve as the imam at South Gate Mosque. The old Da family home is on Qingzhen Street right at the mosque entrance. Imam Da Pusheng studied the scriptures at South Gate Mosque for seven years from the age of 10 to 17, before moving on to Nanjing and Beijing for further studies.

The ancestors of the Baiyetang Da family, to which Imam Da Pusheng belonged, were from the Western Regions during the Yuan Dynasty. Research shows they belonged to the Kipchak Yuliberi tribe, and his ancestor served as a darughachi in Zhenjiang before passing away there. His sixth-generation ancestor, Da Shanyu, moved from Zhenjiang to Liuhe in the early Ming Dynasty to take up a position as a county assistant. He settled in Liuhe, making this the oldest Hui Muslim family from the Western Regions in the area.

After 1966, South Gate Mosque was occupied by a kindergarten, during which time the Shamao Hall (a secondary hall), the north wing, the red gate, and the entrance hall were demolished. The kindergarten moved out in 1975, and the site was later borrowed by Baozhen Primary School. It was finally reclaimed in 2000 when the school moved out. In 2013, the main hall was raised and rebuilt. Later, the Tongxin Tower and Tongxing Building were added, and the site was finally opened for use in 2020.



















Stone carvings and ancient trees at Liuhe South Gate Mosque:

A stone tablet from the seventh year of the Daoguang reign commemorating a house donation by a Hui Muslim named Li.



A boundary marker for the mosque.



A stone tablet from the 12th year of the Guangxu reign, recording that South Gate Mosque was destroyed by the Taiping Rebellion during the Xianfeng period, many Hui Muslims from the local militia died in battle, and the government later stepped in to protect the graves.



A couplet written by Wang Jianli in the 10th year of the Republic of China: 'Keep your heart pure and clean as if in the afterlife, return to the truth and simplicity just the same.'



Qing Dynasty drum-shaped stone bases in front of the main gate.





A 460-year-old Chinese juniper in front of the main hall, classified as a first-class ancient tree.





Liuhe Women's School.

The Liuhe Muslim Women's School began in 1912, and the current building was constructed in 1930. It was later used as a funeral home for Hui Muslims and is a rare surviving example of a Muslim women's school from the Republic of China era.

Traditionally, these women's schools did not form formal classes, did not call the adhan, did not hold Jumu'ah or Eid prayers, and the female imam (shiniang) did not lead the prayer from the front, but instead stood in the middle of the first row. Women's mosques (nuxue) do not have minarets, and the main prayer hall does not have a pulpit (minbar). Female imams (shiniang) lead the local women in their religious duties and teach them about the faith.

Women's mosques emerged in the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty, starting in Henan and spreading to nearby areas in Hebei, Shandong, and Anhui. In the early Republic of China, the New Culture Movement and the women's liberation movement helped Hui Muslims understand the ideas of promoting women's education and ending foot-binding. The number of women's mosques grew quickly, with over 100 in Henan province alone, and many more built in other provinces.

During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, Nanjing had two women's mosques at Hanximen and Changle Street. During the Republic of China, four more were built at Fangjia Lane, Zhuganli, Shigu Road, and Dahuifu Lane, but all of these have since been torn down. In the early Republic of China, Liuhe had three women's mosques at Houjie, Nanmenwai, and Zhuzhen. The historical buildings at Nanmenwai and Zhuzhen still stand today.













Liuhe Changjiang Road Mosque.

The Changjiang Road Mosque was originally called Chengqingfang, and was also known as the Liuhe North Mosque, the City Mosque, or the Da Family Mosque. It was built in 1424 (the 22nd year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty) by the Da family, who had lived in Liuhe for generations. The Changjiang Road Mosque was destroyed by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom during the Xianfeng period. It was later rebuilt through donations from the imam Liu Weiting and local elders. In 1885 (the 11th year of the Guangxu reign), Da Guangyong donated money to build a reception hall. In 1928, Wang Dashi, the widow of the wealthy merchant Wang Zuochen and aunt of the great imam Da Pusheng, donated money to build the Wuxin Pavilion on the site of the original Wangyue Tower.

In 1899, the great imam Da Pusheng returned to his hometown of Liuhe from the Niujie Mosque in Beijing to serve as the imam of the Changjiang Road Mosque. It was not until 1905, when Imam Wang Kuan of Niujie went on the Hajj, that Imam Da returned to the Niujie Mosque to serve as the acting imam and lead religious affairs. Imam Da founded the Guangyi Primary School inside the Changjiang Road Mosque to promote modern education. He offered courses in Chinese and Arabic, scripture, geography, history, and mathematics, marking the first transition from traditional scripture hall teaching to modern education. In a memoir from the early 1950s, Imam Da wrote: 'I worked hard for six years. Perhaps moved by the success of Guangyi Primary School, the local Hui Muslims supported the school with great effort. Looking back, it was not easy to struggle at that time, patiently convincing stubborn traditionalists and acting courageously without being accused of going against the faith!'

After 1966, the Changjiang Road Mosque was occupied by a theater troupe and a cultural troupe. It was returned and reopened in 1983.



















Existing stone tablets at the Liuhe Changjiang Road Mosque:





The 11th-year Guangxu tablet records Da Guangyong's donation to build the reception rooms at the Liuhe City Mosque. Da Guangyong was an 18th-generation descendant of the Baiyetang Da family, held a minor official rank, and lived to be 81.



The 25th-year Guangxu tablet, titled 'Record of the Renovation of the Tangyi City Mosque and the Surrounding Market Shops,' documents the specific situation of the Changjiang Road Mosque during the Guangxu period. All those who signed it were local Hui Muslims from the Da family.



The 17th-year Republic of China tablet, regarding Wang Dashi's donation to help repair the Wangyue Pavilion and redeem market shops, records that Dashi, the wife of the Zhuzhen elder Wang Zuochen, donated money to build the Wangyue Pavilion. Wang Zuochen was a Hui Muslim from Zhuzhen, Liuhe. He ran a grain business on North Street in Zhuzhen for decades and was very devout, never missing his prayers. However, he was suddenly kidnapped by bandits in 1925 and was never heard from again. Wang Zuochen's wife, Dashi, was also very devout and had founded the Zhuzhen Women's School. After her husband went missing, Dashi spent years asking people to help find him, but there was no result. Because Wang Zuochen had no brothers or children, Dashi donated all the family's money to the Zhuzhen Mosque and to build the Wangyue Pavilion at the Changjiang Road Mosque.





Inside the mosque, there is a 350-year-old Chinese juniper (yuanbai) tree.







Zhuzhen Mosque

Zhuzhen Mosque was originally located outside the East Bridge. It was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion and rebuilt in 1901 (the 27th year of the Guangxu reign) in Wangjia Lane in the middle of the old street. In 1968, Zhuzhen Mosque was turned into a dormitory for teachers at an agricultural middle school. It was reclaimed and reopened in 1983, and the main hall was rebuilt in 2001.

In 1939, the imam of Zhuzhen Mosque, Li Shudu, formed the Hui Muslim Anti-Japanese Independent Guerrilla Battalion and served as its commander. He worked with the New Fourth Army and made significant contributions to the anti-Japanese cause.

Additionally, in 1939, Hui Muslims from the 'Qiaobang' group in the Gaoyou and Lingtang areas built a mosque near Xinhua Garden on the west side of Zhuzhen. After 1966, it was converted into a Hui Muslim food processing factory.





Zhuzhen Mosque still has a door plaque from the Qing Dynasty's Guangxu reign, inscribed with 'Built by the Zhudun Community.' Zhudun is the old name for Zhuzhen.















Liuhe Zhuzhen Mosque houses a Qing Dynasty stone well called 'Songquan,' two pairs of drum-shaped stone bases, and a 1927 (the 16th year of the Republic of China) stele recording the will of Wang Zuochen's wife, Madam Da. Madam Da was the aunt of the great imam Da Pusheng. The inscription records that the Zhuzhen Girls' School was founded by Wang Zuochen and fellow members of the faith, who also provided all the funding. Later, Wang Zuochen was kidnapped by bandits and remained missing for several years. Because of this, his wife, Madam Da, decided to donate all their family farmland and property, except for a portion used for her own support. The funds were mainly for the daily expenses of the Zhuzhen Girls' School, with the remainder going to Zhuzhen Mosque. The inscription mentions her 'nephew Da Pusheng.'







Across from Zhuzhen Mosque, there is a shop selling small-mill sesame oil (xiaomo mayou), and there are only hand-pulled noodle (lamian) shops in town.









Zhuzhen Girls' School

Zhuzhen Girls' School features typical Jianghuai architectural style. The entrance hall and the main hall form a small courtyard, and both sides have classic Hui-style horse-head walls (matouqiang).

Zhuzhen Girls' School was founded in 1921 by Wang Zuochen, the uncle-in-law of the great imam Da Pusheng, along with fellow members of the faith in Zhuzhen. It was originally located on Zhuzhen Middle Street and was rebuilt in 1931 by Wu Tieqian and others along the south riverbank outside the East Bridge. After 1966, the Zhuzhen Girls' School was occupied by the Hui Muslim food processing factory. It was renovated in 2007 and is currently not open to the public. During the Republic of China era, the Zhuzhen Girls' School was led by two female imams, Teacher Dai and Teacher Bai, who taught scriptures and religious doctrines to local Hui Muslim women.

Wu Tieqian was a famous Hui Muslim anti-Japanese patriotic businessman. His original name was Wu Jiashan. At age 22, he inherited his father's business and ran the Wudeyuan Grain Store. After 1938, when the New Fourth Army entered Zhuzhen to lead the anti-Japanese resistance, Wu Tieqian took the lead in donating grain, money, and guns. He also served as the chairman of the Zhuzhen Merchants' Anti-Enemy Association. In 1942, Wu Tieqian became the first mayor of the Zhuzhen Anti-Japanese Democratic Government. He took risks to rescue and protect many comrades and also mobilized ambitious young people to join the revolution. After the founding of New China, Wu Tieqian was elected as the vice director of the Nanjing Islamic Association. He passed away (guizhen) in 1967.





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Reposted from the web

Summary: Bangkok has a long Persian-descended Shia Muslim history, centered in communities such as Kudi Luang Chao Sen Mosque. This account follows the Muharram gatherings, Ashura preparations, symbols of Karbala, mosque details, food sharing, and local conversations described in the original travel note.

As the Islamic New Year arrives, Shia friends (dosti) around the world spend the first ten days of the first month, Muharram, honoring Imam Hussein. This leads up to the grand Ashura festival. Last weekend, I traveled to Thailand to join the Muharram commemorations held by the Persian-descended Shia community in Bangkok.

Bangkok currently has five Shia mosques, with two belonging to the Persian community and three to the Indian community. It is the city with the strongest Shia cultural presence in all of Southeast Asia. Since I only had Saturday evening, I chose to attend the memorial at the primary Shia mosque in Bangkok, Kudi Luang Mosque.

Between the 16th and 18th centuries, Shia merchants from the Persian Safavid dynasty traveled along the Indian Ocean coast to trade in Siam, where they were warmly welcomed and hosted by the Siamese royal family. Some Persian merchants married locals and settled down, eventually taking on important roles in the Siamese court. Starting in the 17th century, the Sheik Ahmad family from Qom, Persia, managed Siam's western maritime affairs, overseeing trade, shipping, and diplomacy across the Indian Ocean.

After the Siamese capital of Ayutthaya fell in 1767 and the capital moved to Bangkok in 1782, the Persian community from Ayutthaya moved there as well. The first leader of the Persian Shia community in Bangkok was Konkaew, the son of the last leader from Ayutthaya. In 1797, he began managing Siam's western trade and received a property in the Thonburi area across the Chao Phraya River. People say he and 400 Shia followers established Kudi Chao Sen Mosque, which became the primary Shia mosque in Bangkok.

After Konkaew passed away, his brother and eight direct descendants inherited the title, controlling Siam's western trade rights for a century. In 1897, King Rama V renovated Kudi Chao Sen Mosque and renamed it Kudi Luang Chao Sen Mosque. In 1947, the entire Kudi Luang Mosque was moved to its current location to make room for the Royal Thai Navy headquarters. The community still lives around the mosque, preserving the traditional Shia culture of Bangkok.

