Islamic History Guide: Quanzhou Chendai Mosque and Chendai Hui Muslim History Museum
Reposted from the web
Summary: Quanzhou Chendai Mosque and Chendai Hui Muslim History Museum is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Quanzhou, Chendai Mosque, Hui Muslims.
Quanzhou background summary:
The thousand-year-old Qingjing Mosque in Quanzhou.
Echoes of the faith: The Hui Muslim family temple of the Guo clan in Xingzhai, Quanzhou.
Stone carvings from the Islamic faith of the Song and Yuan dynasties at the Quanzhou Maritime Museum.
At noon, I took a taxi south of Quanzhou to Chendai Mosque, which is the other mosque in Quanzhou besides Qingjing Mosque.
According to family records, the first ancestor of the Chendai Ding clan, Ding Jin, whose courtesy name was Jiezhai, was originally from Suzhou and settled in Quanzhou for trade. The third ancestor, Ding Kui (1298-1379), moved with the fourth ancestor, Ding Shan (1343-1420), from Quanzhou city to Chendai, over ten kilometers south of the city.
The Chendai Ding clan maintained their Islamic faith for over two hundred years from the 13th to the 16th century. The tenth-generation descendant Ding Yanxia, born around 1517, recorded the Islamic customs he experienced during his childhood in great detail in his work, 'Zujiao Shuo' (Discourse on Ancestral Faith). By the mid-16th century, the religious practices of the Ding family in Chendai underwent major changes. According to the records of the 12th-generation descendant Ding Qing in the Jiyi Jiyan, Fenxi Gong (Ding Yi) was the first to enter official service, and he followed the rites of the scholar-officials to honor his ancestors without daring to violate the teachings of Islam. However, when three generations—Huai Gong (Ding Zishen), Wuting Gong (Ding Rijin), and Zhechu Gong (Ding Qijun)—all passed the imperial examinations, the family's reputation soared, and the practice of Islam nearly faded away. Starting with the 8th-generation Ding Yi, the Chendai Ding family began their path into officialdom by passing the imperial examinations. By the 10th generation, 20 family members had become scholars. These men followed Confucian ethics and social norms in everything they did, which sped up the disappearance of their religious traditions.
It was not until the early 20th century, nearly 400 years later, that the religious life of the Chendai Ding family began to revive. In the early 1920s, the famous Hui Muslim Tang Kesan served as the director of the Xiamen Customs. He recommended his fellow townsman Zhang Guangyu to lead religious affairs in the Quanzhou area. After Imam Zhang Guangyu arrived in Quanzhou, he worked diligently on religious matters, and the religious life in Chendai began to reappear. In 1939, Chendai established the Chenjiang Branch of the China Islamic National Salvation Association. Some members of the Chendai Ding family went to the Qingjing Mosque in Quanzhou for their weekly Friday prayer (jumu'ah). Later, they converted the Wenchang Shrine in the Sijing village into a mosque and hired Imam Tie from Quanzhou to lead their religious services. Between 1937 and 1944, the Chengda Normal School moved south to Guilin. Its founders, Tang Kesan and Imam Ma Songting, accepted 17 young men from the Ding family of Chendai to study there.
In the late 1950s, religious activities in Chendai were forced to stop. Ding Jinshun, a graduate of Chengda Normal School, was criticized and struggled because he mentioned in class that he was a Hui Muslim. In 1983, Ding Jinshun and Ding Jinhe attended the founding meeting of the Fujian Islamic Association. After that, Chengda Normal School graduates Ding Jinshun, Ding Jinhe, Ding Jinke, Ding Jinhong, and over twenty other people dedicated to the faith formed the Chendai Islamic Association Group and began to restore religious life. They borrowed the second-floor meeting room of the Chendai Hui Affairs Committee and the back hall of the Ding Family Ancestral Hall to hold Friday prayers (Jumu'ah), with Ding Jinshun serving as the imam. During the two Eids (Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha), they invited classmates from Chengda Normal School in Guilin and an imam from Jiaxing, Zhejiang, to lead the services.
After the Chendai Islamic Association Group was established, they began preparing to build the Chendai Mosque. They sent out a letter to Muslims across the country, but only a few mosques in Ankang, Shaanxi, and Yunnan sent a few hundred yuan in funds. After this, former classmates from Yuanchengda Normal School in Hong Kong sent the Letter to Ding Clan Relatives to Ding family members in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and overseas. They received 70,000 yuan in donations from the Five Halal Surnames Association (Jin, Ding, Ma, Bai, and Guo, all originating from Hui Muslims in Quanzhou) based in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and the Philippines.
Chendai Mosque was built in 1991 and officially opened in 1993, when the Jinjiang Islamic Association was also established. The Ding family of Chendai hired Imam Ma Zhiwei from Inner Mongolia as their first religious leader, while Ding Jinke and Ding Jinshun served as the first directors of the mosque management committee and the Islamic Association, respectively. After the 1990s, the Chendai Ding family sent nearly 60 young people to study religion at home and abroad, with some attending Arabic language schools in Inner Mongolia.
Inside the courtyard of Chendai Mosque stands a Tree of Friendship planted in 1991 by the UNESCO Maritime Silk Road expedition team and the then-ambassadors to China from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain. It is now lush and green.
The Chendai Hui Muslim History Museum is located inside the Ding Family Ancestral Hall, and you can enter it directly from the courtyard of Chendai Mosque. The Ding Family Ancestral Hall was first built in the early 15th century. It was destroyed during the Wokou pirate raids in 1561 (the 40th year of the Jiajing reign). It was soon rebuilt under the leadership of Ding Yi and Ding Zishen, expanded again by Ding Rijin in 1599 (the 27th year of the Wanli reign), and renovated several times during the Xianfeng and Guangxu periods. The Chendai Hui Muslim History Museum opened inside the Ding Family Ancestral Hall in 1984 to display the cultural heritage of the Chendai Ding Hui Muslims.
The Chendai Hui Muslims History Museum is usually closed. Just call Uncle Ding, the caretaker, using the number on the wall by the door. He will come over to open it for you, and admission is free.
Inside the museum, you can see plaques for the Chendai Hui Muslims History Museum and the Chendai Ten Thousand Dings, both inscribed by Yang Jingren, who served as the head of the United Front Work Department and the director of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission. Next to the plaques, there are beautiful wood carvings of Kufic script, which is a style of Arabic calligraphy.
The auspicious bird symbol of the Chendai Ding family reminds people of the Lion of Ali emblem found on walls in Shia communities in Bangkok. These are all symbols of ethnic identity.
The most important artifact in the Chendai Hui Muslims History Museum is the tombstone of Ding Jiezhai, the ancestor of the Chendai Ding family. The front of the tombstone is inscribed with 'Erected in the winter of the fourth year of the Taiding era (1327), Tomb of Ding Jiezhai of the Great Yuan,' and the back says 'Buried at the original site of Lingtang Mountain in Dongtangtou.' Wu Wenliang discovered the Ding Jiezhai tombstone in 1940 while digging at the foundation of the East Gate in Quanzhou. In 2003, his children donated it to the Chendai Hui Muslims History Museum, where it is kept today.
According to the Ding family genealogy, the Ren'an Fujun Biography, 'Master Jiezhai came from Suzhou to trade in Minquan and chose to settle in Quanzhou city.' The inscription mentioning Dongtangtou Lingtang Mountain refers to the Lingshan Sacred Tomb, which has been the burial site for the Ding family of Chendai since the Yuan Dynasty.
Various stone carvings on display at the Chendai Hui Muslims History Museum.
Famous figures from the Ding family of Chendai introduced inside the Chendai Hui Muslims History Museum.
Ding Gongchen (1800-1875) was a mechanical engineering expert in the late Qing Dynasty. When he was young, he traveled abroad for business to places like the Philippines, Iran, and Arabia, where he gathered a lot of knowledge about Western machinery. After Ding Gongchen returned to China in 1840, the Opium War broke out. Based on his research into Western firearms, he wrote the book Illustrated Explanation of Artillery (Yanpao Tushuo) and tested cast cannons in Guangdong, which became the most advanced artillery in the Qing Dynasty at that time. After the war, Ding Gongchen revised his book into the Essentials of Illustrated Explanation of Artillery (Yanpao Tushuo Jiyao). The attached section, Illustrated Explanation of Western Steam-Powered Vehicles and Ships, was the first book written by a Chinese author about steam engines, trains, and steamships. In 1850, Ding Gongchen successfully developed a modern large rocket made from a metal rocket tube in Guilin, marking the beginning of modern rocket research in China.
entrepreneurs from the Ding family of Chendai include Anta Group Chairman Ding Shizhong and Vice Chairman Ding Shijia, Xtep Group founder Ding Jinzhao and President Ding Shuibo, 361° Chairman Ding Wuhao, and Silan Group Chairman Ding Zongyin.
The plaques and ancestral spirit tablets inside the Chendai Hui Muslims History Museum.
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Summary: Quanzhou Chendai Mosque and Chendai Hui Muslim History Museum is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Quanzhou, Chendai Mosque, Hui Muslims.
Quanzhou background summary:
The thousand-year-old Qingjing Mosque in Quanzhou.
Echoes of the faith: The Hui Muslim family temple of the Guo clan in Xingzhai, Quanzhou.
Stone carvings from the Islamic faith of the Song and Yuan dynasties at the Quanzhou Maritime Museum.
At noon, I took a taxi south of Quanzhou to Chendai Mosque, which is the other mosque in Quanzhou besides Qingjing Mosque.
According to family records, the first ancestor of the Chendai Ding clan, Ding Jin, whose courtesy name was Jiezhai, was originally from Suzhou and settled in Quanzhou for trade. The third ancestor, Ding Kui (1298-1379), moved with the fourth ancestor, Ding Shan (1343-1420), from Quanzhou city to Chendai, over ten kilometers south of the city.