We visited Kudi Luang Mosque in the morning. The male and female friends (dosti) were very warm, offering us several bottles of water. Even after learning we were Sunni, they remained very welcoming and told us we were free to take photos. It was a pity that the grandest Ashura event was scheduled for Monday morning, and we could not attend because of work.

Inside the main hall of Kudi Luang Mosque, a banner hangs that reads, 'Oh!' Hussein. Honoring Imam Hussein is the theme of Muharram.





The Persian-descended Shia elders in Bangkok live around the mosque. They are open-minded and very welcoming to friends (dosti).



After the prayer (namaz), I returned to Kudi Luang Mosque to eat chicken rice noodle rolls (changfen) with everyone, along with a special dessert made of palm sugar and pomelo that the Persian community in Bangkok eats during Muharram. One of the themes for Shia Muslims during Muharram is sharing and giving. Food during this time is free, and everyone gathers to make the flowers used in the activities. Some people in the mosque wear white pants and headscarves, with bells hanging from their pant legs. They dedicate themselves to serving the mosque during the first ten days of Muharram.















I met a very interesting young man at the mosque who told me many stories about the Shia faith and Ashura. His parents are Afghan, he grew up in Iran, later went to Japan for school and work, and is now stationed in Bangkok by his company. He was the most fluent English speaker in the entire mosque, and I learned a lot from chatting with him. Like everyone else at the mosque, he was very welcoming to Sunni friends (dosti).



The most eye-catching thing in the mosque is a handsome, tall horse personally gifted by the King of Thailand. This horse represents Zuljanah, the warhorse of Imam Hussein. Zuljanah was raised by the noble Prophet from a young age and was known for loyalty, strength, endurance, and devotion. During the Battle of Karbala, Zuljanah used its body to block arrows aimed at Imam Hussein. After Imam Hussein passed away, Zuljanah returned to his family covered in blood to warn them of an ambush, then died from its wounds after fulfilling its final duty. During the month of Muharram, the horse is kept in the stables of Kudi Luang mosque, and people take turns walking it in the courtyard every night.





On the qibla wall of the main hall, the flagpole at the top is called an Alam, which represents the flag held by Abbas, the standard-bearer for Imam Hussein at the Battle of Karbala. The metal hand is called a Panja, which symbolizes the severed hands of Abbas. Abbas was the half-brother of Imam Hussein; he inherited the courage of Imam Ali and always held the flag of victory high on the battlefield. On the night of Ashura, he was blocked by enemy forces while returning with water from the Euphrates River; he fought alone, had both arms cut off, and eventually died in battle.

Above the niche on the qibla wall, the names of Allah, the noble Prophet, and the Twelve Imams of the Shia are written. The Twelver school is the largest branch of Shia Islam and is the state religion of Iran.







The Nakhl Gardani placed in the main hall symbolizes the funeral bier of Imam Hussein, decorated with a dagger and a turban (dastar) representing those used by him. During Ashura events, people carry the Nakhl Gardani to symbolize the funeral procession for Imam Hussein.



A Tadjah is also placed in the main hall to symbolize the tomb of Imam Hussein.



There is also a small decoration in the hall representing the youngest infant martyred at the Battle of Karbala, Ali Asghar, the six-month-old son of Imam Hussein. Records say that Imam Hussein held the thirsty Ali Asghar and asked the enemy for water for the child, but the enemy fired an arrow that pierced the baby's throat and Imam Hussein's arm at the same time. Ali Asghar later became a symbol of innocent victims and the most painful part of the mourning during Muharram.



During the first ten nights of Muharram, Shia Muslims in Bangkok gather every night to chant in memory of Imam Hussein. During these gatherings, people known as Rawda khwan tell stories about the martyrdom of Imam Hussein and his followers at the Battle of Karbala. The stories come from famous books, the most well-known being The Garden of the Martyrs (Rawdat al-shuhada) by the famous Timurid-era Persian writer Hussein Kashifi. Afterward, the imam gives a sermon (waaz) in Thai, teaching everyone about the bravery, fearlessness, and sacrifice shown by Imam Hussein and his followers at the Battle of Karbala.



















Besides the main Shia mosque in Bangkok, Kudi Luang, I also visited two others: the Persian-descended Kudi Charoenphat and the Indian-descended Dilfallah mosque. The people at Kudi Charoenphat told me they did not want me to take photos or visit, which I understand. The people at Dilfallah mosque were friendlier, but they told me their Ashura event was on Monday, which I did not quite understand, as I wondered why it was not held on the 10th day of the first month of the Islamic calendar.

In all three places, I saw the Nakhl Gardani used during Ashura events. It symbolizes the funeral bier of Imam Hussein, and the entire Ashura event is essentially a reenactment of his funeral procession.





























I previously spent Muharram in Tehran, Iran. See: Encountering Ashura in Tehran. Collapse Read »

Reposted from the web

Summary: The first part of the Nanjing mosque journey focuses on Jingjue Mosque, Caoqiao Mosque, Taiping Road Mosque, and other historic Muslim sites in the old city. This account keeps the original mosque names, inscriptions, dates, architecture, street context, and photographs.

Jingjue Mosque.

Jingjue Mosque is located on Sanshan Street in the south of Nanjing. It was originally called Sanshan Street Mosque. During the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty, it was given the name Jingjue Mosque, making it the first mosque in Nanjing during the Ming period.

One account says Jingjue Mosque was built in 1388 (the 21st year of the Hongwu era) by imperial order to house officials from the Western Regions who had submitted to the Ming, such as Yibulajin and Kemaluding. Another account says it was built in 1392 (the 25th year of the Hongwu era) by imperial order of Saihazhi, a seventh-generation descendant of Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din. Both accounts are supported by stone inscriptions from the Ming Dynasty.

According to a 1493 (the 5th year of the Hongzhi era) inscription titled 'Record of the Two Imperial Mosques Built in the South of the City of Yingtian Prefecture in Jiangnan,' it states: 'In the 21st year of the Hongwu era, Yibulajin, Kemaluding, and others, originally from the Rumi Kingdom in the Western Regions, submitted to China along with the Duke of Song after the conquest of Jinshan and Kaiyuan... Therefore, two mosques were built to settle them, and Kemaluding and four other households were assigned to live at the Wangyue Tower Jingjue Mosque.' The family genealogies of two Hui Muslim branches with the surname Ma, known as 'Weiyitang' and 'Baojitang' in Hushu, Nanjing, both record that they are descendants of Ma Gutai and Ma Baihao, who were settled at Jingjue Mosque at that time.

According to a 1405 (the 3rd year of the Yongle era) inscription at the Great Mosque on Huajue Lane in Xi'an, 'On the 14th day of the third month of the 25th year of the Hongwu era, Saihazhi, the seventh-generation descendant of the Prince of Xianyang Sayyid Ajjal, went to the inner court to announce the imperial decree: On that day at the Fengtian Gate, the imperial decree was received:...build two mosques in two locations, one at the copper workshop on Sanshan Street in Yingtian Prefecture, Nanjing, and one on Ziwu Lane in Chang'an County, Xi'an Prefecture, Shaanxi Province.' The 'Genealogy of the Sayyid Ajjal Family' records that Saihazhi was granted the hereditary title of Marquis of Xianning, and 'When the Ming Taizu established the capital in Jinling, he entrusted Saihazhi to build a mosque in Jinling.' After the work was finished, he built the Great Mosque in Chang'an. When the Tiemao Lane Mosque in Taicang, Jiangsu, was renovated in the 1980s, a stone tablet was found inside a wall, revealing that the Taicang mosque was also built by Saihazhi.

Additionally, according to the Republic of China era 'Zhongnan Huaibei Regional Gazetteer,' 'North of the street is Jingjue Mosque. Wu Ru, a man from the Western Regions during the Ming Dynasty, came to China to serve in the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. He lived in Nanjing and built this mosque next to his residence.' Therefore, Jingjue Mosque may have originally been part of Wu Ru's residence.

Jingjue Mosque was destroyed by fire in 1430 (the 5th year of the Xuande era), and Zheng He requested its reconstruction before his seventh voyage to the Western Oceans. According to the 'Record of the Imperial Eunuch Zheng He Rebuilding the Mosque,' it states: 'Your request has been received: The mosque on Sanshan Street in Nanjing has been burned down.' 'You wish to rebuild it to pray for the safety of the funds, grain, people, and ships for your voyage. This shows your respectful heart, so how could it be neglected?' 'As an imperial envoy, since you have set your heart on this, how could your wish be abandoned?' 'If the personnel and materials you use are insufficient, and the project is delayed, you may draw what is needed from the Nanjing Directorate of Palace Servants and the Ministry of Works so that it can be completed in time for you to wait for the favorable winds to set sail. This is the decree.'

During the Taiping Rebellion, most of the bricks, tiles, and wood from Jingjue Mosque were taken down to build a local government office. The mosque was rebuilt in 1877 (the third year of the Guangxu reign) and renovated in 1879 (the fifth year of the Guangxu reign), which created its current layout. In the early years of the Republic of China, a wealthy Nanjing couple, Jiang Xiudong and his wife, paid to build the north and south lecture halls and the main hall. The mosque was repaired again in 1957. After the 1960s, a rubber company and the No. 3 Rubber Factory occupied the mosque. They tore down the only remaining Ming Dynasty brick and stone archway and the Butterfly Hall (hudieting), and destroyed many plaques, couplets, and stone tablets. The mosque was repaired in 1982, reopened in 1983, and the archway was rebuilt in 1985.



During the Ming Dynasty, the main prayer hall of Jingjue Mosque had 81 rooms and was built with nanmu wood. The current main hall was rebuilt in 1877 (the third year of the Guangxu reign). Its floor plan projects outward at the rear, like a raised middle section, and it uses a traditional post-and-beam wooden frame. The main hall and the opposite hall are linked by a covered corridor, forming a straight central axis with halls at both ends. This layout is typical of Jiangnan architecture. The mihrab was moved here from the original mosque on Xiaowangfu Lane, and the surrounding wooden carvings of scripture were added in 2001.



















The back of the prayer hall connects directly to a high wall. This is a typical feature of Jianghuai courtyard-style architecture, which is very rare in the north.





During renovations in 2007, the main hall was raised by one meter. Workers dug two meters deep and found Ming Dynasty glazed tiles, brick carvings, stone railings, and huge Ming Dynasty stone column bases. These bases were twice as wide as those from the Guangxu period.













The only remaining Ming Dynasty structures, the brick and stone archway and the Butterfly Hall, were both torn down in the 1960s. The archway was rebuilt in 1985, the Butterfly Hall in 2004, and a new stele pavilion was built in 1996.



















The only Jahriyya mosque in Nanjing.

Inside Jingjue Mosque, there is a stone tablet from 1891 titled 'Dahua Guizhen'. It records how Wu Defa followed his father Wu Dasong's final wish and donated the back part of their family home at 59 Shigu Road (formerly Xiaofuyuxiang) to establish the Shigu Road Mosque. The tablet mentions two Jahriyya imams, Fan Yuncai and Zhan Fengxiang. Witnesses included neighbors surnamed Chen, Cai, Zhou, and Yu; fellow Muslims surnamed Sun, Li, Wu, Zhan, Zong, and Jin; close relatives surnamed Ha, Ma, and Mai; and clan members surnamed Wu. This tablet was originally kept at the Shigu Road Mosque. After that mosque was torn down in 1986 for road expansion, the tablet was moved to Jingjue Mosque.

Shigu Road Mosque is the only Jahriyya mosque in Nanjing. In the late years of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, a Hui Muslim named Wu from Taiyuan, Shanxi, who followed the Jahriyya (Zhepai) order, settled on Shigu Road in Nanjing. Influenced by him, followers of the Jahriyya order (Zhepai gaomu) began to appear around Shigu Road, Sanmaogong, and Nantai Lane in Nanjing, and most of them worked in the fish fry farming industry. At first, the Nanjing Jahriyya followers performed their worship at the Wuxueyuan Mosque (Yuan Mosque) near Shigu Road. During the Taiping Rebellion, the Wuxueyuan Mosque was destroyed by war, so the followers moved their worship to the Fengfu Road Mosque. Because their practice of loud chanting (gaosheng zannian) was different, Wu Defa later invited the Jahriyya followers to perform worship at his own home on Shigu Road, and in 1891 (the 17th year of the Guangxu reign), the Shigu Road Mosque was finally established.