The Chendai Ding clan maintained their Islamic faith for over two hundred years from the 13th to the 16th century. The tenth-generation descendant Ding Yanxia, born around 1517, recorded the Islamic customs he experienced during his childhood in great detail in his work, 'Zujiao Shuo' (Discourse on Ancestral Faith). By the mid-16th century, the religious practices of the Ding family in Chendai underwent major changes. According to the records of the 12th-generation descendant Ding Qing in the Jiyi Jiyan, Fenxi Gong (Ding Yi) was the first to enter official service, and he followed the rites of the scholar-officials to honor his ancestors without daring to violate the teachings of Islam. However, when three generations—Huai Gong (Ding Zishen), Wuting Gong (Ding Rijin), and Zhechu Gong (Ding Qijun)—all passed the imperial examinations, the family's reputation soared, and the practice of Islam nearly faded away. Starting with the 8th-generation Ding Yi, the Chendai Ding family began their path into officialdom by passing the imperial examinations. By the 10th generation, 20 family members had become scholars. These men followed Confucian ethics and social norms in everything they did, which sped up the disappearance of their religious traditions.
It was not until the early 20th century, nearly 400 years later, that the religious life of the Chendai Ding family began to revive. In the early 1920s, the famous Hui Muslim Tang Kesan served as the director of the Xiamen Customs. He recommended his fellow townsman Zhang Guangyu to lead religious affairs in the Quanzhou area. After Imam Zhang Guangyu arrived in Quanzhou, he worked diligently on religious matters, and the religious life in Chendai began to reappear. In 1939, Chendai established the Chenjiang Branch of the China Islamic National Salvation Association. Some members of the Chendai Ding family went to the Qingjing Mosque in Quanzhou for their weekly Friday prayer (jumu'ah). Later, they converted the Wenchang Shrine in the Sijing village into a mosque and hired Imam Tie from Quanzhou to lead their religious services. Between 1937 and 1944, the Chengda Normal School moved south to Guilin. Its founders, Tang Kesan and Imam Ma Songting, accepted 17 young men from the Ding family of Chendai to study there.
In the late 1950s, religious activities in Chendai were forced to stop. Ding Jinshun, a graduate of Chengda Normal School, was criticized and struggled because he mentioned in class that he was a Hui Muslim. In 1983, Ding Jinshun and Ding Jinhe attended the founding meeting of the Fujian Islamic Association. After that, Chengda Normal School graduates Ding Jinshun, Ding Jinhe, Ding Jinke, Ding Jinhong, and over twenty other people dedicated to the faith formed the Chendai Islamic Association Group and began to restore religious life. They borrowed the second-floor meeting room of the Chendai Hui Affairs Committee and the back hall of the Ding Family Ancestral Hall to hold Friday prayers (Jumu'ah), with Ding Jinshun serving as the imam. During the two Eids (Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha), they invited classmates from Chengda Normal School in Guilin and an imam from Jiaxing, Zhejiang, to lead the services.
After the Chendai Islamic Association Group was established, they began preparing to build the Chendai Mosque. They sent out a letter to Muslims across the country, but only a few mosques in Ankang, Shaanxi, and Yunnan sent a few hundred yuan in funds. After this, former classmates from Yuanchengda Normal School in Hong Kong sent the Letter to Ding Clan Relatives to Ding family members in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and overseas. They received 70,000 yuan in donations from the Five Halal Surnames Association (Jin, Ding, Ma, Bai, and Guo, all originating from Hui Muslims in Quanzhou) based in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and the Philippines.
Chendai Mosque was built in 1991 and officially opened in 1993, when the Jinjiang Islamic Association was also established. The Ding family of Chendai hired Imam Ma Zhiwei from Inner Mongolia as their first religious leader, while Ding Jinke and Ding Jinshun served as the first directors of the mosque management committee and the Islamic Association, respectively. After the 1990s, the Chendai Ding family sent nearly 60 young people to study religion at home and abroad, with some attending Arabic language schools in Inner Mongolia.
Inside the courtyard of Chendai Mosque stands a Tree of Friendship planted in 1991 by the UNESCO Maritime Silk Road expedition team and the then-ambassadors to China from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain. It is now lush and green.
The Chendai Hui Muslim History Museum is located inside the Ding Family Ancestral Hall, and you can enter it directly from the courtyard of Chendai Mosque. The Ding Family Ancestral Hall was first built in the early 15th century. It was destroyed during the Wokou pirate raids in 1561 (the 40th year of the Jiajing reign). It was soon rebuilt under the leadership of Ding Yi and Ding Zishen, expanded again by Ding Rijin in 1599 (the 27th year of the Wanli reign), and renovated several times during the Xianfeng and Guangxu periods. The Chendai Hui Muslim History Museum opened inside the Ding Family Ancestral Hall in 1984 to display the cultural heritage of the Chendai Ding Hui Muslims.
The Chendai Hui Muslims History Museum is usually closed. Just call Uncle Ding, the caretaker, using the number on the wall by the door. He will come over to open it for you, and admission is free.
Inside the museum, you can see plaques for the Chendai Hui Muslims History Museum and the Chendai Ten Thousand Dings, both inscribed by Yang Jingren, who served as the head of the United Front Work Department and the director of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission. Next to the plaques, there are beautiful wood carvings of Kufic script, which is a style of Arabic calligraphy.
The auspicious bird symbol of the Chendai Ding family reminds people of the Lion of Ali emblem found on walls in Shia communities in Bangkok. These are all symbols of ethnic identity.
The most important artifact in the Chendai Hui Muslims History Museum is the tombstone of Ding Jiezhai, the ancestor of the Chendai Ding family. The front of the tombstone is inscribed with 'Erected in the winter of the fourth year of the Taiding era (1327), Tomb of Ding Jiezhai of the Great Yuan,' and the back says 'Buried at the original site of Lingtang Mountain in Dongtangtou.' Wu Wenliang discovered the Ding Jiezhai tombstone in 1940 while digging at the foundation of the East Gate in Quanzhou. In 2003, his children donated it to the Chendai Hui Muslims History Museum, where it is kept today.
According to the Ding family genealogy, the Ren'an Fujun Biography, 'Master Jiezhai came from Suzhou to trade in Minquan and chose to settle in Quanzhou city.' The inscription mentioning Dongtangtou Lingtang Mountain refers to the Lingshan Sacred Tomb, which has been the burial site for the Ding family of Chendai since the Yuan Dynasty.
Various stone carvings on display at the Chendai Hui Muslims History Museum.
Famous figures from the Ding family of Chendai introduced inside the Chendai Hui Muslims History Museum.
Ding Gongchen (1800-1875) was a mechanical engineering expert in the late Qing Dynasty. When he was young, he traveled abroad for business to places like the Philippines, Iran, and Arabia, where he gathered a lot of knowledge about Western machinery. After Ding Gongchen returned to China in 1840, the Opium War broke out. Based on his research into Western firearms, he wrote the book Illustrated Explanation of Artillery (Yanpao Tushuo) and tested cast cannons in Guangdong, which became the most advanced artillery in the Qing Dynasty at that time. After the war, Ding Gongchen revised his book into the Essentials of Illustrated Explanation of Artillery (Yanpao Tushuo Jiyao). The attached section, Illustrated Explanation of Western Steam-Powered Vehicles and Ships, was the first book written by a Chinese author about steam engines, trains, and steamships. In 1850, Ding Gongchen successfully developed a modern large rocket made from a metal rocket tube in Guilin, marking the beginning of modern rocket research in China.
entrepreneurs from the Ding family of Chendai include Anta Group Chairman Ding Shizhong and Vice Chairman Ding Shijia, Xtep Group founder Ding Jinzhao and President Ding Shuibo, 361° Chairman Ding Wuhao, and Silan Group Chairman Ding Zongyin.
The plaques and ancestral spirit tablets inside the Chendai Hui Muslims History Museum.
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Muslim Culture Guide: Beijing Tongzhou Xiguan Mosque - Shenghui Gathering
Reposted from the web
Summary: Beijing Tongzhou Xiguan Mosque - Shenghui Gathering is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Tongzhou, Xiguan Mosque, Shenghui.
The month of Rabi' al-Awwal is halfway over, and today we went to the Xiguan Mosque in Tongzhou to attend the Mawlid celebration. In the morning, we first had meat porridge (rouzhou), then went into the prayer hall to complete the scripture reading and listen to the imam give a sermon (wa'z) about the life of the Prophet.
The 12th day of the third month of the Islamic calendar is believed to be the birthday of the Prophet. Around this time every year, Muslims all over the world hold events to commemorate the Prophet, known as Mawlid or Eid-e-Milad an-Nabi, which are called Shengji, Sheng-hui, or Shengdan in China.
Mawlid activities can be traced back to the time of the followers of the Prophet's companions (Tabi'un), though they were mostly private events in the early days. Large-scale commemorative events can be traced back to 12th-century Egypt during the Fatimid Caliphate. In 1207, Saladin's brother-in-law Gökböri first established Mawlid as a public holiday, which helped the celebration spread among Muslim communities. The Ottoman Empire declared Mawlid a legal holiday in 1588, calling it Mevlid Kandili, which means the candle festival of the Prophet's birthday.
After sitting down in the lower hall, we were served the traditional North China Hui Muslims' Eight Great Bowls (badawan): stewed meat, braised pork (kourou), crispy meat (songrou), meatballs, kelp, fried tofu puffs (doupao), radish, and lamb offal (yangza). There were also four stir-fried dishes: sautéed lamb liver, stir-fried shrimp, stir-fried diced chicken, and sesame lamb, followed by steamed fish to finish—it was a very rich meal!
Tongzhou Xiguan Mosque was first built in 1766 (the 31st year of the Qianlong reign). The original building was torn down in 1980, rebuilt and reopened for worship in 1999, and moved to its current location in 2012.