The Nanjing Jahriyya order belongs to the Beishan menhuan. The Beishan menhuan is centered in Beishan, Zhangjiachuan, Gansu. Its leader, Ma Yuanzhang, was well-read, proficient in both Islamic scriptures and Chinese classics, and adopted the ideas of Liu Jielian to interpret Islam through Confucianism. After the Shigu Road Mosque was built, Fan Yuncai and Zhan Fengxiang from the Beishan menhuan served as imams. Imam Fan Yuncai was from Siyang, Jiangsu. During the Republic of China era, his son Fan Zhaofa opened the Faji Carriage Company in Nanjing, which was very successful. In 1905, Wu Wenlian, the grandson of Nanjing's Wu Defa, went to Gansu to study scriptures. After completing his studies in 1911, he was appointed by Ma Yuanzhang to serve as the imam of the Shigu Road Mosque.

After the Beishan order leader Ma Yuanzhang passed away (guizhen) in 1920, his nephew Ma Dianwu took over the religious affairs. It was still called the Beishan menhuan, overseeing over 100 mosques in places like Zhangjiachuan, Tianshui, and Longnan in Gansu, Qiqihar in Heilongjiang, Runan in Henan, and Long County in Shaanxi. Nanjing's Shigu Road was its only mosque in East China.

In 1937, Ma Dianwu appointed Imam Su Ziying from Zhangjiachuan, Gansu, to serve as the imam of the Shigu Road Mosque. Imam Su actively visited other mosques, connected with community elders, and promoted education, which helped the Shigu Road Mosque flourish and trained more than 20 students (hailifa). In 1953, Imam Yang Junwen succeeded as the imam of the Shigu Road Mosque. In 1958, the Shigu Road Mosque closed, and Imam Yang Junwen became an imam at the Fengfu Road Mosque. After that, Imam Yang no longer maintained contact with the Beishan menhuan, and his worship practices gradually merged with the Gedimu order.

In 1986, the Shigu Road Mosque was demolished due to road widening. Although the mosque closed, some descendants of the Nanjing Jahriyya followers still held firmly to their worship. For example, Fan Songshou, a descendant of Imam Fan Wencai, made a living running a tofu shop. Even in his nineties, he insisted on performing the five daily prayers (namaz) without fail. In his old age, he still insisted on fasting (zhai), and in the 1960s, he continued to volunteer to wash and bury the deceased and help with funeral arrangements.



Plaque inscriptions at Jingjue Mosque:

Only pure, only one: Erected on an auspicious day in the first month of summer in the Gengyin year, the 16th year of the Guangxu reign of the Great Qing Dynasty, by the Commander of the Jiujiang Garrison in Jiangxi.



Rectify the heart and be sincere: Erected in June of the 11th year of the Republic of China by members of the Nanjing Islamic Association.



The stele from the 47th year of the Qianlong reign records the four boundaries of Jingjue Mosque. To the east, there was a shop for rent, and to the west, a shop in Maxiang Alley was rented out as a flower shop. The elders who donated funds included those with the surnames Chen, Ma, Wu, Jin, Zheng, and Sha.



The stele from the 18th year of the Guangxu reign records that Imam Ma donated his own land next to the mosque to build the main prayer hall and the water room (wudu area).





Jingjue Mosque houses a memorial stele for Ma Yitang, a Hui Muslim merchant from Nanjing who worked in Shanghai. It was inscribed in 1931 by Ma Fuxiang, a famous Beiyang general who was then the Chairman of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission.

Ma Yitang was born in 1869. His ancestors ran a money shop outside Jubao Gate in Nanjing, and the family owned the Ma Yulong Satin and Fan Shop. With Shanghai as his base, Ma Yitang expanded his business to include domestic and foreign general merchandise. He set up branches in Chengdu and Chongqing, and his goods were sold as far away as the Tibetan regions. Ma Yitang was devoted to the faith. He served as a director for the North Mosque and West Mosque in Shanghai and helped fund the founding of the Hanximen Girls' School and the Zhuganxiang Girls' School in Nanjing. In 1909, Ma Yitang became a special consultative director for the Shanghai Islamic Board of Directors, participating in all its decisions. In 1921, he was responsible for the expansion of the Shanghai Xiaoshadu Mosque (now the Huxi Mosque).



Jingjue Mosque houses a notice stele from the 15th year of the Republic of China regarding the Shangfuqiao Mosque, issued by the Western District Police Station of the Jiangsu Provincial Capital Police Department. It records that the police stepped in to protect the Shangfuqiao Mosque and the Dajiaoxiang Mosque to uphold the rights of the faith. The petitioners included Hui Muslims with the surnames Bai, Tao, Pu, Ma, Yuan, Liang, Wei, and Jin.

Shangfuqiao Mosque was located in Chuanban Alley and was first built in 1662 (the first year of the Kangxi reign). It was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion in the Xianfeng era and rebuilt in 1876 (the second year of the Guangxu reign). Later, it was occupied by Nanjing No. 62 Middle School, and the notice stele was moved into Jingjue Mosque. Dajiaoxiang Mosque was first built in 1874 (the 13th year of the Tongzhi reign). The mosque once housed trade associations for the pavilion decoration, wedding, and fried rice industries. It was later occupied by a factory and eventually demolished.



Jingjue Mosque houses a Qing Dynasty stone carving from the Neiqiaowan Mosque, which was rescued from under an excavator during the demolition of Neiqiaowan in 2019.

Neiqiaowan Mosque was located on Zhongshan South Road. One account says it was first built in 1645 (the second year of the Shunzhi reign), while another says it was built in 1662 (the first year of the Kangxi reign). In 1898 (the 24th year of the Guangxu reign), Shi Jialiang bought a group of houses in Neiqiaowan to rebuild the main prayer hall. The Shi family came from Wuwei, Gansu. They moved to Nanjing during the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty to expand the silk trade. They later became a famous silk-trading family in Nanjing and founded the Shijuxing Silk Firm during the Daoguang reign. The Shi family moved to Shanghai during the Guangxu reign and were members of the Shanghai mosque board of directors.

Neiqiaowan Mosque once housed a primary school and the Glutinous Rice Food Industry Guild. It was demolished in 1991 to widen the road.

















The former Taiping Road Mosque.

Because the Jiangsu Hotel expanded to Taiping Road, the main hall and opposite hall of the Taiping Road Mosque were moved 40 meters south of the old Caoqiao Mosque in 2003. The project was completed in 2005.

Taiping Road Mosque was originally called Huapailou Mosque. Legend says it was built by Chang Yuchun in the early Ming Dynasty. It was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion and later rebuilt with funds raised by elders from the Ha, Ma, Zheng, Yang, Ding, and Chang families. Ma Jingtao led its renovation during the Tongzhi reign. In 1924, wealthy Nanjing merchants and brothers Jiang Muzhou and Jiang Sukan (Guobang) donated money to rebuild a new mosque on the south side, which was still called Huapailou Mosque. When the road was widened in 1931, the gate tower was demolished. Huapailou was renamed Taiping Road, and Huapailou Mosque was renamed Taiping Road Mosque.

After the victory in the War of Resistance in 1945, the Jiang family of Jinling funded the renovation of the main hall and built the Jiang Family Shouxuan Hall in the north courtyard. That same year, the China Islamic National Salvation Association moved into Taiping Road Mosque and changed its name to the China Islamic Association. Its first chairman was Bai Chongxi. It was the highest Islamic organization in the country at the time until it moved to Taipei in 1949. After the 1960s, the Taiping Road Mosque was occupied. It was reclaimed in 1978, reopened in 1980, and named a municipal cultural relic protection unit in 1982. It was demolished in 2003, and the components of the main hall and opposite hall were moved to a new site.

Because the daily expenses of Taiping Road Mosque were paid by the wealthy Jiang family of Jinling, it was the richest mosque in Nanjing during the Republic of China era. The Jiang family of Jinling originally came from Yuncao Ancient Town in Hanshan County, Anhui. They moved to Nanjing in 1808 (the 13th year of Jiaqing). They started as small vendors and later expanded into the silk, salt, and pawn industries. During the Guangxu reign, they opened branches in major commercial ports and became a wealthy merchant family.



















The opposite hall of the former Taiping Road Mosque served as the office for the chairman of the China Islamic Association between 1945 and 1949, where Bai Chongxi once worked.

















The brick carving of 'Washing the Heart and Looking at the Palace' (xixin zhanque) from the water room of the former Taiping Road Mosque.



The former Taiping Road Mosque collected the 'Postscript to the Mother's Filial Piety Arch' written by Jiang Guobang. It records that the father of the wealthy Nanjing merchant Jiang Guobang lost his own father early and was raised by his mother, Madam Ma. In 1911 (the third year of the Xuantong reign), he petitioned to build a memorial arch for his mother's filial piety. Due to the change in government, it was finally completed in 1914.

Jiang Guobang came from the wealthy Jiang merchant family of Jinling, but he cared little for fame or wealth and dedicated himself to the study of traditional Chinese culture. Jiang Guobang was very filial. To provide his mother with a good place to spend her later years, he spent a large sum of money to buy the Xiaowanliu Hall by West Lake in Hangzhou. He later named it Jiang Manor (Jiangzhuang), which was one of the three major manors on West Lake at that time. In 1924, Jiang Guobang oversaw the reconstruction of Taiping Road Mosque and later built the memorial arch for his mother's filial piety inside the mosque. The arch no longer exists today, and only the stone tablet record remains.







The well railing from the Qing Dynasty and a stone tablet from the Guangxu reign at Caoqiao Mosque. Caoqiao Mosque was first built during the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty. It was destroyed by fire during the Taiping Rebellion and rebuilt in the early years of the Tongzhi reign. Because it was located in Qijiawan, a neighborhood where Hui Muslims lived, Caoqiao Mosque once had the largest number of congregants in Nanjing. Historically, Caoqiao Mosque had no property of its own. Its daily expenses were covered by the Beef and Leather Trade Association, which was based inside the mosque. After 1958, Caoqiao Mosque was occupied and later rented to the Nanjing Woodworking Factory, which caused serious damage. The mosque property was returned in 1985 but never reopened, and it was demolished in 2003.







The Jiang Family Courtyard in Laomendong.

In the Laomendong scenic area of Nanjing, there is a residence called Jishan Hall belonging to the wealthy Hui Muslim merchant family, the Jiangs of Jinling. It is currently located at 18 and 20 Santiaoying. The residence was open for visits before, but unfortunately, it was closed when we went.

The Jiang family of Jinling originally came from Yuncao, an ancient town in Hanshan County, Anhui. They moved to Nanjing in 1808 (the 13th year of the Jiaqing reign) and started out as small vendors. After the Taiping Rebellion was suppressed in 1864 (the third year of the Tongzhi reign), the Jiang family used sailboats to transport salt from the Lianghuai salt fields to the Yangtze River coast. On their return trips, they brought back large quantities of daily necessities, which helped them build their fortune. Later, they opened the Chunshengjian firm to trade in satin, and their reputation spread throughout the southwestern provinces.

Jiang Shoushan, also known as Changcheng, was a key figure of the Jinling Jiang family in the late Qing Dynasty. He owned the Deda Soy Sauce Shop in Nanjing, the Guangda Oil Mill in Liuhe, and the Chunyuan Oil Firm in Hankou. In 1875 (the first year of the Guangxu reign), the government named his residence Jishantang (Hall of Accumulated Goodness) and the street outside Jishanli (Alley of Accumulated Goodness) to honor his charity work, which included building bridges, paving roads, giving porridge to the poor, and helping those in need.

Beyond his business success, the Jiang family was also very devoted to their faith. Jiang Shoushan's father, Jiang Hanchen, wrote in the preface to the religious book 'Guizhen Yaodao' (Essential Path to Returning to the Truth), which he edited for his fourth son Jiang Changsong: 'Building wealth from nothing through business is all due to the grace of Allah.' During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, the Jiang family made significant contributions to the faith. They led the construction of the Wuxi Mosque and the Xixin Pavilion at the Huashen Mosque in Nanjing, rebuilt the Huapailou (Taiping Road) Mosque in Nanjing, expanded the Taipingfang Mosque in Suzhou, renovated the Hanximen Mosque and Jingjue Mosque in Nanjing and the Jinshifang Street Mosque in Beijing, and also established a charity school in the southern suburbs of Nanjing.