Sharing an article about the religious gathering I attended before:
Celebrating the Prophet's birthday (Sheng Hui) at Heying Mosque in Beijing
Spend the weekend in Beijing for the holy gathering (shenghui) Collapse Read »
Summary: Beijing Tongzhou Xiguan Mosque - Shenghui Gathering is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Tongzhou, Xiguan Mosque, Shenghui.
The month of Rabi' al-Awwal is halfway over, and today we went to the Xiguan Mosque in Tongzhou to attend the Mawlid celebration. In the morning, we first had meat porridge (rouzhou), then went into the prayer hall to complete the scripture reading and listen to the imam give a sermon (wa'z) about the life of the Prophet.
The 12th day of the third month of the Islamic calendar is believed to be the birthday of the Prophet. Around this time every year, Muslims all over the world hold events to commemorate the Prophet, known as Mawlid or Eid-e-Milad an-Nabi, which are called Shengji, Sheng-hui, or Shengdan in China.
Mawlid activities can be traced back to the time of the followers of the Prophet's companions (Tabi'un), though they were mostly private events in the early days. Large-scale commemorative events can be traced back to 12th-century Egypt during the Fatimid Caliphate. In 1207, Saladin's brother-in-law Gökböri first established Mawlid as a public holiday, which helped the celebration spread among Muslim communities. The Ottoman Empire declared Mawlid a legal holiday in 1588, calling it Mevlid Kandili, which means the candle festival of the Prophet's birthday.
After sitting down in the lower hall, we were served the traditional North China Hui Muslims' Eight Great Bowls (badawan): stewed meat, braised pork (kourou), crispy meat (songrou), meatballs, kelp, fried tofu puffs (doupao), radish, and lamb offal (yangza). There were also four stir-fried dishes: sautéed lamb liver, stir-fried shrimp, stir-fried diced chicken, and sesame lamb, followed by steamed fish to finish—it was a very rich meal!
Tongzhou Xiguan Mosque was first built in 1766 (the 31st year of the Qianlong reign). The original building was torn down in 1980, rebuilt and reopened for worship in 1999, and moved to its current location in 2012.
Sharing an article about the religious gathering I attended before:
Celebrating the Prophet's birthday (Sheng Hui) at Heying Mosque in Beijing
Spend the weekend in Beijing for the holy gathering (shenghui) Collapse Read »
Muslim Culture Guide: Beijing Heying Mosque - Shenghui Gathering and Community
Reposted from the web
Summary: Beijing Heying Mosque - Shenghui Gathering and Community is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Heying Mosque, Beijing Mosques, Shenghui.
The month of Mawlid has just begun, and mosques all over Beijing are starting to hold celebrations. Last weekend, we attended a celebration at Heying Mosque in Changping. We ate authentic mashed potato paste (yangyu jiaotuan), hand-held lamb ribs (shouba yangletiao), and starch noodle soup (fentang). It was a very blessed occasion. The chili sauce on the mashed potato paste was so fragrant that I couldn't help but pack some to take home. It adds great flavor when dipping steamed buns (momo) or eating clear-stewed meat.
At the celebration, I ate fried dough (youxiang). It was fluffier than the version from Northwest China, feeling like a fusion of Northwest and North China styles. The walnut trees at the mosque are in season right now. The walnuts are very fresh when you crack them open to eat.
Changes at Heying Mosque over the past year include a new bulletin board that introduces the life of Bo Hazhi Shaihai Baba. The north lecture hall has been renovated, making it more convenient for religious gatherings (gan'ermaili). A protection sign for ancient and famous trees has been set up. This place is not only a sacred site for the faith but also an important natural and cultural heritage site.
Further reading:
Spend the weekend in Beijing for the holy gathering (shenghui)
Visiting the tomb of the Western Region sage Bo Hazhi Collapse Read »
Summary: Beijing Heying Mosque - Shenghui Gathering and Community is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Heying Mosque, Beijing Mosques, Shenghui.
The month of Mawlid has just begun, and mosques all over Beijing are starting to hold celebrations. Last weekend, we attended a celebration at Heying Mosque in Changping. We ate authentic mashed potato paste (yangyu jiaotuan), hand-held lamb ribs (shouba yangletiao), and starch noodle soup (fentang). It was a very blessed occasion. The chili sauce on the mashed potato paste was so fragrant that I couldn't help but pack some to take home. It adds great flavor when dipping steamed buns (momo) or eating clear-stewed meat.
At the celebration, I ate fried dough (youxiang). It was fluffier than the version from Northwest China, feeling like a fusion of Northwest and North China styles. The walnut trees at the mosque are in season right now. The walnuts are very fresh when you crack them open to eat.
Changes at Heying Mosque over the past year include a new bulletin board that introduces the life of Bo Hazhi Shaihai Baba. The north lecture hall has been renovated, making it more convenient for religious gatherings (gan'ermaili). A protection sign for ancient and famous trees has been set up. This place is not only a sacred site for the faith but also an important natural and cultural heritage site.
Further reading:
Spend the weekend in Beijing for the holy gathering (shenghui)
Visiting the tomb of the Western Region sage Bo Hazhi Collapse Read »
Islamic Art Guide: Mosque Plaques and Couplets - 50 Pieces of Muslim Calligraphy
Reposted from the web
Summary: Mosque Plaques and Couplets - 50 Pieces of Muslim Calligraphy is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Mosque Plaques, Islamic Calligraphy, Muslim Heritage.
1. The 'Innate Wonderful Truth' (Xiantian Miaoli) plaque at Acheng Mosque in Harbin.
Commissioner of the Prefectural Audit Office, awarded the fourth-rank blue feather, candidate for the position of sub-prefect.
An auspicious day in the ninth lunar month of the Guihai year, the second year of the Tongzhi reign of the Great Qing Dynasty.
This plaque was found in 2006 while repairing the floor of the main hall at Acheng Mosque. Unfortunately, the top and bottom parts of the plaque are missing, so the name of the person who donated it is gone. During the Tongzhi reign, a Manchu Bordered White Banner official named De Kejing'a served as the official for the Alechuka region. It is guessed that he may have donated this plaque.
2. The 'Western Regions Sect Style' (Xiyu Zongfeng) plaque at Acheng Mosque in Harbin.
Deying, imperial appointee, former acting Jilin General, former Alechuka garrison commander, Heilongjiang General, appointed Jilin Deputy Lieutenant-General, awarded the peacock feather for military merit, promoted by one rank, and recorded once for merit.
An auspicious day in the sixth lunar month of the Gengwu year, the ninth year of the Tongzhi reign of the Great Qing Dynasty.
Deying was a member of the Mongol Bordered White Banner in Jilin. He became the deputy lieutenant-general of Acheng (Alechuka) in 1864. Later, he served as the military governor of Jilin and then Heilongjiang. He was highly respected by the people, who called him 'Justice De'.
3. The 'Jiaolong Yuzhou' plaque at the Acheng Mosque in Harbin.
Haguang Hejing, a hereditary cavalry captain and commander of the Jisheng Battalion, who held the rank of brigade general and was in charge of Jilin military affairs.
Erected in the second month of the fourth year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty.
4. The 'Wangu Qingzhen' plaque at the Acheng Mosque in Harbin.
Gadai, a decorated deputy lieutenant-general appointed by the Emperor to guard Acheng (Alechuka) and Lalin.
Erected in the fourth month of the Wuxu year of the Guangxu reign.
Gadai was a member of the Manchu Plain White Banner. He became the deputy lieutenant-general of Acheng (Alechuka) in 1897. He served for one year, presented a plaque to the Acheng Mosque before leaving, and was then transferred to Jinzhou.
5. Acheng Mosque in Harbin: "Great Insight to be Gained"
Respectfully presented by Wang Hongnian, who held the rank of Jianren, served as the Quartermaster for the Deputy Commander of the Northeast Frontier Defense Force stationed in Jilin, and was the Deputy Director of the Jilin Army Clothing Factory, recipient of the Fourth Class Order of the Tiger.
An auspicious day in the sixth lunar month of the 18th year of the Republic of China.
Wang Hongnian was a Hui Muslim army general who served under Zhang Xueliang in the Northeast Frontier Defense Force in 1929. People say the day the plaque was delivered was a grand and lively event. An honor guard from the Jilin Third Normal School escorted it with loud music and drums, and Acheng County Magistrate Bai Hongkui also took part in the ceremony.
6. Acheng Mosque in Harbin:
Craftsmanship like the master builder Gongshu brings joy to this place, with the holy path kept in the heart for three years.
A name recorded in history books praises the halal faith, and after a hundred years, those who walk this ground remember the person.
This was donated by Sun Yulin, a carpenter from Wula Street in Jilin who helped build the mosque, when the Acheng Mosque was rebuilt and finished in 1900.
7. Shenyang South Mosque: "Ancient Teachings of Islam" (Guxun Qingzhen)
The sixth lunar month of the 15th year of the Qianlong reign.
Respectfully erected by Prince Heshuo Zhuang, Mianke.
8. Shenyang Xinmin Mosque: "Correct Yourself to Correct Others" (Zhengji Zhengren)
Respectfully erected on an auspicious day in the seventh lunar month of the 9th year of the Guangxu reign.
Liu Dianyuan, holding the rank of Blue Feather Guard and the position of First Captain.
9. Shenyang Xinmin Mosque: "The One and Only for All Eternity" (Wangu Duyi)
Zhang Delu, Wuxian General, decorated with peacock feathers, waiting for a post as a prefect in Zhili.
Ha Zhongguang, holding the rank of assistant general, decorated with peacock feathers, hereditary Enqiwei (a minor noble title), waiting for a post as a department magistrate in Zhili.
Ma Shaochun, holding the fifth-rank title, decorated with blue feathers, waiting for a post as a district magistrate.
The twelfth year of the Tongzhi reign, the year of Guiyou, in the autumn.