Xiaowangfu Lane Mosque

The Xiaowangfu Lane Mosque was built in the late Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty. It is one of the few remaining old buildings among the 33 traditional Hui Muslim neighborhoods in Nanjing. The mihrab (the niche in the wall indicating the direction of Mecca) currently in the Jingjue Mosque was moved here from the Xiaowangfu Lane Mosque. The Xiaowangfu Lane Mosque was used as a residential area for a long time, but it has now been vacated and may soon have a new purpose.

In 1917, the Xiaowangfu Lane Mosque founded the private Wuben Primary School to teach both general subjects and religious knowledge. It moved to the entrance of Xiaowangfu Lane on Fengfu Road in 1953 and became a public school in 1956.



















Anleyuan

Every time I visit Nanjing, I make sure to have morning tea at Anleyuan. The morning tea used to be served in the main dining room, but it has moved to the hot pot hall on the right. The menu, however, remains the same.

We arrived after ten o'clock, and it wasn't very crowded. We ordered roast duck with dried tofu strips (ya gan si), shark fin golden cake, crystal shrimp dumplings, red bean soup with rice balls (chidou yuanxiao), water shield vegetable steamed dumplings (jiao'ercai zhengjiao), duck and pine nut steamed dumplings (shaomai), beef spring rolls, and crispy fried dough (sanzi) with tofu pudding, all paired with Yuhua tea. Anleyuan is a great place to experience the charm of Jinling's Hui Muslim cuisine, especially if you are dining with a group.

Anleyuan was founded in 1920 by Cai Jiheng, a Hui Muslim from Nanjing. Originally called Anleju Restaurant, it has been in business for 105 years. Anleyuan was first located at 64 Pingshi Street (formerly Shuixiangkou) in the Hui Muslim community of Qijiawan. It later moved to the Jiangxi Guild Hall at 19 Pingshi Street, specializing in snacks like sweet red bean paste buns and assorted vegetable buns.

In 1949, owner Cai Jiheng was getting old, so he handed the restaurant over to his son, Cai Yuting. Cai Yuting was a scholar by trade and did not know how to run a business, so the restaurant's sales began to decline. In 1952, Li Fuquan, who ran a restaurant at Chaotian Palace, bought the Anleju Restaurant and renamed it Anleyuan Restaurant. Owner Li introduced signature braised dishes like salt-water duck (yanshui ya), sliced dried beef (ganqie niurou), braised wheat gluten (lu mianjin), and smoked fish (xunyu), which won high praise from customers.

In 1956, during the public-private partnership period, Anleyuan merged with the state-owned Heping Canteen and moved to Shengzhou Road, west of Qijiawan. It grew from a small eatery into a medium-sized restaurant of 400 square meters with 14 tables, gaining a steady base of diners. In 1961, Anleyuan moved again to Mochou Road near Chaotian Palace. The space expanded further, and they introduced new dishes like braised fish maw with three delicacies (sanxian hui yudu) and crispy beef (xiangsu niurou), entering the ranks of high-end restaurants. In 1966, Anleyuan was renamed Victory Restaurant (Shengli Fandian), but it changed back to its original name in 1972. In 2001, due to the development of the Chaotian Palace South Square, Anleyuan was relocated to its current site on Wangfu Street. The new shop expanded to 2,000 square meters, becoming a large restaurant with three separate areas for snacks, main meals, and hot pot.























Li Rongxing

At noon, we went to the old Hui Muslim brand Li Rongxing on Xufu Lane in Nanjing for lunch. I ate at their original shop ten years ago, and this time I found they have opened chain stores, including a branch here in the north of the city.

We ordered beef potstickers (niurou guotie), beef wontons (niurou huntun), beef vermicelli soup (niurou fensi tang), smoked fish noodles (xunyu mian), beef soup dumplings (niurou guantangbao), and assorted vegetables (su shijin), which are all considered typical Nanjing Hui Muslim specialties. The snacks of Nanjing Hui Muslims are characterized by a hint of sweetness. I find this quite unique, but people from the north might not be used to it.

Li Rongxing is a famous old brand from Qijiawan, founded by Li Houming in 1914. It started at the T-junction of Qijiawan and Ganyu Lane, and was best known for its pan-fried beef buns (niurou jianbao), beef soup, and smoked beef. In 2002, Li Rongxing's third-generation successor, Li Bangzheng, opened a Li Rongxing on Fenghuang West Street, and in 2006, it moved to Nanhu East Road. The current owner, Li Guofan, is the fourth-generation successor of Li Rongxing. Additionally, the most famous Li's Restaurant (Liji) in Qijiawan today is run by Li Bangzheng's cousin, Li Bangjie, who once worked with him at a salted duck factory.





















Lvliuju

Next to Li Rongxing on Xufu Lane is another long-standing shop, Lvliuju. Their shop is quite small. Besides their most popular green sticky rice balls (qingtuan), they serve simple meals like duck blood vermicelli soup (laoya fensi tang), bamboo shoot and beef brisket rice (sungand niunan fan), braised three-delicacy rice (hui sanxian fan), and smoked fish assorted noodles (xunyu shijin mian). We bought some of their signature three-colored cakes (sanse gao).

Lvliuju was founded in 1912 at Taoye Ferry by the Qinhuai River. It started as a high-end vegetarian restaurant, and people like Kong Xiangxi, Chiang Ching-kuo, Bai Chongxi, and the Soong sisters often ate there. After 1949, Lvliuju closed for a time. It reopened in 1963 on Taiping South Road at Yanggongjing, hiring the famous chef Chen Bingyu to lead the kitchen and continue serving authentic vegetarian food. A major feature of Lvliuju is making vegetarian dishes taste like meat. Their vegetarian chicken (suji) and vegetarian duck (suya), made from tofu skin, gluten, and dried bean curd sticks with herbal seasonings, are delicious. In 1987, Lvliuju added halal dishes to its vegetarian menu and became a halal restaurant, though it still specializes in vegetarian food. It is now a national-level intangible cultural heritage.





















Liuhe South Gate Mosque

Leaving the Nanjing city area, we crossed the Yangtze River and headed north to Liuhe District, where we performed namaz at the Liuhe South Gate Mosque.

There were once seven mosques and three women's schools in Liuhe. Today, the Changjiang Road Mosque, South Gate Mosque, and Zhuzhen Mosque are open, and the historic buildings of the South Gate Women's School and Zhuzhen Women's School remain.

The Liuhe South Gate Mosque was first built in 1403 (the first year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty) and rebuilt in 1553 (the 32nd year of the Jiajing reign). It was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion and later rebuilt. The famous Imam Da Pusheng, one of the four great imams of the Republic of China, had three generations of his family—from his great-grandfather to his father—serve as the imam at South Gate Mosque. The old Da family home is on the Halal Street (Qingzhen Jie) right at the mosque entrance. Imam Da Pusheng studied the scriptures at South Gate Mosque for seven years, from age 10 to 17, before going to Nanjing and Beijing for further study.

The ancestor of the Da family of the Baiye Hall, where Imam Da Pusheng belonged, was Mubalesha from the Western Regions during the Yuan Dynasty. Research shows he belonged to the Kipchak Yuliberi tribe and served as a Darughachi in Zhenjiang before passing away in Zhenjiang. His sixth-generation descendant, Da Shan, moved from Zhenjiang to Liuhe in the early Ming Dynasty to serve as a county magistrate candidate. He settled in Liuhe, making them the oldest Hui Muslim family from the Western Regions in the area.

After 1966, the South Gate Mosque was used as a kindergarten. During that time, the Shamao Hall (duiting), the north wing, the red gate, and the entrance hall were demolished. The kindergarten moved out in 1975, and Baozhen Primary School borrowed the space for a while. It was finally reclaimed in 2000 after the school moved out. The main hall was raised and rebuilt in 2013. Later, the Unity Pagoda (Tongxin Ta) and Tongxing Building were built, and the site finally opened to the public in 2020.



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Reposted from the web

Summary: The second part of the Nanjing mosque journey follows sites in the old south city, Liuhe, and Zhuzhen, with notes on mosque buildings, stone carvings, and local Hui Muslim history. This account keeps the original route, mosque names, dates, and photographs.















Stone carvings and ancient trees at the South Gate Mosque in Liuhe:

A stone tablet from the seventh year of the Daoguang reign recording a donation of property by a Hui Muslim named Li.



A boundary marker for the mosque.



A stone tablet from the twelfth year of the Guangxu reign. It records that the South Gate Mosque was destroyed by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom during the Xianfeng years. Many Hui Muslim militia members from the mosque died in battle, and the government later stepped in to protect their graves.



A couplet written by Wang Jianli in the tenth year of the Republic of China: To cherish purity and walk in cleanliness is to prepare for the afterlife; to return to the truth and simplicity is to be just like this.



Qing dynasty drum-shaped stone bases (baogushi) in front of the main gate.





A 460-year-old Chinese juniper (yuanbai) in front of the main prayer hall, classified as a first-grade protected ancient tree.





Liuhe Women's School.

The Liuhe Muslim Women's School started in 1912. The current building was constructed in 1930 and later used as a Hui Muslim funeral home. It is a rare surviving example of a Republican-era Muslim women's school and mosque.

Traditionally, these women's schools do not form formal classes, do not call the adhan, do not hold Jumu'ah prayers, and do not hold Eid prayers. The female imam (shiniang) does not lead the prayer from the front but stands in the middle of the first row. The women's school does not have a minaret, and there is no minbar pulpit inside the main prayer hall. Besides leading the local women in their religious duties, the female imam (shiniang) also teaches various aspects of Islamic knowledge.

Women's schools emerged during the mid-to-late Qing dynasty, initially concentrated in Henan and the neighboring areas of Hebei, Shandong, and Anhui. In the early Republic of China, influenced by the New Culture Movement and the women's liberation movement, the ideas of promoting women's education, ending foot binding, and liberating women began to be understood by Hui Muslims. The number of women's schools increased rapidly, with over a hundred in Henan province alone, and others were built in various provinces.

During the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty, two women's schools were built in Nanjing at Hanximen and Changle Street. During the Republican era, four more were built at Fangjia Lane, Zhuganli, Shigu Road, and Dahuifu Lane, but all of these have been demolished. In the early Republican era, Liuhe built three women's schools at Houjie inside the city, outside the South Gate, and in Zhuzhen. The historical buildings at the South Gate and Zhuzhen are the only ones that remain.













Changjiang Road Mosque in Liuhe.

After leaving the South Gate Mosque in Liuhe, we went to the Changjiang Road Mosque in Liuhe to perform the prayer (namaz). The mosque has two imams, one middle-aged and one young. The young imam is from Zhenjiang and just graduated from an Islamic school (zhongjing). He is a very rare and talented young man.

The Changjiang Road Mosque was originally called Chengqingfang. It is also known as the Liuhe North Mosque, the Inner City Mosque, and the Da Family Mosque. It was built in 1424 (the 22nd year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty) by the Da family of Baiyetang, who had lived in Liuhe for generations. The Changjiang Road Mosque was destroyed by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom during the Xianfeng reign. Later, the leader Liu Weiting and local elders raised funds to rebuild it. In 1885 (the 11th year of the Guangxu reign), Da Guangyong donated money to build a reception hall. In 1928, Wang Dashi, the widow of the wealthy merchant Wang Zuochen and aunt of the great imam Da Pusheng, donated money to build the Wuxin Pavilion on the original site of the Moon-Watching Tower (Wangyuelou).

In 1899, the great imam Da Pusheng returned to his hometown of Liuhe from the Niujie Mosque in Beijing to serve as the imam of the Changjiang Road Mosque. It was not until 1905, when Imam Wang Kuan from Niujie went on the pilgrimage (hajj), that Imam Da returned to the Niujie Mosque to serve as the acting imam and lead religious affairs. Imam Da founded the Guangyi Primary School inside the Changjiang Road Mosque to promote modern education. He offered courses in Chinese and Arabic, scripture, geography, history, and mathematics. This pioneered the transition from traditional scripture hall teaching to modern education. In a memoir from the early 1950s, Imam Da wrote: 'I worked hard for six years. Perhaps moved by the achievements of Guangyi Primary School, the local Hui Muslims supported the school with great effort... Looking back now, how difficult it was to struggle at that time, to patiently persuade stubborn traditionalists, and to take on responsibilities despite everything without being denounced as anti-religious!'

After 1966, the Changjiang Road Mosque was occupied by a theater troupe and a cultural troupe. It was reclaimed and reopened in 1983.



















Existing stone tablets at the Liuhe Changjiang Road Mosque:





The 1885 (11th year of the Guangxu reign) tablet records that Da Guangyong funded the construction of the reception hall at the Inner City Mosque in Liuhe. Da Guangyong was the 18th-generation descendant of the Baiyetang Da family. He held the rank of ninth-grade official and lived to be 81.



The 1899 (25th year of the Guangxu reign) tablet, titled 'Tablet on the Renovation of the Tangyi Inner City Mosque and the Market Houses Inside and Outside the Mosque,' records the specific situation of the Changjiang Road Mosque during the Guangxu reign. All the signatories were local Hui Muslims from the Da family.



The 1928 (17th year of the Republic of China) tablet, titled 'Tablet on Wang Dashi's Donation to Repair the Moon-Watching Pavilion and Redeem Market Houses,' records that Dashi, the wife of the Zhuzhen elder Wang Zuochen, donated money to build the Moon-Watching Pavilion (Wangyue Ting). Wang Zuochen was a Hui Muslim from Zhuzhen in Liuhe. He ran a grain business on North Street in Zhuzhen for decades. He was very devout, never missing his daily namaz or fasting, but in 1925, bandits suddenly kidnapped him, and he was never heard from again. Wang Zuochen's wife, surnamed Da, was also very devout and founded the Zhuzhen Girls' School. After her husband went missing, Mrs. Da spent years asking people to help find him, but there was no result. Because Wang Zuochen had no brothers or children, Mrs. Da donated all the family's money to the Zhuzhen mosque and to build the Moon-Watching Pavilion (wangyueting) at the Changjiang Road mosque.





Inside the mosque, there is also a 350-year-old Chinese juniper (yuanbai) tree.







Zhuzhen Mosque

Continuing north from Liuhe, we arrived at Zhuzhen, the northernmost town in Nanjing.

The Zhuzhen mosque was originally located outside East Bridge. It was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion and rebuilt in 1901 (the 27th year of the Guangxu reign) in Wang Family Lane in the middle of the old street. In 1968, the Zhuzhen mosque was turned into a dormitory for teachers at an agricultural middle school. It was reclaimed and reopened in 1983, and the main hall was rebuilt in 2001.

In 1939, the imam of Zhuzhen mosque, Li Shudu, formed the Hui Muslim Anti-Japanese Independent Guerrilla Battalion and served as its commander. He worked with the New Fourth Army and made significant contributions to the anti-Japanese cause.

Additionally, in 1939, Hui Muslims from the Bridge Group (qiaobang) in the Gaoyou and Lingtang areas built a mosque near Xinhua Garden on the west side of Zhuzhen. After 1966, it was converted into a Hui Muslim food processing factory.





The Zhuzhen mosque still has a door lintel from the Qing Dynasty's Guangxu period inscribed with the words 'Built by the Zhudun Community.' Zhudun is the old name for Zhuzhen.















The Zhuzhen mosque in Liuhe houses a Qing Dynasty stone well called 'Pine Spring' (songquan), two pairs of drum-shaped stone bases (baogushi), and a stele from the 16th year of the Republic of China (1927) recording the will of Wang Zuochen's wife, Mrs. Da, who donated her property. Mrs. Da was the aunt of the great imam Da Pusheng. The inscription records that the Zhuzhen Girls' School was founded by Wang Zuochen and fellow members of the faith, with funding provided by Wang Zuochen and his fellow believers. Later, Wang Zuochen was kidnapped by bandits and remained missing for years. Because of this, Wang Zuochen's wife, Mrs. Da, decided to donate all their farmland and property, except for a portion kept for her own support. The funds were mainly used for the daily expenses of the Zhuzhen Girls' School, with the remainder going to the Zhuzhen mosque. The inscription mentions her 'nephew Da Pusheng'.







Across from the Zhuzhen Mosque, there is a shop selling small-mill sesame oil (xiaomo mayou), and the only restaurants in town serve hand-pulled noodles (lamian).









Liuhe Muslim Women's School

After leaving the Zhuzhen Mosque, I walked through the old street of Zhuzhen and arrived at the Zhuzhen Women's School by the river. The Zhuzhen Women's School is a classic example of Jianghuai architectural style, featuring a small courtyard formed by the entrance hall and the main hall, with traditional Huizhou-style horse-head walls on both sides.

The Zhuzhen Women's School was founded in 1921 by Wang Zuochen, the uncle-in-law of the great imam Da Pusheng, along with other local Hui Muslims. It was originally located on Zhuzhen Middle Street, but in 1931, Wu Tiejian and others rebuilt it along the south riverbank outside the East Bridge of Zhuzhen. After 1966, the school was occupied by a Hui Muslim food processing factory. It was renovated in 2007 but is currently not open to the public. During the Republic of China era, the school was led by two female imams, Mistress Dai and Mistress Bai, who taught scriptures and religious doctrines to local Hui Muslim women.

Wu Tiejian was a famous Hui Muslim businessman and patriot who resisted the Japanese. His original name was Wu Jiashan, and at age 22, he inherited his father's business, the Wudeyuan Grain Store. After the New Fourth Army entered Zhuzhen in 1938 to lead the resistance against Japan, Wu Tiejian was the first to donate grain, money, and guns, and he served as the chairman of the Zhuzhen Merchants and Citizens Anti-Enemy Association. In 1942, Wu Tiejian became the first mayor of the Zhuzhen Anti-Japanese Democratic Government. He took great risks to rescue and protect many comrades and also mobilized ambitious young people to join the revolution. After the founding of New China, Wu Tiejian was elected deputy director of the Nanjing Islamic Association, and he passed away (guizhen) in 1967.



















There is a square next to the mosque that introduces famous Hui Muslim figures from Liuhe.







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Summary: The early capital of the Crimean Khanate is covered through palace sites, mosques, old streets, and Crimean Tatar history. This account keeps the original historical context, place names, architectural details, food notes, and photographs.

The Crimean Peninsula is in the northern Black Sea. It was conquered by the Mongol army in 1238 and later ruled by the Golden Horde. In 1313, Khan Uzbeg officially made Islam the state religion and built mosques (masjid) on the Crimean Peninsula.

At first, the Golden Horde's capital in Crimea was the city of Old Crimea (Stary Krym) in the southeast of the peninsula. In 1441, Haji Giray, a descendant of Genghis Khan's eldest son Jochi, minted coins with his own name at the Jewish Fortress (Chufut-Kale) on a cliff in the southwest of the peninsula, officially establishing the Crimean Khanate. The Jewish Fortress was first built by the Byzantines in the 5th to 6th centuries, and was later inhabited by Alans, Tatars, and Karaites. Today, the fortress still has city walls, gates, mosque ruins, and the tomb of a Golden Horde princess.

After Haji Giray died in 1466, his sixth son, Mengli Giray, eventually won the struggle for the throne. Around 1500, Mengli Giray built a new capital called Salachik. Salachik once had a complex of buildings including a palace, court, baths, and a mosque, but now only a madrasa and the tomb of the founding Crimean Khan, Haji Giray, remain.

Also, to the west of Bakhchysarai is Eski Yurt, a large trading town that was very prosperous during the Golden Horde period. It became a religious center for Crimea because of the gongbei of the religious elder Malik Ashtar. Today, it preserves several 14th to 16th-century tombs, including that of the Crimean Khan Mehmed II Giray.

Jewish Fortress (Chufut-Kale)

Between the 13th and 17th centuries, the Jewish Fortress was called Kyrk-Or, which means forty fortresses. After the mid-16th century, the Crimean Khan Sahib Giray (reigned 1532-1551) moved the capital to Bakhchysarai in the valley west of the Jewish Fortress, and the Tatars in the fortress gradually moved to Bakhchysarai. After the wells in the fortress dried up in the mid-17th century, all the Tatars left. Only the Karaite Jews continued to live there, and the fortress was gradually called the Jewish Fortress by the Crimean Tatars. After the 19th century, the Karaite Jews also left, and the fortress eventually became a ruin.

The walls of the Jewish Fortress were first built during the Byzantine period; some say they were built in the 5th to 6th centuries, while others say the 10th to 11th centuries. In 1299, General Nogai Khan of the Golden Horde led a Tatar army to attack the Crimean Peninsula. Byzantine soldiers used the strong walls of the Jewish fortress to hold off the Golden Horde's attack. The Tatar soldiers reportedly played harsh, loud music for three days and nights to disturb the Byzantine defenders inside the city. On the fourth day, the exhausted Byzantine defenders could no longer hold off a new round of attacks, and the Jewish fortress was captured by the Tatars of the Golden Horde.

Currently, the original walls consist of two sections, the south wall and the middle wall, along with two gates, the south gate and the middle gate. The south wall is built on the cliff in the southern part of the fortress, weaving between the rocks. The south gate is built in a pocket shape, allowing defenders to surround enemies from above if they break in. The middle wall runs across the space between the north and south cliffs of the fortress and is a typical example of Byzantine wall architecture.





There is no wall on the north cliff, but the steepness of the cliff itself is as effective as a wall. It was very windy when I visited, and I felt nervous just standing by the cliff edge.





The east wall was built between 1396 and 1433, and there is a lively bazaar outside the gate. Outside the east gate, there is still a preserved water collection area that merchants used to wash and water their livestock.







The Khan Jani Beg mosque is located on the west side of the Jewish fortress. It was first built in 1346 during the reign of Khan Jani Beg (reigned 1342-1357) of the Golden Horde. Khan Jani Beg was the son of Öz Beg Khan. During his father's reign, the Golden Horde fully converted to the faith, and Khan Jani Beg continued to develop the faith within the Khanate. The Khan Jani Beg mosque in the Jewish fortress stands as a witness to this.

In 1455, Haji Giray, the founding Khan of the Crimean Khanate, rebuilt the Khan Jani Beg mosque. An inscription about the reconstruction was once carved above the mosque door and was discovered during an archaeological excavation in 1928.

After the mid-17th century, the mosque was eventually abandoned as the Crimean Tatars moved from the Jewish fortress to Bakhchisaray. Today, only ruined walls, a mihrab niche, and some stone carvings remain at the mosque site. From these existing ruins, we can infer that it was a fairly typical traditional Crimean mosque building.





The tomb of Golden Horde Princess Dzhanike Khanym was built in 1437. It is the best-preserved Islamic building inside the Jewish fortress. The princess was the daughter of Tokhtamysh (reigned 1380-1397), the Great Khan of the Golden Horde. Tokhtamysh was the last Great Khan to unite the Golden Horde, but he was eventually defeated by Tamerlane the Great. After Tokhtamysh passed away, Dzhanike Khanym returned to her mother's homeland, Crimea.

The tomb is octagonal. The door is decorated with a classic Seljuk knot, a signature pattern from the Golden Horde period.







The roads inside the fortress vary in width, and you can see deep cart ruts on the main path.







The Tatar people gradually left the city after the water wells dried up in the 17th century.



The Gazi Mansur gongbei (shrine) and daotang (religious hall) are located in the valley on the west side of the Jewish fortress.

Legend says that Malik Ashter and Gazi Mansur, two of the first disciples of the Prophet Muhammad, came to the Crimean Peninsula in the 7th century to spread the faith and lived in a valley at the foot of the Jewish fortress. Not long after, Malik Ashter was killed by a giant, and Gazi Mansur died defending the Jewish fortress. They were both buried at the foot of the mountain. They remained unknown for a long time until, centuries later, a sheikh living in the ancient Central Asian city of Bukhara repeatedly dreamed of a narrow valley filled with shrubs. To understand his dream, the sheikh followed the guidance of an elder and began a pilgrimage to the Crimean Peninsula.

The sheikh arrived in Crimea in 1434. He recognized the valley from his dream at the foot of the Jewish cave and eventually discovered the tomb of Gazi Mansur. The sheikh then built a gongbei and a daotang at the site of the tomb. Because of this legendary karamat (miracle), pilgrims flocked to the site, and it even gained the favor of the Crimean Khan.

The Gazi Mansur gongbei and daotang stood until the 1930s, but were destroyed during the Soviet era. Today, only broken walls and a few surviving tombstones remain.











Salachik

The Salachik (Salaçıq) historical and archaeological complex was built between the late 15th and early 16th centuries and served as one of the capitals of the Crimean Khanate.