10. The plaque reading "Only Pure, Only One" at Xinmin Mosque in Shenyang.
Respectfully erected on an auspicious day in the seventh lunar month of the 9th year of the Guangxu reign.
Ding Chunxi, holding the rank of assistant general, serving as a guerrilla general, and honored with the title Zhangyong Baturu.
11. The plaque reading "Sincere Intentions and Respectful Heart" at Xinmin Mosque in Shenyang.
Zuo Baogui, Commander of the Fengtian Military Wing, leader of the central, front, and right battalions of infantry and cavalry, and nominated Admiral with the title Menkengse Baturu.
Respectfully erected by hand in the first ten days of the seventh lunar month in the ninth year of the Guangxu reign.
Zuo Baogui was a famous general and anti-Japanese hero in the late Qing Dynasty. He led troops stationed in Fengtian in 1875 (the first year of the Guangxu reign) and began commanding the Fengtian Army in 1880 (the fifth year of the Guangxu reign). Zuo Baogui was stationed in Fengtian for twenty years. During this time, he was devoted to his faith, valued public welfare and education, donated to build many mosques, established several charity schools and porridge kitchens, and wrote plaques for many mosques.
12. Kaiyuan Old City Mosque: 'Allah is One' (Zhenzhu Duyi).
Because the inscriptions are unclear, we welcome friends (dost) to leave comments with their interpretations.
13. Dalian Fuzhou Mosque: 'Return to Simplicity and Truth' (Huanpu Guizhen).
An auspicious day in the first month of winter in the Dingyou year of the Guangxu reign.
Respectfully erected by Wang Tingxiang, who holds the third-rank title, is permitted to wear the peacock feather, serves as the Censor of the Jiangnan Circuit, inspects the Ministry of Revenue, formerly served as the Provincial Education Commissioner of Shanxi, and is a compiler in the Hanlin Academy with a three-grade promotion.
14. Xinlitun Mosque in Jinzhou
Transforming people and things, he is the source of all transformation.
Giving life to heaven and earth, he is the source of all life.
15. Xinlitun Mosque in Jinzhou.
The light that gives life to heaven, earth, people, and all creatures; there is no other master for all living things.
From saints and sages to emperors and kings, all acknowledge the one supreme creator.
16. The Way of Heaven's Mandate at Beizhen Mosque in Jinzhou.
General Zuo Baogui of Wuwei from Fei County, Shandong, dedicated this to the Guangning County mosque.
Respectfully written by hand on a lucky day in the last month of the first year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty.
This was a gift from the famous anti-Japanese general Zuo Baogui when he passed through Beizhen on his way to fight in the war in Korea.
17. The Ancient Islamic Teaching (Qingzhen Gujiao) plaque at Beizhen Mosque in Jinzhou.
A lucky day in the seventh month of the Renyin year during the Qianlong reign.
Respectfully erected by followers Yang Yuxi and Yang Yuzhen.
18. The Everlasting Golden Daylily (Jinxuan Yongmao) plaque at Beizhen Mosque in Jinzhou.
Erected by Xu Guangzhang, an official of Guangning County, Jinzhou Prefecture, who held a rank increased by ten levels and had twenty recorded merits.
Honorably bestowed upon Bai Yongfu, a low-ranking officer (waiwei) in the Guangning County anti-bandit patrol.
An auspicious day in the first ten days of the fourth lunar month (qinghe yue) in the Yi-Si year of the Daoguang reign.
19. "Sincere and Righteous Deed" at Beizhen Mosque in Jinzhou.
The ancient mosque was renovated in the first month of autumn in the 45th year of the Wanli reign.
Respectfully presented by the Northeast Islamic Association.
20. "Great Grace Worthy of Gratitude" at Beizhen Mosque in Jinzhou.
An auspicious day in the first ten days of the fourth lunar month (qinghe yue) in the Yi-Si year of the Daoguang reign.
Respectfully erected by Jin Qiyuan, a newly appointed low-ranking officer (waiwei) and lieutenant (bazong) of the Guangning County patrol camp.
21. Beizhen Mosque in Jinzhou, 'Universal Mercy for All Things'.
An auspicious day in the first ten days of the month, in the 60th year of the Qianlong reign (1795).
Respectfully erected by humble follower Yang Yuzhen and his son Jianming.
22. Beizhen Mosque in Jinzhou, 'Righteousness Harmonizes All People'.
Mr. Zhang, named Shengcai, courtesy name Juxing. A native of Beizhen. He was generous, righteous, and passionate about public service. Whenever there was something within our faith that needed to be supported or reformed, he was always the first to advocate for it and do his best to help. In recent years, our community affairs have not reached perfection, but they have moved toward a more civilized and brighter path. When we drink water, we think of the source, and Mr. Zhang truly deserves much of the credit for this. Unexpectedly, heaven did not spare him from tragedy, and on a certain day in a certain month of a certain year, he was killed in the line of duty for the sake of the nation. Beyond our deep grief, we feared his life's work would be forgotten, so we gathered together to erect a stone tablet to honor his name. We still feel a sense of regret, knowing this may not fully reflect his contributions. We are now carving a plaque to ensure his memory lasts, as a small way to show our gratitude.
Erected by all the members of the Beizhen County Mosque.
An auspicious day in the middle of the twelfth lunar month, in the ninth year of the Republic of China.
23. Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab, 'Respect the Great and Noble'
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Early May, the fourth year of the Republic of China
Koubei Mongolian Salt Bureau...
From the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, all salt produced in the salt lakes of the Inner Mongolian Plateau was called Mongolian salt (mengyan). In 1913, the Beiyang government used salt taxes as collateral to sign a 25 million pound sterling reorganization loan with a banking consortium from Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Japan. The agreement required China to hire foreigners to help reorganize the salt tax. China then began salt administration reforms and established the Koubei Mongolian Salt Bureau. The main office was in Duolunnor, and a branch was also set up in Longshengzhuang, Fengzhen.
24. Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab, 'The Way Connects Heaven and Earth'
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Specially appointed candidate for the Fengzhen Magistrate's Office, holding a military merit rank.
The first ten days of the autumn month in the Xinyou year, the 11th year of the Xianfeng reign of the Great Qing Dynasty.
25. "Uphold Truth and Maintain Sincerity" (Shouzhen Cuncheng) at Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab.
Erected in the 734th year of the Genghis Khan era.
Prince De.
The 734th year of the Genghis Khan era is 1940. Prince Demchugdongrub was a Mongolian noble and the Prince of the Sunid Right Banner. He started the "Inner Mongolia High Autonomy Movement" at Bailingmiao in 1933. In 1939, he became the chairman of the puppet "Mongolian United Autonomous Government." This plaque was inscribed when Prince De took office as chairman.
26. Arabic script plaque at Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab.
Dedicated in the first ten days of the ninth lunar month, in the year of Jiyou, the first year of the Xuantong reign of the Great Qing Dynasty, by Gu Dan.
Respectfully presented by Hui Muslims Deng Risheng and Ma Jiansheng from Datong.
The Ma family of Hui Muslims in Datong originally came from Youwei, Shanxi. During the Ming Dynasty, they were a prominent military family. In the mid-Wanli period, the Ma Family Army, led by Ma Gui and his brothers and nephews, was famous for its combat skills. They earned great merit for defending Youwei for six months against Altan Khan. Since the Ming Dynasty, the Ma family has been a major Hui Muslim clan in Datong. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, they often helped renovate the Datong Mosque and served as imams. After the Qing Dynasty, when military garrisons became counties, the Ma family of Datong transitioned from military life to civilian life. They found success in business and government, and for a time, they were the actual managers of the Datong Mosque.
27. Arabic script plaque at Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab.
We welcome everyone to leave comments and add more information.
An auspicious day in the first month of summer, the 15th year of the Republic of China.
The third elder Zhang Zhenhai led the construction of the main hall, and this plaque was carved to commemorate its completion.
28. Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab, inscribed with "Its Honor Has No Equal."
An auspicious day in the first month of summer, the 15th year of the Republic of China.
Inscribed by Ma Fuxiang, Army General, Xiangwu General, holder of the Second Class Order, and Military Governor of Suiyuan.
29. Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab, inscribed with "Ancient Faith That Opened the Heavens."
An auspicious day in the first month of summer, the 15th year of the Republic of China.
Inscribed by Ma Fuxiang, Army General, Xiangwu General, holder of the Second Class Order, and Military Governor of Suiyuan.
30. Hohhot Great Mosque (Qingzhen Dasi)
An auspicious day in the sixth month of the 16th year of the Guangxu reign of the Great Qing Dynasty
31. Hohhot Great Mosque, 'Acknowledging the Oneness of Allah' (Renzhu Duyi)
13th year of the Republic of China
Inscribed by Ma Fuxiang of Longyou
32. Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Mosque, 'Transcending Through the Ages' (Chaoguan Wangu)
Imperial brush of Emperor Wuzong
12th year of the Zhengde reign of the Great Ming Dynasty
33. The "Light of Islam" (Qingzhen Guangming) plaque at Botou Mosque in Cangzhou.
Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent and hereditary Duke Yansheng.
The fifth lunar month of the third year of the Tongzhi reign.
After 1966, Botou Mosque stopped its religious activities. The main prayer hall was used as a workshop by an embroidery factory, an oilcloth factory, a straw hat factory, and a sack thread factory. The ablution room (shuifang) was used by an agricultural production team as a machine processing workshop. The side gates on both sides of the main entrance, the charity school, the side halls, and the south lecture hall all collapsed. The spire of the Moon-Watching Tower (Wangyuelou) was smashed, its first-floor walls fell down, and the base walls of the main prayer hall also collapsed. Eighteen original plaques inscribed by figures like Ji Xiaolan and Zhang Zhidong were lost. Eventually, only the damaged "Light of Islam" (Qingzhen Guangming) plaque, inscribed in 1864 (the third year of the Tongzhi reign) by the 75th-generation Duke Yansheng, Kong Xiangke, was found. In 1982, a calligrapher repaired the damaged parts by imitating the original writing.