After Haji Giray died in 1466, his sixth son, Mengli I Giray, and his second son, Nur Devlet, fought repeatedly for the throne until Mengli I Giray finally won. Around 1500, Mengli I Giray built the new capital of Salachik in the valley west of the Jewish fortress.

In the 17th century, Salachik included a palace, a high court, baths, the Mengli Giray Mosque, and guard rooms. Genoese records mention that it also had a customs house, but most of these buildings were likely destroyed in an earthquake in 1698.

Today, only the Chain (Zıncırlı) madrasa, built in 1500, and the Haji Giray mausoleum, built in 1501, remain. The madrasa stayed open until the early 20th century. Archaeological excavations in 2008 uncovered the ruins of the baths and identified the general location of the Mengli Giray Mosque.

The Haji Giray mausoleum (Dürbe Hacı I Giray) is an octagonal building with a lead dome, built in 1501 by Mengli I Giray for his father, the founding Khan of Crimea, Haji Giray.

Archaeological digs between 2006 and 2007 examined 18 graves inside the mausoleum, including 13 adults and 5 children. They were wrapped in silk, and some rested on pillows stuffed with fabric scraps and fruit seeds. The mausoleum contains 8 stone sarcophagi covered in velvet, silk, and silver-threaded fabric. These likely include four Crimean Khans: Haji Giray himself, Mengli I Giray, Haji Giray's other son Nur Devlet—who fought Mengli I Giray for the throne for years before losing—and Sahib I Giray, the son of Mengli I Giray and the builder of Bakhchisaray.

These individuals were reburied after research was completed in 2009.







The Chain (Zıncırlı) madrasa was built in 1500 by order of the Crimean Khan Mengli I Giray. The name of the madrasa comes from the Turkic word "zyngyr," which means chain. A chain hangs above the main gate of the madrasa, forcing everyone who enters to bow their head.

The madrasa is rectangular with a central courtyard, an entrance on one side, and 11 rooms on the other three sides. At the time, the madrasa taught Turkish and Arabic grammar, calligraphy, arithmetic, ethics, logic, proof, Islamic law (sharia), and the study of the Quran and Hadith, with the full course of study taking ten years.





In 1909, influenced by the Crimean Tatar enlightenment movement, Gaspirali built a two-story modern Islamic school (madrasa) next to the old one. The school closed in 1917 and became the Mengli Giray Research Institute. The institute was shut down in 1923, then it served as a teacher training college, a medical school, a sanatorium for German soldiers, and a post-war psychiatric clinic. Today, the site is managed by the Bakhchisaray Historical, Cultural and Archaeological Museum.



During excavations at the Salachik historical and archaeological complex in 2008, researchers found 15th-century urban ruins including a bathhouse, a well, and a courtyard.

The bathhouse is a typical Turkish bath (hamam) with separate sections for men and women, each containing five rooms and a heating system. The heating system used clay pipes in the walls and under the floors to circulate warm air, keeping the bath at a constant temperature year-round and saving firewood. Each section also included a steam room, a washing area, a toilet, a lounge, and a changing room.

Archaeologists found many ceramics from the 15th to 18th centuries, mostly architectural tiles and pipes, along with some kitchenware, Turkish pottery, Chinese porcelain, and silver coins from the Crimean Khanate.



Ismail Gaspirali (1851-1914), the founder of the Crimean Tatar enlightenment movement, is buried in the backyard of the Zincirli Madrasa.

Gaspirali was a Crimean Tatar intellectual, educator, and publisher. He was the first to realize that Turkic Muslim society needed education and cultural reform to modernize, so he created the new Jadid education system and became known as the founder of the Crimean Tatar enlightenment.

In 1883, Gaspirali received permission to publish Tercüman, the first Turkic-language newspaper in Russia. Tercüman ran for 35 years. For a long time, it was the only Turkic-language publication in Russia and one of the earliest religious newspapers, influencing the entire Turkic-speaking world.

In the newspaper, he advocated for modernization through education and designed a new teaching method called Jadid. He taught the Arabic alphabet using a new phonetic method, which cut the time it took for students to learn to read from three years down to just a few months.

In 1909, Gaspirali built a two-story modern school next to the Zincirli Madrasa, which operated until it closed in 1917.

After Gasprinsky died in his hometown in 1914, he was buried in the cemetery behind the "Zincirli" (Chain) Madrasa. The original tombstone was lost in the second half of the 20th century, and the current one was rebuilt in the late 1990s.



Eski Yurt Old City

Eski Yurt means "old city." During the Golden Horde era, it was a large trading town and a transportation hub connecting the east and west ends of the Crimean Peninsula. After the Crimean Khanate was established in 1441, Eski Yurt remained an economic center. It was not until 1532, when the Khanate built its new capital, Bakhchisaray, in the valley right next to Eski Yurt, that the status of Eski Yurt was replaced and it began to be called the "old city." Even so, because the city once housed a gongbei (shrine) for the sage Malik Ashtar, Eski Yurt remained a religious center for Crimean Tatars until the Soviet era.

According to legend, Malik Ashtar was a cousin of the noble Prophet and a loyal companion of Imam Ali. In Crimean Tatar legends, Malik Ashtar was a brave warrior and the first person to come to Crimea to spread the faith. He eventually died in battle while fighting a giant in Eski Yurt. Many years later, some Sufi practitioners miraculously discovered his grave in Eski Yurt and built a gongbei there. In reality, Malik Ashtar passed away in Egypt, and the gongbei in Eski Yurt is a place where his karamat (miraculous signs) were manifested. Crimean Tatars believe that if you are bitten by a snake, you can recover by making dua at the Malik Ashtar gongbei.

Due to the importance of the Malik Ashtar gongbei, a complex of hundreds of tombs formed around it. This includes the tombs of three Khans of the Crimean Khanate: Mehmed II Giray (reigned 1577–1584), Saadet II Giray (reigned 1584), and Mehmed III Giray (reigned 1623–1628).

From the era of the Crimean Khanate until the early 20th century, a dhikr ceremony was held every Thursday night at the Malik Ashtar gongbei. After all Crimean Tatars were forced into exile in Central Asia in 1948, the central square of the Malik Ashtar gongbei was turned into a market. After Crimean Tatars began returning in the late 1980s, many demanded that the market be removed from the holy site, and it was finally moved in 2006.

The existing structures in the Malik Ashtar gongbei tomb complex include the 14th-15th century Bey Yude Sultan tomb and Ahmed Bey tomb, the 16th-century Mehmed Bey tomb and the tomb of Khan Mehmed II Giray, as well as the minbar (pulpit) of the Malik Ashtar shrine mosque.



The tomb of Crimean Khan Mehmed II Giray is also known as the Great Octagonal Tomb. During his reign, Mehmed II Giray attacked the Persian Safavid dynasty three times under orders from the Ottoman Empire.

The tomb of Mehmed II Giray is the largest one still standing in Eski Yurt and clearly shows Ottoman influence. Some speculate it was built by a student of the master Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, but no records about the architect have been found.



The Malik Ashtar gongbei (a shrine for a Sufi saint) was built during the Crimean Khanate era with a minbar (pulpit) for sermons, but the mosque was destroyed in 1955. This place was once where Sufi practitioners performed dhikr (remembrance of Allah), and it served as a Sufi center on the Crimean Peninsula.



Ahmed Bey died in 1577, and his tombstone was found near the entrance of the tomb in 1924. Although Ahmed Bey died in the 16th century, the architectural style of the tomb itself does not match the Ottoman-influenced tombs of that time; instead, it follows the earlier Golden Horde tomb style. Other buildings similar to Ahmed Bey's tomb date back to the 13th and 14th centuries. Therefore, it is more likely that this tomb was built during the Golden Horde era.



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Summary: Wangjiaying in Huai'an, Jiangsu, sits between the old Yellow River course and the Salt River and has long been an important Hui Muslim town. This account covers its mosque history, family stories, streets, food, and photographs as recorded in the source visit.

Wangjiaying in Huai'an, Jiangsu, sits between the old Yellow River course and the Salt River. During the Ming Dynasty, the government set up the Dahe Guard in Huai'an and built ten military camps along the Yellow River. Wangjiaying was one of them. Travel on the Yellow River section of the canal was slow and dangerous, often leading to broken ropes and sunken boats. Many merchants chose to leave their boats at Qingjiangpu, cross the Yellow River at Wangjiaying, and switch to horse-drawn carriages to head north. Together, Wangjiaying and Qingjiangpu grew into a busy town.

Wangjiaying survived many floods from the Yellow River and moved east three times to reach its current location. In 1831, the Viceroy of Liangjiang, Tao Peng, chose Wangjiaying as a new hub for Huai salt distribution. After that, eighteen salt warehouses and seventy-two salt offices opened in Wangjiaying. Salt boats traveled constantly along the three-hundred-mile waterway from the Huaibei salt fields to Wangjiaying.

The prosperity of Wangjiaying attracted Hui Muslims to settle there. The first Hui Muslims to arrive were the Ma and Sha families, who came from Lingwu County in Ningxia by way of Shandong and Zhenjiang. Later, families named Jin, Dai, Chang, Ge, Fan, Li, and Yang also settled here.

The Wangjiaying Mosque was first built during the Yongzheng era. It started as three thatched rooms next to the Lotus Pond (Hehuawang) in Wangjiapo. After Wangjiaying became a salt hub in the late Daoguang era, the mosque moved to the south bank of the Salt River. Two imams, Chang Tingzhang and Dai Mingxuan, led the religious affairs. Imam Chang Tingzhang was known as 'Third Master Chang.' He was from Jining, Shandong, and was born in 1785 in Taoyuan County, Huai'an Prefecture (now Siyang, Jiangsu). In his youth, he studied in Lingzhou (now Lingwu County, Ningxia). After finishing his studies, he traveled to Jining, Shandong, to continue learning. In 1810, the 26-year-old Imam Chang Tingzhang was invited to lead the Wangjiaying Mosque. Imam Chang Tingzhang had deep knowledge of Arabic classics, astronomy, and medicine. According to the 'Wangjiaying Records,' a man named Third Master Tao from Hangzhou died in Huai'an during the Daoguang era. Because it was the heat of summer, Imam Chang Tingzhang personally bought a boat and traveled south along the canal to take the body back to Hangzhou for the family.

In 1860, the Nian Army burned down the Wangjiaying Mosque. In 1867, Imam Dai Jingzhai, the son of Imam Dai Mingxuan, led the construction of a few thatched huts. Later, with donations from the community, they built a main hall with three thatched rooms.

Imam Chang Tingzhang passed away in 1870. Imam Dai Jingzhai took over, and in 1884, they replaced the thatched rooms with tiled ones. Because Imam Chang Tingzhang had studied at the Jahriyya Banqiao Daotang in Jinjipu, Ningxia, in his youth, the Wangjiaying Mosque later invited five successive imams from the Jahriyya order in Jinjipu to lead the mosque and teach. Future imams also went to Ningxia for advanced study, making the Wangjiaying Mosque one of the nine major branches of the Banqiao Daotang.

In 1912, the Wangjiaying Mosque built a new gate, a south lecture hall, a kitchen, and a washroom. In 1920, with funding from the Jingshan Tang in Gansu and money from selling willow trees at the public cemetery, they rebuilt the three tiled, curved-eave rooms in front of the main hall and added three new rooms for the east lecture hall. Currently, there is a 1920 Republic of China renovation tablet on the north wall of the main hall, but the top part is covered.

In 1958, the Wangjiaying Mosque moved to the east of West Horse Road in Wangying. In 1961, it moved to its current site because a bank needed the land for a building. During the destruction of the Four Olds, the main hall's plaques reading 'The Way Spreads to the Middle Land,' 'The Religion Follows the Western Regions,' and 'Striving for Perfection,' along with gold-lettered Arabic plaques and couplets, were all smashed and burned. The couplets read: 'See the invisible, hear the silent, rectify the intention and sincerity, become a saint or a sage, the original nature; The Way is established, movement brings harmony, reach others through oneself, benefit the world, all is complete.' Funeral tools were also destroyed, and the main hall was used as a warehouse by a shoe and hat factory.

In 1979, under the leadership of Imam Ge Weili, the Wangjiaying Mosque was rebuilt in a traditional style. It was finished in 1985 and underwent two more renovations and expansions in 2003 and 2006 to reach its current appearance.