34. The "Heaven is Close at Hand" (Tiantang Zhichi) plaque at Shucun Mosque in Beijing.
The full moon of the mid-autumn season in the Guiyou year of the Tongzhi reign.
Fourth-rank imperial bodyguard with a sword, Li Peng.
35. Beijing Dewai Fayuan Mosque, 'All Things Return to the Truth'.
Ramadan in the Year of the Dragon.
Army General and Second-Class Medal recipient, Suiyuan Military Governor Ma Fuxiang.
Inscribed by Army General Ma Fuxiang in 1928. In the late 1920s, Ma Fuxiang was living in Beijing without an official post. He spent his time studying Islamic texts and donated money to help build schools for the Muslim community. In 1928, he helped organize the Beiping Muslim Middle School, which was later renamed Northwest Public School. He also donated over a dozen school buildings he had purchased behind the Dongsi Mosque to the Chengda Teachers' College.
36. Beijing Niujie Mosque, 'Imperial Edict'.
Imperial edict from the sixth month of the 33rd year of the Kangxi reign.
I have reviewed the great records of Han and Hui Muslims throughout history. From the beginning, the great path has been clear. There are seventy-two sects that claim to lead people to immortality or Buddhahood, but they actually lead people toward evil and heresy. I will not punish the past, but anyone who violates this again will be beheaded. Han officials hold positions, receive my salary, and attend court daily. Hui Muslims pray to Allah and honor the Prophet five times a day without receiving any salary from me, yet they know how to show gratitude. In this, the Han are not as good as the Hui. Let all provinces know: if officials or commoners use minor grievances to falsely report that Hui Muslims are plotting a rebellion, the responsible official shall be executed first and reported later. Hui Muslims everywhere must follow the pure faith (qingzhen) and not disobey this order or fail my grace. This shows my love for the path. Respect this and follow it.
Legend has it that in the third month of the 33rd year of the Kangxi reign, during Ramadan, Kangxi received a secret report from Li, the patrol censor of the southern city of Beijing, claiming that Hui Muslims in Niujie were gathering at night to plot a rebellion. Kangxi asked the Grand Councilors Niu Xi and Wang Xi, who lived near Niujie, but neither had heard of such a thing. Kangxi then took the two officials on an undercover visit. At night, they saw many people performing Tarawih prayers inside the brightly lit Niujie mosque, with no other activities, so he issued the imperial edict.
Additionally, the Niujie local gazetteer "Gangzhi," copied by Shen Fengyi during the Daoguang reign (presumably written during the Yongzheng reign), records that in 1694, the teacher at the Niujie mosque, Sayyid Ma Tengyun, was involved in a case of communicating with the enemy. It says that Galdan of the Dzungar Khanate sent two Hami Muslims to Beijing as spies, and Ma Tengyun of the Niujie mosque often hosted them for meals. Later, one of them was caught by the Lifanyuan (the Qing dynasty agency for border affairs) patrol, and he gave up Ma Tengyun. The Lifanyuan immediately arrested Ma Tengyun and Yin Liangxiang from the Jiaozihutong mosque, while the Bingmasi (the city guard) sent troops to seal off Niujie. The Lifanyuan submitted a report to the emperor asking to slaughter all Hui Muslims in the capital, but Kangxi rejected it. Kangxi ordered, "The Hui Muslims in the capital are also my children... just strictly arrest the spies, do not implicate the innocent." In the end, Ma Tengyun and Yin Liangxiang were released, and mosques across Beijing held scripture readings to give thanks. This event matches the timing and content of the imperial decree stele, and it is very likely the reason the decree was issued.
37. Beijing Xihuisi mosque "Qingzhen Wuer" (The only true faith).
The first day of the fourth lunar month in the first year of the Daoguang reign.
Respectfully presented by Cao Zhenyong, Grand Secretary of the Hall of Benevolence (Tiren Ge) from ancient Shexian.
Cao Zhenyong was a key official during the Jiaqing and Daoguang eras of the Qing Dynasty. In the 18th year of the Jiaqing reign, he was promoted to Grand Secretary of the Hall of Benevolence, managed the Ministry of Works, and was given the honorary title of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. Between the 19th and 25th years of the Jiaqing reign, the Jiaqing Emperor visited the imperial tombs six times and went on the Mulan autumn hunt five times. As Prime Minister, Cao Zhenyong stayed behind to guard the capital.
In the first year of the Daoguang reign, Cao Zhenyong was promoted to Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent and Grand Secretary of the Hall of Martial Valor (Wuying Dian). The Daoguang Emperor praised him, saying, "At the start of my personal rule, he was the first upright man to advance." "He is a trusted official in the most secret of places." "His learning is profound, and his advice is pure and precise." "He is diligent and cautious, and he is the first to handle imperial edicts."
38. The 'Wuta Guiyi' plaque at Hexiwu Mosque in Tianjin.
Erected on a lucky day in the fourth lunar month of the Jiyou year, the first year of the Xuantong reign of the Qing Dynasty.
Respectfully erected by Jin Yuqi, a third-rank official with a blue feather, serving as the garrison commander of the river defense left battalion and acting guard of the Weiwu Pass.
39. The 'Yi Zai Qingzhen' plaque at the North Mosque in Yangcun, Tianjin.
Respectfully honoring.
The late Mr. Ma, whose given name was Jun, lived to the age of eighty. He died after being kicked by livestock belonging to a person named Bian, and his final wish to his family was to accept this fate. He asked them to strictly follow the halal way and not let the incident cause trouble for anyone else. However, in our view, no one could hold back their tears; this is the act of a kind person. Alas, the Bian family enjoys peace, and our village also admires them, for it shows the true path of Islam. The way the Ma family follows these practices is something I hope both Hui Muslims and Han people will remember forever, as it is truly beneficial. We write this plaque to honor and praise them.
Respectfully inscribed in the second month of the year of Jiwei, the eighth year of the Republic of China.
40. The North Mosque (Beidasi) in Yangcun, Tianjin: 'Most Merciful and Most Just'.
Respectfully erected by Mu Changrong, the imperial-appointed and expectant Assistant Brigade General of Zhili, titled Guyong Baturu.
An auspicious day in the seventh month of the first year of the Tongzhi reign.
41. The Great Northern Mosque (Beidasi) in Yangcun, Tianjin, features the plaque 'Great is the Creative Power of Heaven' (Dazai Qianyuan).
A lucky day in the fifth month of the 13th year of the Republic of China.
Respectfully inscribed by Mu Wenshan, a military aide-de-camp awarded the Fifth Class Order of the Wenhu and the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Golden Grain.
42. The Jinjiayao Mosque in Tianjin features the plaque 'Reject Falsehood and Return to Truth' (Quwang Guizhen).
A lucky day in the first month of autumn in the ninth year of the Guangxu reign.
My late father Yiran followed the ancient teachings and strictly observed the halal way. Because some in our community were showing off and spreading strange ideas, he long wanted to clarify the true path for future generations. He passed away before he could fulfill this wish, so I have carefully recorded his instructions.
I wrote the holy practices on this plaque so that those who share our faith will see it and be reminded not to let any false thoughts enter their minds. If the ancient faith is not lost, this record can comfort the spirits of those who came before.
Respectfully written by Hei Yaozeng.
Republished by Hei Zhaorong and Hei Pengnian.
43. The Ancient Islamic Faith plaque at the North Mosque (Beidasi) in Tianmu, Tianjin.
An auspicious day in the autumn of the second year of the Xuantong reign (1910).
Respectfully presented by Xiao Liangtong, a military officer holding the rank of commander with the honor of wearing a blue feather, serving as the acting head of the Tianjin County garrison.
Calligraphy by Prince Su.
44. The Upholding the Past and Awaiting the Future plaque at the North Mosque (Beidasi) in Tianmu, Tianjin.
An auspicious day in the autumn of the ninth year of the Guangxu reign.
Respectfully erected by Hei Yaozeng, a selected county magistrate with the honorary rank of assistant regional commander.
Hei Zhaorong, a garrison commander (bazong) of the Ziya River patrol in Jinghai County, who holds the honorary fourth-rank title and the privilege of wearing a blue feather.
Reprinted by Hei Pengnian, a garrison commander (bazong) of the South Grand Canal battalion, who holds the honorary fifth-rank title and the privilege of wearing a blue feather.
45. The Ancient Islamic Teaching at the South Mosque (Nandasi) in Tianjin.
An auspicious day in the seventh month of the Gengyin year of the Guangxu reign of the Great Qing Dynasty.
Respectfully presented by Hei Zhaorong, a river battalion commander (qianzong) under the jurisdiction of the Tianjin Prefecture, who holds the honorary fourth-rank title and the privilege of wearing a blue feather.
46. The South Mosque (Nandasi) in Tianjin.
The many manifest the one, the hidden essence conceals the great grace, and the great transformation is completed.
Movement creates words, stillness returns to the truth, and the traveler on the path returns to the origin.
Written by Prince Li.
47. Tianjin South Mosque, 'Truth Without Falsehood'.
An auspicious day in the ninth month of the sixth year of the Guangxu reign.
Respectfully erected by Zuo Baogui, a nominated provincial commander-in-chief, leader of the Fengtian army's central-right cavalry and infantry battalions, and commander of the eight brigades of the Jiesheng cavalry, honored with the title Kengse Baturu.
48. Tianjin South Mosque, 'Transformation Originating from the Infinite'.
Respectfully written by Peng Yuwen, a court-appointed official with the rank of Zhongxian Dafu serving as the Tianjin Circuit Intendant of Zhili.
An auspicious day in the seventh lunar month of the bingwu year, the 26th year of the Daoguang reign.
Respectfully erected by Zhang Yunbiao and Zhang Guangrui from Tianjin, along with their sons Jindong and Jinbang.
49. Tianjin South Mosque (Nandasi).
The source of the most just, most great, and most high righteous path remains forever in the universe.
The mystery of the true mechanism, which has no scent, no sound, and no trace, silently operates throughout the world.
An auspicious day in the fifth lunar month of summer in the jisi year, the eighth year of the Tongzhi reign.
Respectfully presented by Li Jiqing, a member of the community from Zhangwu.
50. Tianjin South Mosque (Nandasi).
You come here to pray with a pure heart and few desires, attending the five daily namaz to find peace.
This path is not too deep or mysterious to understand; cast aside vanity, seek the truth, and a single moment of repentance is enough.
Mid-autumn, the Jia-chen year of the Guangxu reign.
Written by Wang Lantai of Huichuan.
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Summary: Mosque Plaques and Couplets - 50 Pieces of Muslim Calligraphy is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Mosque Plaques, Islamic Calligraphy, Muslim Heritage.
1. The 'Innate Wonderful Truth' (Xiantian Miaoli) plaque at Acheng Mosque in Harbin.
Commissioner of the Prefectural Audit Office, awarded the fourth-rank blue feather, candidate for the position of sub-prefect.
An auspicious day in the ninth lunar month of the Guihai year, the second year of the Tongzhi reign of the Great Qing Dynasty.
This plaque was found in 2006 while repairing the floor of the main hall at Acheng Mosque. Unfortunately, the top and bottom parts of the plaque are missing, so the name of the person who donated it is gone. During the Tongzhi reign, a Manchu Bordered White Banner official named De Kejing'a served as the official for the Alechuka region. It is guessed that he may have donated this plaque.
2. The 'Western Regions Sect Style' (Xiyu Zongfeng) plaque at Acheng Mosque in Harbin.
Deying, imperial appointee, former acting Jilin General, former Alechuka garrison commander, Heilongjiang General, appointed Jilin Deputy Lieutenant-General, awarded the peacock feather for military merit, promoted by one rank, and recorded once for merit.
An auspicious day in the sixth lunar month of the Gengwu year, the ninth year of the Tongzhi reign of the Great Qing Dynasty.
Deying was a member of the Mongol Bordered White Banner in Jilin. He became the deputy lieutenant-general of Acheng (Alechuka) in 1864. Later, he served as the military governor of Jilin and then Heilongjiang. He was highly respected by the people, who called him 'Justice De'.
3. The 'Jiaolong Yuzhou' plaque at the Acheng Mosque in Harbin.
Haguang Hejing, a hereditary cavalry captain and commander of the Jisheng Battalion, who held the rank of brigade general and was in charge of Jilin military affairs.
Erected in the second month of the fourth year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty.
4. The 'Wangu Qingzhen' plaque at the Acheng Mosque in Harbin.
Gadai, a decorated deputy lieutenant-general appointed by the Emperor to guard Acheng (Alechuka) and Lalin.
Erected in the fourth month of the Wuxu year of the Guangxu reign.
Gadai was a member of the Manchu Plain White Banner. He became the deputy lieutenant-general of Acheng (Alechuka) in 1897. He served for one year, presented a plaque to the Acheng Mosque before leaving, and was then transferred to Jinzhou.
5. Acheng Mosque in Harbin: "Great Insight to be Gained"
Respectfully presented by Wang Hongnian, who held the rank of Jianren, served as the Quartermaster for the Deputy Commander of the Northeast Frontier Defense Force stationed in Jilin, and was the Deputy Director of the Jilin Army Clothing Factory, recipient of the Fourth Class Order of the Tiger.
An auspicious day in the sixth lunar month of the 18th year of the Republic of China.
Wang Hongnian was a Hui Muslim army general who served under Zhang Xueliang in the Northeast Frontier Defense Force in 1929. People say the day the plaque was delivered was a grand and lively event. An honor guard from the Jilin Third Normal School escorted it with loud music and drums, and Acheng County Magistrate Bai Hongkui also took part in the ceremony.
6. Acheng Mosque in Harbin:
Craftsmanship like the master builder Gongshu brings joy to this place, with the holy path kept in the heart for three years.
A name recorded in history books praises the halal faith, and after a hundred years, those who walk this ground remember the person.
This was donated by Sun Yulin, a carpenter from Wula Street in Jilin who helped build the mosque, when the Acheng Mosque was rebuilt and finished in 1900.
7. Shenyang South Mosque: "Ancient Teachings of Islam" (Guxun Qingzhen)
The sixth lunar month of the 15th year of the Qianlong reign.
Respectfully erected by Prince Heshuo Zhuang, Mianke.
8. Shenyang Xinmin Mosque: "Correct Yourself to Correct Others" (Zhengji Zhengren)
Respectfully erected on an auspicious day in the seventh lunar month of the 9th year of the Guangxu reign.
Liu Dianyuan, holding the rank of Blue Feather Guard and the position of First Captain.
9. Shenyang Xinmin Mosque: "The One and Only for All Eternity" (Wangu Duyi)
Zhang Delu, Wuxian General, decorated with peacock feathers, waiting for a post as a prefect in Zhili.
Ha Zhongguang, holding the rank of assistant general, decorated with peacock feathers, hereditary Enqiwei (a minor noble title), waiting for a post as a department magistrate in Zhili.
Ma Shaochun, holding the fifth-rank title, decorated with blue feathers, waiting for a post as a district magistrate.
The twelfth year of the Tongzhi reign, the year of Guiyou, in the autumn.
10. The plaque reading "Only Pure, Only One" at Xinmin Mosque in Shenyang.
Respectfully erected on an auspicious day in the seventh lunar month of the 9th year of the Guangxu reign.
Ding Chunxi, holding the rank of assistant general, serving as a guerrilla general, and honored with the title Zhangyong Baturu.
11. The plaque reading "Sincere Intentions and Respectful Heart" at Xinmin Mosque in Shenyang.
Zuo Baogui, Commander of the Fengtian Military Wing, leader of the central, front, and right battalions of infantry and cavalry, and nominated Admiral with the title Menkengse Baturu.
Respectfully erected by hand in the first ten days of the seventh lunar month in the ninth year of the Guangxu reign.
Zuo Baogui was a famous general and anti-Japanese hero in the late Qing Dynasty. He led troops stationed in Fengtian in 1875 (the first year of the Guangxu reign) and began commanding the Fengtian Army in 1880 (the fifth year of the Guangxu reign). Zuo Baogui was stationed in Fengtian for twenty years. During this time, he was devoted to his faith, valued public welfare and education, donated to build many mosques, established several charity schools and porridge kitchens, and wrote plaques for many mosques.
12. Kaiyuan Old City Mosque: 'Allah is One' (Zhenzhu Duyi).
Because the inscriptions are unclear, we welcome friends (dost) to leave comments with their interpretations.
13. Dalian Fuzhou Mosque: 'Return to Simplicity and Truth' (Huanpu Guizhen).
An auspicious day in the first month of winter in the Dingyou year of the Guangxu reign.
Respectfully erected by Wang Tingxiang, who holds the third-rank title, is permitted to wear the peacock feather, serves as the Censor of the Jiangnan Circuit, inspects the Ministry of Revenue, formerly served as the Provincial Education Commissioner of Shanxi, and is a compiler in the Hanlin Academy with a three-grade promotion.
14. Xinlitun Mosque in Jinzhou
Transforming people and things, he is the source of all transformation.
Giving life to heaven and earth, he is the source of all life.
15. Xinlitun Mosque in Jinzhou.
The light that gives life to heaven, earth, people, and all creatures; there is no other master for all living things.
From saints and sages to emperors and kings, all acknowledge the one supreme creator.
16. The Way of Heaven's Mandate at Beizhen Mosque in Jinzhou.
General Zuo Baogui of Wuwei from Fei County, Shandong, dedicated this to the Guangning County mosque.
Respectfully written by hand on a lucky day in the last month of the first year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty.
This was a gift from the famous anti-Japanese general Zuo Baogui when he passed through Beizhen on his way to fight in the war in Korea.
17. The Ancient Islamic Teaching (Qingzhen Gujiao) plaque at Beizhen Mosque in Jinzhou.
A lucky day in the seventh month of the Renyin year during the Qianlong reign.
Respectfully erected by followers Yang Yuxi and Yang Yuzhen.
18. The Everlasting Golden Daylily (Jinxuan Yongmao) plaque at Beizhen Mosque in Jinzhou.
Erected by Xu Guangzhang, an official of Guangning County, Jinzhou Prefecture, who held a rank increased by ten levels and had twenty recorded merits.
Honorably bestowed upon Bai Yongfu, a low-ranking officer (waiwei) in the Guangning County anti-bandit patrol.
An auspicious day in the first ten days of the fourth lunar month (qinghe yue) in the Yi-Si year of the Daoguang reign.
19. "Sincere and Righteous Deed" at Beizhen Mosque in Jinzhou.
The ancient mosque was renovated in the first month of autumn in the 45th year of the Wanli reign.
Respectfully presented by the Northeast Islamic Association.
20. "Great Grace Worthy of Gratitude" at Beizhen Mosque in Jinzhou.
An auspicious day in the first ten days of the fourth lunar month (qinghe yue) in the Yi-Si year of the Daoguang reign.
Respectfully erected by Jin Qiyuan, a newly appointed low-ranking officer (waiwei) and lieutenant (bazong) of the Guangning County patrol camp.
21. Beizhen Mosque in Jinzhou, 'Universal Mercy for All Things'.
An auspicious day in the first ten days of the month, in the 60th year of the Qianlong reign (1795).
Respectfully erected by humble follower Yang Yuzhen and his son Jianming.