Imam Ge Weili was born in 1924. He went to Ningxia to study in 1937. In 1945, after completing his religious training and receiving his robe, he became the imam of Wangjiaying Mosque. He took on the role of imam in 1966. Today, the religious affairs at Wangjiaying Mosque are led by Imam Fan Weiming, a student of Imam Ge Weili.

















The inscription from the Republic of China era reads as follows:



Wangying Mosque was founded during the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty. By the end of the Daoguang reign, our community was at its peak. Our population grew, our businesses thrived, and we had elders like Chang and Dai Mingxuan leading our religious affairs. They taught many students, and this history is recorded in local chronicles for all to verify. In the tenth year of the Xianfeng reign, the Nian Rebellion broke out. The mosque was burned to the ground, our people fled or died, and our community dwindled.

In the sixth year of the Tongzhi reign, Dai Jingzhai, the son of Elder Dai Mingxuan, followed his father's teachings and took over the leadership. He first built a few thatched huts to hold prayers morning and evening. However, the space was too simple for proper worship. It was too small to hold gatherings. The imam was deeply worried. He raised funds from many sources and built a main hall with three rooms made of grass. Later, he consulted with Yang Xuting, Ma Yunfeng, and Guo Daosheng. With their help, they rebuilt the main tiled hall and lecture hall in the tenth year of the Guangxu reign, and things began to return to normal. As more of our people moved here, the original public cemetery became so full there was almost no space left. The imam was concerned that our community lacked its own burial ground, which made things very difficult during times of loss. He planned to buy land to solve this, and Mr. Ma Yunfeng agreed to help. Sadly, Mr. Ma passed away before the task was finished. Fortunately, Mr. Ma's brother, Runzhi, carried on his brother's wishes. With the strong support of local elder Li Yunpo, they set aside differences and raised enough money to buy two new cemetery plots. The imam's kindness to our community was thorough. This was due to the support of many public-spirited people, but it was also the result of the imam's decades of hard work and sincere devotion.

In the first year of the Republic of China, we worked to continue the efforts of our predecessors by adding a main gate, a south lecture hall, and a kitchen. Mr. Ge Ziming built a washroom (shuifang) and donated hundreds of thousands in currency. We also invited Imam Wang Pinqing from Gansu Province to teach the scriptures. Visitors from all over praised the work. In recent years, wind and rain damage made the halls look like they might collapse. We met and decided to sell dozens of willow trees around the cemetery, raising over two hundred thousand. The Jinshan Hall in Gansu also kindly donated many wooden beams and tiles. We then built a three-room tiled hall with curved eaves in front of the main hall, and repaired the surrounding walls, the three-room east lecture hall, and the courtyard gates. This was a massive project funded by public property and donations. We are humble about our own contributions, but we record these details because, despite two hundred years of change, our mosque still stands. This is largely due to the efforts of our ancestors and elders. We hope future generations will remember how hard it was to build this place and will protect it forever so it never falls into ruin. This is our deepest wish. We record this history here.

July, the ninth year of the Republic of China.

Jin Jiasheng, Jin Jialin, Guo Chunlin, Yang Fangtian

Chang Bingkui, Li Shunjie, Chang Guanying, Mu Hongbin

Jin Jiayuan, Ma Jianong, Fan Zhaofeng, Yang Guiyuan

Ge Futang, Li Dianqing, Ma Jiarang, Mu Hong'en

Ma Jialin, Ge Zhenqing, He Wenquan, Zhou Fengling

Sha Faxiang, Liu Lianyuan, Zhou Riyang, Mu Hongye

The most famous Hui Muslim food in Wangjiaying is the fried dough snack (youtoutou) from the Hui Muslim Restaurant, made by Old Li Ku. Their version was added to the Huaiyin District intangible cultural heritage list in 2016. In 1942, Li Dongtian from Shandong brought his family to Wangjiaying to make a living. He and his son, Li Haiquan, sold their homemade fried dough snacks (youtoutou) near the Yanhe Bridge in Huaiyin while carrying trays. That is how the Huaiyin fried dough snack (youtoutou) became popular.

The fried dough snack (youtoutou) is three inches long. It turns golden yellow when fried. It is delicious when wrapped in an egg and served with wheat porridge. Wheat porridge is rare in other places. It has a unique taste and includes peanuts. In Huai'an, breakfast is usually served with several types of pickles, such as pickled mustard greens (datoucai), cold tossed eggplant, tossed snow cabbage (xuelihong), and tossed green peppers. They all go well with porridge.

The history of the Wangjiaying Hui Muslim Restaurant dates back to the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty. After the salt administration expanded at the West Dam in Wangjiaying in 1831 (the 11th year of Daoguang), Imam Dai Mingxuan of the Wangjiaying Mosque opened a halal restaurant at the north end of Yushan Street. He hired the best chefs in Wangjiaying, making it a high-end establishment where many Huai'an officials and dignitaries held banquets.

In 1860 (the 10th year of Xianfeng), after the Nian Army broke through Wangjiaying, the halal restaurant and the Wangjiaying Mosque were both destroyed in the war. In 1886 (the 12th year of Guangxu), with everyone's help, Imam Dai Jingzhai, the son of Imam Dai Mingxuan, reopened the restaurant at the North Weimen Gate of Wangjiaying. It was forced to close after 1937 due to the Japanese invasion of China, but it reopened after 1945. After the public-private partnership in 1958, the halal restaurant was merged into the Huaiyin Food and Beverage Company No. 2, with Ma Hengpu serving as manager. At the end of 1959, it moved to Beijing Road. It had three storefront rooms in the front and four kitchen rooms in the back, with Wang Jinbiao taking over as manager. After the 1970s, Li Haiquan took over as manager and renamed it the Hui Muslim Restaurant. After the 1980s, Ma Hengbao led the construction of a new two-story building, and Dai Peng took over as manager. In 2003, the Hui Muslim Restaurant was restructured into a private enterprise and has continued to operate to this day.



















Besides the fried dough snack (youtoutou), you should also try Huai'an spicy soup (latang) when visiting Wangjiaying. Many restaurants here serve it. Compared to Henan spicy soup (hulatang), the Huai'an spicy soup (latang) has a milder taste. It uses less ginger and pepper. It contains shredded kelp, gluten, dried tofu strips (gansi), and glass noodles (fensi). Those who prefer a light flavor can drink it as is, while those who like it stronger can add chili sauce.

We drank the spicy soup (latang) at the Dachong Small Restaurant in front of the Wangjiaying Mosque and also ate beef potstickers (guotie), beef soup, and beef noodles. The potstickers (guotie) here are quite small. One serving has five, so you can order two servings. They are all pan-fried to order.













The Hui Muslim shops near Wangjiaying are likely the most concentrated in all of Jiangsu Province, which shows the strength of the local faith.















Shops opened by Hui Muslims from Matou Town near Wangjiaying. Matou Town was once the meeting point of the Middle Grand Canal and the Li Canal. Many Hui Muslims have lived there since the Qing Dynasty. They built three mosques over time at Xiyuba Village, the mouth of the Li Canal, and the old long street at the south end of town. The current Matou Mosque was moved and rebuilt in 2008, but I did not have time to visit it on this trip.



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Summary: Changying Hui Township in Beijing has a lively weekend market with halal food, local snacks, and vendors from the Hui Muslim community. This account keeps the market route, dishes, prices where given, and photographs in the original order.

I went to the big market in Changying on Sunday morning. I worked near Changying for nine years and only changed jobs last year, and then the big market opened there. The market is open every day until noon, and it is busiest on weekends.

In the morning, I first had breakfast at Qingyanfang on Changying Middle Road, where I ordered steamed buns (xiaolongbao), lucky bags (fudai), pumpkin porridge, and purple rice porridge. Lucky bags are similar to egg fritters (jidan guozi), but they are rarely seen in Beijing. There were no halal steamed buns before, but some shops have started making them in recent years.







After breakfast, I walked north along the Changying intersection to reach the big market at the southeast corner of Changying Sports Park. There are many halal shops at the market.

We first bought beef head meat at Chen's to take home for a stir-fry. Their shop's water kettle sign (tangping pai) was made by my friend Dong Yidong, and this traditional style of sign is very rare now.











The market also has crispy fried dough snacks (gezhihe) from Hui Muslims in Tongzhou, and they also sell fermented mung bean milk (douzhier) from Baoji; many people buy it, but it was sold out when we got there.



There is a Huadu chicken stall at the market, and we bought a free-range chicken to take home for a big plate chicken (dapanji) dish. Huadu has a halal chicken slaughter and processing plant in Luanping, Hebei, which supplies the Beijing market and also exports to Japan. They have opened online shops in recent years, and much of the halal chicken you can buy online now comes from them.





The market also has all kinds of beef, mutton, fruits, and vegetables, especially free samples; we tried muskmelon, nectarines, apples, and watermelon, which made my son very happy.















The northernmost row of the market is the snack area, where a noodle shop sells cold noodles, which are perfect for summer.



The two most popular snacks at the market are crispy fried cakes (cuipi zhagao) and freshly baked naan bread (kaonang), both of which have long lines. The naan shop uses a bamboo charcoal oven, and the naan they make is especially fragrant with a texture different from electric-baked ones. We arrived a bit late and missed the freshly baked meat pies (kaobaozi), but if you go earlier, they are surely very fragrant when they come out of the oven.













After visiting the Changying market, we took the bus for three stops to Guanzhuang Road to eat at Bu Hui Qiqihar Barbecue. I haven't been here for several years, and it is very popular on weekend afternoons now; we waited for half an hour to get a table. They now offer a nine-grid set meal with meat and shrimp, which is quite rich, and the set also includes almond tofu, sliced frozen pears, and small sticky bean buns (niandoubao). It was my first time eating Northeast-style sticky bean buns, which are made of yellow rice flour wrapped around a kidney bean filling; they aren't sweet, with a light flavor of yellow rice and kidney beans that everyone liked. For our main course, we ordered stone pot bibimbap, basin bibimbap, and cold noodles. My mother-in-law tried stone pot rice (bibimbap) for the first time and really liked the taste. The side dishes inside were also very nutritious. Cold noodles (lengmian) are the main reason I come to this restaurant. The weather is getting hotter now, and a bowl of these sweet and sour noodles is especially refreshing.





















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Reposted from the web

Summary: Hexia Ancient Town in Huai'an, Jiangsu, connects mosque history, local fried tea snacks (sanzi), and the tomb of Zuo Baogui. This account keeps the town, food, cemetery, and mosque details together as one walking travel note.

Hexia Ancient Town in Huai'an, Jiangsu, is the largest town on the outskirts of Huai'an Prefecture. Because the salt fields along the coast of Huaibei produced high-quality salt, many salt merchants from the northwest and Anhui came to Huaibei in the late Ming Dynasty to work in the salt trade. The Huaibei Salt Transport Office was located in Hexia Town. Salt from the fields had to be shipped to Hexia for inspection before merchants could sell it elsewhere. Hexia Town then entered its most prosperous period. Salt merchants built gardens and courtyards there. The Qing Dynasty record 'Huai'an Hexia Annals' states: 'Wealthy salt merchants brought their fortunes and made their homes in Hexia, and Hexia became extremely prosperous.' The wealth brought by these merchants made the town's commerce thrive, and many Hui Muslims also came to settle in Hexia.

Hexia Mosque (Hexia Si) is located south of Luojia Bridge in Hexia Town. It was first built during the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty. In 1860, during the tenth year of the Xianfeng reign, the Nian Rebellion captured Huai'an and burned down ten rooms of the mosque, which were later rebuilt. The main hall of the mosque is a Qing Dynasty structure with blue bricks, dark tiles, and upturned eaves. It is a typical Jianghuai architectural style and was listed as a Huai'an cultural heritage site in 2006.

Above the main hall door hangs a chestnut wood plaque inscribed with 'Si Wu Xie' (Think No Evil) by Tian Rui, the prefect of Huai'an in the tenth year of the Daoguang reign. The sides originally held plaques from anti-Japanese hero Zuo Baogui and Yunnan commander Ma Chang'an, but these were destroyed after the 1960s.

The imam (sha ahong) of the mosque usually stays at a nearby beef and mutton shop. If you call the number posted on the mosque gate, he will come over to open it.

















An ancient well dug in the early Qing Dynasty.































When I visited Huai'an in 2017, there was still a large Hui Muslim restaurant in Hexia, but it has since closed. Only Chen's Halal Sesame Oil Fried Dough Twists (Chenji Qingzhen Mayou Chagou) remain on the old street. Huai'an fried dough twists (chagou) are very thin, light yellow, crispy, and delicious. Children especially love them.