22. Beizhen Mosque in Jinzhou, 'Righteousness Harmonizes All People'.
Mr. Zhang, named Shengcai, courtesy name Juxing. A native of Beizhen. He was generous, righteous, and passionate about public service. Whenever there was something within our faith that needed to be supported or reformed, he was always the first to advocate for it and do his best to help. In recent years, our community affairs have not reached perfection, but they have moved toward a more civilized and brighter path. When we drink water, we think of the source, and Mr. Zhang truly deserves much of the credit for this. Unexpectedly, heaven did not spare him from tragedy, and on a certain day in a certain month of a certain year, he was killed in the line of duty for the sake of the nation. Beyond our deep grief, we feared his life's work would be forgotten, so we gathered together to erect a stone tablet to honor his name. We still feel a sense of regret, knowing this may not fully reflect his contributions. We are now carving a plaque to ensure his memory lasts, as a small way to show our gratitude.
Erected by all the members of the Beizhen County Mosque.
An auspicious day in the middle of the twelfth lunar month, in the ninth year of the Republic of China.
23. Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab, 'Respect the Great and Noble'
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Early May, the fourth year of the Republic of China
Koubei Mongolian Salt Bureau...
From the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, all salt produced in the salt lakes of the Inner Mongolian Plateau was called Mongolian salt (mengyan). In 1913, the Beiyang government used salt taxes as collateral to sign a 25 million pound sterling reorganization loan with a banking consortium from Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Japan. The agreement required China to hire foreigners to help reorganize the salt tax. China then began salt administration reforms and established the Koubei Mongolian Salt Bureau. The main office was in Duolunnor, and a branch was also set up in Longshengzhuang, Fengzhen.
24. Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab, 'The Way Connects Heaven and Earth'
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Specially appointed candidate for the Fengzhen Magistrate's Office, holding a military merit rank.
The first ten days of the autumn month in the Xinyou year, the 11th year of the Xianfeng reign of the Great Qing Dynasty.
25. "Uphold Truth and Maintain Sincerity" (Shouzhen Cuncheng) at Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab.
Erected in the 734th year of the Genghis Khan era.
Prince De.
The 734th year of the Genghis Khan era is 1940. Prince Demchugdongrub was a Mongolian noble and the Prince of the Sunid Right Banner. He started the "Inner Mongolia High Autonomy Movement" at Bailingmiao in 1933. In 1939, he became the chairman of the puppet "Mongolian United Autonomous Government." This plaque was inscribed when Prince De took office as chairman.
26. Arabic script plaque at Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab.
Dedicated in the first ten days of the ninth lunar month, in the year of Jiyou, the first year of the Xuantong reign of the Great Qing Dynasty, by Gu Dan.
Respectfully presented by Hui Muslims Deng Risheng and Ma Jiansheng from Datong.
The Ma family of Hui Muslims in Datong originally came from Youwei, Shanxi. During the Ming Dynasty, they were a prominent military family. In the mid-Wanli period, the Ma Family Army, led by Ma Gui and his brothers and nephews, was famous for its combat skills. They earned great merit for defending Youwei for six months against Altan Khan. Since the Ming Dynasty, the Ma family has been a major Hui Muslim clan in Datong. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, they often helped renovate the Datong Mosque and served as imams. After the Qing Dynasty, when military garrisons became counties, the Ma family of Datong transitioned from military life to civilian life. They found success in business and government, and for a time, they were the actual managers of the Datong Mosque.
27. Arabic script plaque at Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab.
We welcome everyone to leave comments and add more information.
An auspicious day in the first month of summer, the 15th year of the Republic of China.
The third elder Zhang Zhenhai led the construction of the main hall, and this plaque was carved to commemorate its completion.
28. Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab, inscribed with "Its Honor Has No Equal."
An auspicious day in the first month of summer, the 15th year of the Republic of China.
Inscribed by Ma Fuxiang, Army General, Xiangwu General, holder of the Second Class Order, and Military Governor of Suiyuan.
29. Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab, inscribed with "Ancient Faith That Opened the Heavens."
An auspicious day in the first month of summer, the 15th year of the Republic of China.
Inscribed by Ma Fuxiang, Army General, Xiangwu General, holder of the Second Class Order, and Military Governor of Suiyuan.
30. Hohhot Great Mosque (Qingzhen Dasi)
An auspicious day in the sixth month of the 16th year of the Guangxu reign of the Great Qing Dynasty
31. Hohhot Great Mosque, 'Acknowledging the Oneness of Allah' (Renzhu Duyi)
13th year of the Republic of China
Inscribed by Ma Fuxiang of Longyou
32. Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Mosque, 'Transcending Through the Ages' (Chaoguan Wangu)
Imperial brush of Emperor Wuzong
12th year of the Zhengde reign of the Great Ming Dynasty
33. The "Light of Islam" (Qingzhen Guangming) plaque at Botou Mosque in Cangzhou.
Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent and hereditary Duke Yansheng.
The fifth lunar month of the third year of the Tongzhi reign.
After 1966, Botou Mosque stopped its religious activities. The main prayer hall was used as a workshop by an embroidery factory, an oilcloth factory, a straw hat factory, and a sack thread factory. The ablution room (shuifang) was used by an agricultural production team as a machine processing workshop. The side gates on both sides of the main entrance, the charity school, the side halls, and the south lecture hall all collapsed. The spire of the Moon-Watching Tower (Wangyuelou) was smashed, its first-floor walls fell down, and the base walls of the main prayer hall also collapsed. Eighteen original plaques inscribed by figures like Ji Xiaolan and Zhang Zhidong were lost. Eventually, only the damaged "Light of Islam" (Qingzhen Guangming) plaque, inscribed in 1864 (the third year of the Tongzhi reign) by the 75th-generation Duke Yansheng, Kong Xiangke, was found. In 1982, a calligrapher repaired the damaged parts by imitating the original writing.
34. The "Heaven is Close at Hand" (Tiantang Zhichi) plaque at Shucun Mosque in Beijing.
The full moon of the mid-autumn season in the Guiyou year of the Tongzhi reign.
Fourth-rank imperial bodyguard with a sword, Li Peng.
35. Beijing Dewai Fayuan Mosque, 'All Things Return to the Truth'.
Ramadan in the Year of the Dragon.
Army General and Second-Class Medal recipient, Suiyuan Military Governor Ma Fuxiang.
Inscribed by Army General Ma Fuxiang in 1928. In the late 1920s, Ma Fuxiang was living in Beijing without an official post. He spent his time studying Islamic texts and donated money to help build schools for the Muslim community. In 1928, he helped organize the Beiping Muslim Middle School, which was later renamed Northwest Public School. He also donated over a dozen school buildings he had purchased behind the Dongsi Mosque to the Chengda Teachers' College.
36. Beijing Niujie Mosque, 'Imperial Edict'.
Imperial edict from the sixth month of the 33rd year of the Kangxi reign.
I have reviewed the great records of Han and Hui Muslims throughout history. From the beginning, the great path has been clear. There are seventy-two sects that claim to lead people to immortality or Buddhahood, but they actually lead people toward evil and heresy. I will not punish the past, but anyone who violates this again will be beheaded. Han officials hold positions, receive my salary, and attend court daily. Hui Muslims pray to Allah and honor the Prophet five times a day without receiving any salary from me, yet they know how to show gratitude. In this, the Han are not as good as the Hui. Let all provinces know: if officials or commoners use minor grievances to falsely report that Hui Muslims are plotting a rebellion, the responsible official shall be executed first and reported later. Hui Muslims everywhere must follow the pure faith (qingzhen) and not disobey this order or fail my grace. This shows my love for the path. Respect this and follow it.
Legend has it that in the third month of the 33rd year of the Kangxi reign, during Ramadan, Kangxi received a secret report from Li, the patrol censor of the southern city of Beijing, claiming that Hui Muslims in Niujie were gathering at night to plot a rebellion. Kangxi asked the Grand Councilors Niu Xi and Wang Xi, who lived near Niujie, but neither had heard of such a thing. Kangxi then took the two officials on an undercover visit. At night, they saw many people performing Tarawih prayers inside the brightly lit Niujie mosque, with no other activities, so he issued the imperial edict.
Additionally, the Niujie local gazetteer "Gangzhi," copied by Shen Fengyi during the Daoguang reign (presumably written during the Yongzheng reign), records that in 1694, the teacher at the Niujie mosque, Sayyid Ma Tengyun, was involved in a case of communicating with the enemy. It says that Galdan of the Dzungar Khanate sent two Hami Muslims to Beijing as spies, and Ma Tengyun of the Niujie mosque often hosted them for meals. Later, one of them was caught by the Lifanyuan (the Qing dynasty agency for border affairs) patrol, and he gave up Ma Tengyun. The Lifanyuan immediately arrested Ma Tengyun and Yin Liangxiang from the Jiaozihutong mosque, while the Bingmasi (the city guard) sent troops to seal off Niujie. The Lifanyuan submitted a report to the emperor asking to slaughter all Hui Muslims in the capital, but Kangxi rejected it. Kangxi ordered, "The Hui Muslims in the capital are also my children... just strictly arrest the spies, do not implicate the innocent." In the end, Ma Tengyun and Yin Liangxiang were released, and mosques across Beijing held scripture readings to give thanks. This event matches the timing and content of the imperial decree stele, and it is very likely the reason the decree was issued.
37. Beijing Xihuisi mosque "Qingzhen Wuer" (The only true faith).
The first day of the fourth lunar month in the first year of the Daoguang reign.
Respectfully presented by Cao Zhenyong, Grand Secretary of the Hall of Benevolence (Tiren Ge) from ancient Shexian.
Cao Zhenyong was a key official during the Jiaqing and Daoguang eras of the Qing Dynasty. In the 18th year of the Jiaqing reign, he was promoted to Grand Secretary of the Hall of Benevolence, managed the Ministry of Works, and was given the honorary title of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. Between the 19th and 25th years of the Jiaqing reign, the Jiaqing Emperor visited the imperial tombs six times and went on the Mulan autumn hunt five times. As Prime Minister, Cao Zhenyong stayed behind to guard the capital.