In the early years of the Republic of China, a Hui Muslim named Zhang Bugao opened the Kaifuxingzhai Halal Restaurant in Hexia, which was a famous Hui Muslim eatery at the time. The restaurant had 11 rooms, with two facing the street as the storefront. The building still stands today. It was listed as a Huai'an cultural heritage site in 2009 and now serves as a Hanfu clothing shop and a private residence.









There is a tomb of Zuo Baogui in the Xiaohu Renjia residential area of Hexia Town.

Zuo Baogui was born in 1837 in the Yimeng Mountains of Linyi, Shandong. In 1856, due to severe local disasters, his parents passed away one after another. Zuo Baogui took his two younger brothers and left home. They spent several months traveling to Hexia Town in Huai'an, Jiangsu, by repairing shoes along the way. In Hexia, Zuo Baogui married a local Hui Muslim woman named Tao Erjie. Shortly after, he joined the army, commanded troops in Fengtian for 20 years, and eventually died heroically while fighting the Japanese invaders in Pyongyang.

After Zuo Baogui died, his body could not be recovered. His soldiers brought his blood-stained clothes and one of his boots back to Huai'an. His wife, Madam Tao, and his three sons buried them in their own field by the river near Luojia Bridge in Hexia. Madam Tao and one of their sons were also buried next to the tomb after they passed away (gui zhen). In 1895, the twenty-first year of the Guangxu reign, his descendants built the 'Zuo Zhongzhuang Gong Shrine' on the south side of the tomb, which was later demolished by Japanese and puppet forces during the War of Resistance Against Japan. Additionally, the main hall of the Hexia Mosque once featured a gold-inlaid couplet written by the Guangxu Emperor as a memorial for Zuo Baogui, but it was destroyed in the 1960s.













Luojia Bridge in Hexia Ancient Town is a gathering place for local Hui Muslims. The old houses are still there, but it is now difficult to see the Hui Muslim character in the decorations.





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Reposted from the web

Summary: This is the first part of a walk through the Medina of Tunis, with attention to historic guesthouses, food, markets, and daily street scenes. It keeps the original place names, cultural notes, and photographs in source order.

The Medina of Tunis was founded in 698. It grew to its current size after becoming the capital of the Hafsid dynasty in 1228. At that time, the Medina of Tunis was one of the grandest cities in Africa, with a population of 100,000, including many Andalusians who fled Spain. During the rule of the Muradids in 1613, the city of Tunis underwent large-scale construction, and many of those buildings still stand today. In 1979, the Medina of Tunis was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The main gate of the Medina of Tunis is Bab al-Bhar on the east side. Tourists visiting the old city usually take a taxi to this spot. There are stalls selling cactus fruit at the gate. It was my first time trying it; they cut it up and sell it by the piece for a cheap price.

Inside the east gate is the main market of the old city. The items sold here are geared toward tourists, and it is the only place in the old city where you will see Chinese tourists.



















Accommodation

Just inside the east gate of the old city is the Hotel Royal Victoria, built in 1914. This was the site of the British Consulate in Tunis, founded in 1662. It was rebuilt in the Moorish Revival style in 1914. After Tunisia gained independence in 1956, it became an embassy. It opened as the Hotel Royal Victoria after the embassy moved in 2004. Many guesthouses in the Medina of Tunis do not allow check-ins in the middle of the night. If you arrive in Tunis on a late-night flight, I recommend this hotel, as it is also very easy to reach.

The hotel decor is very retro. Once you step inside, it feels like you have traveled back a hundred years. A plaque on the hotel's outer wall mentions the Treaty of Peace and Commerce between Great Britain and Tunis signed in 1662. In the late 17th century, Tunisia was a regency of the Ottoman Empire. At that time, Tunisia was nominally loyal to the Ottoman Sultan and provided military support, but it actually held the initiative in foreign trade and diplomacy, and it practiced state-sanctioned piracy. In 1662, Britain and Tunisia signed a treaty. Britain would redeem all slaves at the price they were first sold for in the market. At the same time, British ships would not be attacked, British merchants could practice their religion freely and be free from persecution, and all trade would be subject to fixed taxes. From then on, British merchants began to build trade networks in Tunisia. Imported British cloth began to be sold in Tunisian markets, and the British also ate grain products produced in Tunisia.



















The hallways, elevators, and ceilings of the Hotel Royal Victoria are decorated with traditional patterns and are very ornate.



















The traditional houses inside the old city are definitely worth staying in. There are several traditional houses in the old city where you can stay, but most are private guesthouses. Only a very small number are run by formal hotels, and the prices are very high. The environment of these guesthouses is certainly not as good as high-end hotels, but you can experience the real living environment of the Medina, so it is worth staying for a night.

We stayed at Dar Zyne this time. It is less than a 10-minute walk from the east gate of the old city along the bazaar. The interior decoration is very traditional, just like the old city scenery you would imagine. The room size listed on the booking website is fake; the rooms are actually quite small. Eating breakfast leisurely in the courtyard in the morning feels very worth it.



















Inside and outside Dar Zyne, you meet history.



















Food

There is a famous Tunisian restaurant called Bab Tounès in a small alley just inside the east gate of the old city, but it does not have the trendy vibe you see back home, and there are not many customers at night. They do not accept credit cards, so remember to bring cash.

They follow the typical Tunisian way of ordering: after you choose your main course, they automatically bring out appetizers and baguette bread. The appetizers are the common Tunisian green pepper salad (Mechouia) and Tunisian salad. Tunisian salad is made of diced cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions mixed with olive oil, topped with boiled eggs and tuna. Mechouia salad contains green peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and other ingredients; Tunisians love it, and it is rich in vitamins and very healthy.









The snack Brik pastry is a North African Berber dish. The filling usually contains eggs, tuna, harissa chili paste (Harissa), and parsley, then it is wrapped in a crispy dough called Malsouka or Warka and deep-fried.







The main course is lamb couscous (Couscous). Couscous is a staple food for the Berber people, made by rubbing semolina into millet-sized grains and then drying them.



The Tunisian specialty dessert Assidat Zgougou is something every family makes during the Prophet's Birthday, then shares with relatives and neighbors.

Assidat Zgougou is made from Mediterranean pine nut powder, flour, milk, and sugar. The dark layer at the bottom is made by grinding Mediterranean pine nuts and cooking them with wheat flour. The top layer is a milk pudding made from milk, starch, sugar, eggs, and orange blossom essence, topped with crushed nuts.



Near our homestay, there is a Tunisian family restaurant called Dar Essafa located in an old house. A grandmother is the owner and chef, and a young Black man is the waiter who speaks English. The shop also has an English menu and follows the same classic set meal style, where you can choose couscous or spaghetti. We had the couscous, served with Tunisian salad, tuna Brik pastry, and baguette, followed by tea and Makroudh cookies, which felt like a real home-cooked Tunisian meal. Makroudh is a classic dessert for breaking the fast in the North African Maghreb region. The outside is made of semolina, and the inside is filled with date paste and dried fruits, then baked and soaked in syrup.



















Except for the first day when I had breakfast in the homestay courtyard, I chose restaurants in the Medina old city for breakfast for the following days. This Cafe Restaurant M'rabet is located just west of the Great Mosque of Kairouan (Zaytuna Mosque). The environment inside is excellent, and it is very popular with locals and tourists; if it were back home, it would definitely be a trendy spot for photos.

The ancient building where M'rabet is located was founded in the early 17th century by Ali Thabet, who was a close advisor to Youssef Dey, the ruler of the Ottoman dynasty in Tunisia. This place was a long-time meeting spot for the Ottoman Janissaries and features unique stone pillars and stone benches. The breakfast at the shop is very hearty, with many options ranging from small to large portions. We actually chose the large single-person meal, which includes coffee, fruit, juice, egg pancakes, sausages, various cheeses, and various breads; it is a true example of a healthy Mediterranean diet.





















El Ali Restaurant & Cafe in the old town is also inside an old building, but the rooftop terrace is very bright and perfect for a relaxing brunch. We ordered the single-person breakfast set, which comes with various cheeses, bread, fried eggs, a large sausage and cheese wrap, lemonade, and coffee; it was just the right amount for two people.



















Essaraya Restaurant is likely the most ornately decorated restaurant in the old town, styled entirely after the 18th and 19th-century Husainid dynasty, with very old-school waiters and live oud music performances. The entrance is inside the old town market and is very easy to miss; we happened to run into a waiter guiding people at the door when we arrived. I also recommend coming during the day, as they turn on purple mood lighting in the hall at night, which does not look good in photos.



















At Essaraya Restaurant, we ordered a Tunisian-style tomato fish stew called Kabkabou, seasoned with onions, black olives, tomatoes, harissa, saffron, and capers. Capers are native to the Mediterranean coast, and the unique aroma in smoked salmon comes from capers. We also ordered an appetizer platter, which is quite worth it; it includes a little bit of everything so you can try them all at once.



















When wandering around the old town, you must have a cup of mint tea on the street. El Qobba, located inside the West Gate, has a great atmosphere with very traditional interior decor and wonderful outdoor views. Ordering a cup of mint tea to chat and enjoy the scenery is very pleasant.



















Tunisian chapati flatbread on the streets of the old town. Tunisian chapati flatbread has the same name as Indian chapati bread but is very different. Tunisian chapati flatbread is filled with eggs, minced tuna, and harissa; the ones in the north are round, while the Chapati Mahdia in the eastern coastal regions are semi-circular.















Desserts and lemonade in the market; eat while you walk to experience the charm of the old town.







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Summary: This article looks back at Ramadan 2025 at Balizhuang Mosque in Beijing. It keeps the original community scenes, iftar details, prayers, people, and photographs in a clean English layout.

This is my third Ramadan at the Balizhuang mosque in Beijing. The atmosphere at the mosque is great and the food is delicious, so it feels worth it even when I have to squeeze onto the subway during the evening rush hour on workdays.



This year, the mosque put the post-prayer recitations for Taraweeh on a large whiteboard, which helps everyone recite together more smoothly. The benefit of praying Taraweeh at the mosque is that you follow the imam and do not make mistakes, whereas I sometimes lose focus when praying alone. Another benefit is the strong sense of community when we break our fast together, and it is very powerful when we all recite the post-prayer words together.























First, let me share the snacks and fruits for breaking the fast. You can eat various traditional Beijing snacks carefully made by the elders here, such as steamed rice cakes (aiwowo), candied yam rolls (tangjuanguo), glutinous rice rolls with bean flour (lvdagun), fried sweet potato (zha baishu), ginger juice fried dough crisps (jiangzhi paicha), salt and pepper fried dough crisps (jiaoyan paicha), lotus root with glutinous rice (nuomi ou), sticky rice cake (niangao), yellow rice cake (huangmi gao), jujube corn buns (zao wotou), pea flour cake (wandouhuang), and sugar ear pastries (tang erduo).











































The dinner after the sunset prayer (maghrib) is also wonderful, featuring rice with stir-fried dishes, noodles with gravy (dalu mian), steamed buns (baozi), and fish head with flatbread (yutou paobing), which rotate daily.

Side dishes for the rice include fried meat (songrou), braised chicken legs (huangmen jitu), minced meat with green beans, braised eggplant, and braised meatballs. For soups and porridge, there is winter melon meatball soup, tofu puff soup, and mung bean porridge. Of course, fermented bean drink (douzhi) with fermented bean curd (ma doufu) is also a major Beijing specialty!









































Once a week, we have noodles with gravy (dalu mian) and noodles with eggplant (qieding mian). The vegetable toppings include blanched cabbage, celery, cowpeas, bean sprouts, soybeans, cucumber, and garlic sprouts. The gravy is not too salty, which is perfect for breaking the fast.



















The steamed buns (baozi) served once a week come in beef and green onion, beef and cabbage, and beef and fennel fillings. My favorite is the beef and fennel filling. Many shops now only sell fennel and egg steamed buns, so it is not easy to find beef and fennel ones.















Fish head with flatbread (yutou paobing) is also a Beijing specialty. The flatbreads (laobing) are made by the elders themselves and are very dense; they are delicious when dipped in the fish head broth.









After eating the fish head with flatbread, the leftover flatbread can be made into stir-fried flatbread (chaobing), which is also a favorite for Beijingers.



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