In the first year of the Daoguang reign, Cao Zhenyong was promoted to Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent and Grand Secretary of the Hall of Martial Valor (Wuying Dian). The Daoguang Emperor praised him, saying, "At the start of my personal rule, he was the first upright man to advance." "He is a trusted official in the most secret of places." "His learning is profound, and his advice is pure and precise." "He is diligent and cautious, and he is the first to handle imperial edicts."
38. The 'Wuta Guiyi' plaque at Hexiwu Mosque in Tianjin.
Erected on a lucky day in the fourth lunar month of the Jiyou year, the first year of the Xuantong reign of the Qing Dynasty.
Respectfully erected by Jin Yuqi, a third-rank official with a blue feather, serving as the garrison commander of the river defense left battalion and acting guard of the Weiwu Pass.
39. The 'Yi Zai Qingzhen' plaque at the North Mosque in Yangcun, Tianjin.
Respectfully honoring.
The late Mr. Ma, whose given name was Jun, lived to the age of eighty. He died after being kicked by livestock belonging to a person named Bian, and his final wish to his family was to accept this fate. He asked them to strictly follow the halal way and not let the incident cause trouble for anyone else. However, in our view, no one could hold back their tears; this is the act of a kind person. Alas, the Bian family enjoys peace, and our village also admires them, for it shows the true path of Islam. The way the Ma family follows these practices is something I hope both Hui Muslims and Han people will remember forever, as it is truly beneficial. We write this plaque to honor and praise them.
Respectfully inscribed in the second month of the year of Jiwei, the eighth year of the Republic of China.
40. The North Mosque (Beidasi) in Yangcun, Tianjin: 'Most Merciful and Most Just'.
Respectfully erected by Mu Changrong, the imperial-appointed and expectant Assistant Brigade General of Zhili, titled Guyong Baturu.
An auspicious day in the seventh month of the first year of the Tongzhi reign.
41. The Great Northern Mosque (Beidasi) in Yangcun, Tianjin, features the plaque 'Great is the Creative Power of Heaven' (Dazai Qianyuan).
A lucky day in the fifth month of the 13th year of the Republic of China.
Respectfully inscribed by Mu Wenshan, a military aide-de-camp awarded the Fifth Class Order of the Wenhu and the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Golden Grain.
42. The Jinjiayao Mosque in Tianjin features the plaque 'Reject Falsehood and Return to Truth' (Quwang Guizhen).
A lucky day in the first month of autumn in the ninth year of the Guangxu reign.
My late father Yiran followed the ancient teachings and strictly observed the halal way. Because some in our community were showing off and spreading strange ideas, he long wanted to clarify the true path for future generations. He passed away before he could fulfill this wish, so I have carefully recorded his instructions.
I wrote the holy practices on this plaque so that those who share our faith will see it and be reminded not to let any false thoughts enter their minds. If the ancient faith is not lost, this record can comfort the spirits of those who came before.
Respectfully written by Hei Yaozeng.
Republished by Hei Zhaorong and Hei Pengnian.
43. The Ancient Islamic Faith plaque at the North Mosque (Beidasi) in Tianmu, Tianjin.
An auspicious day in the autumn of the second year of the Xuantong reign (1910).
Respectfully presented by Xiao Liangtong, a military officer holding the rank of commander with the honor of wearing a blue feather, serving as the acting head of the Tianjin County garrison.
Calligraphy by Prince Su.
44. The Upholding the Past and Awaiting the Future plaque at the North Mosque (Beidasi) in Tianmu, Tianjin.
An auspicious day in the autumn of the ninth year of the Guangxu reign.
Respectfully erected by Hei Yaozeng, a selected county magistrate with the honorary rank of assistant regional commander.
Hei Zhaorong, a garrison commander (bazong) of the Ziya River patrol in Jinghai County, who holds the honorary fourth-rank title and the privilege of wearing a blue feather.
Reprinted by Hei Pengnian, a garrison commander (bazong) of the South Grand Canal battalion, who holds the honorary fifth-rank title and the privilege of wearing a blue feather.
45. The Ancient Islamic Teaching at the South Mosque (Nandasi) in Tianjin.
An auspicious day in the seventh month of the Gengyin year of the Guangxu reign of the Great Qing Dynasty.
Respectfully presented by Hei Zhaorong, a river battalion commander (qianzong) under the jurisdiction of the Tianjin Prefecture, who holds the honorary fourth-rank title and the privilege of wearing a blue feather.
46. The South Mosque (Nandasi) in Tianjin.
The many manifest the one, the hidden essence conceals the great grace, and the great transformation is completed.
Movement creates words, stillness returns to the truth, and the traveler on the path returns to the origin.
Written by Prince Li.
47. Tianjin South Mosque, 'Truth Without Falsehood'.
An auspicious day in the ninth month of the sixth year of the Guangxu reign.
Respectfully erected by Zuo Baogui, a nominated provincial commander-in-chief, leader of the Fengtian army's central-right cavalry and infantry battalions, and commander of the eight brigades of the Jiesheng cavalry, honored with the title Kengse Baturu.
48. Tianjin South Mosque, 'Transformation Originating from the Infinite'.
Respectfully written by Peng Yuwen, a court-appointed official with the rank of Zhongxian Dafu serving as the Tianjin Circuit Intendant of Zhili.
An auspicious day in the seventh lunar month of the bingwu year, the 26th year of the Daoguang reign.
Respectfully erected by Zhang Yunbiao and Zhang Guangrui from Tianjin, along with their sons Jindong and Jinbang.
49. Tianjin South Mosque (Nandasi).
The source of the most just, most great, and most high righteous path remains forever in the universe.
The mystery of the true mechanism, which has no scent, no sound, and no trace, silently operates throughout the world.
An auspicious day in the fifth lunar month of summer in the jisi year, the eighth year of the Tongzhi reign.
Respectfully presented by Li Jiqing, a member of the community from Zhangwu.
50. Tianjin South Mosque (Nandasi).
You come here to pray with a pure heart and few desires, attending the five daily namaz to find peace.
This path is not too deep or mysterious to understand; cast aside vanity, seek the truth, and a single moment of repentance is enough.
Mid-autumn, the Jia-chen year of the Guangxu reign.
Written by Wang Lantai of Huichuan.
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Mosque Travel Guide: 50 Mosques I Visited - Muslim Heritage Across China
Reposted from the web
5 mosques in Heilongjiang
Qiqihar Buque East Mosque and Buque West Mosque
Harbin Daowai Mosque, Tatar Mosque, and Acheng Mosque
1 mosque in Jilin
Changchun Changtong Road Mosque
12 mosques in Liaoning
Tieling Kaiyuan Old City Mosque
Shenyang South Mosque, East Mosque, and Xinmin Mosque
Fengcheng Mosque in Dandong
Qingdui Mosque and Fuzhou Mosque in Dalian
Xinlitun Mosque, Beizhen Mosque, and Luyang Mosque in Jinzhou
Lingyuan Mosque in Chaoyang
Suizhong Mosque in Huludao
4 mosques in Inner Mongolia
North Mosque (Beidasi) in Chifeng
Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab
Hohhot Great Mosque and East Mosque
16 mosques in Hebei
Chengde West Mosque and Pingquan Mosque
Zhangjiakou Xinhua Street Mosque, Xiguan Mosque, Tu'ergou Mosque, Xuanhua South Great Mosque, Xuanhua North Mosque, and Xuanhua Middle Mosque
Baoding West Mosque, East Mosque, Women's Mosque, and Zhuozhou Mosque
Cangzhou North Great Mosque and Botou Mosque
Xingtai Hongguanying Mosque
Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Mosque
12 mosques in Beijing (continued in the next part)
Gubeikou Mosque and Mujia Yu Mosque in Miyun
Nankou Mosque, Wujie Mosque, Heying Mosque, Shahe Mosque, and Xiguanshi Mosque in Changping
Anheqiao Mosque, Shucun Mosque, Madian Mosque, Haidian Mosque, and Siwangfu Mosque in Haidian
Heilongjiang
1. Bukui East Mosque in Qiqihar
Bukui Ancient Mosque and the Hui community in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang
Bukui East Mosque in Qiqihar is the oldest mosque in Heilongjiang. The most common story is that it was built in 1676 by over 40 Hui families who moved to Bukui Village from Shandong and Hebei. Another theory says it was built in 1700 by the Wang and Xia families, who were Hui Muslims from Jinan, Shandong, and moved to Qiqihar with the Heilongjiang Naval Battalion. The original Bukui Mosque was just a thatched hut. It was rebuilt many times during the Jiaqing and Guangxu eras, eventually reaching its current size.
The most unique part of the East Mosque is the Moon-Sighting Tower (Wangyuelou) above the rear hall. It is a three-story structure with a four-cornered pointed roof and intricate brick carvings. On the east side, there is a plaque that reads 'Tianfang Jiejing'. The copper lotus-base gourd finial on top of the hall was added during the major renovation of the Bukui East Mosque in 1893 (the 19th year of the Guangxu era). People say Ma Wanliang bought it from a Tibetan Buddhist mosque near Zhangjiakou. Local legend says the finial was not installed until after the Republican era because it was taller than the near mansion of the Yikeming'an Eighth Prince.
2. Qiqihar
Bukui West Mosque
Bukui Ancient Mosque and the Hui community in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang
The Bukui West Mosque in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, belongs to the Jahriyya order. In 1817, the third-generation leader (murshid) of the Jahriyya, Ma Datian, was sentenced to exile in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang. Twelve families led by Master Niu volunteered to take his place and followed him into exile. Ma Datian passed away while passing through the Jilin Shipyard. He was honored as the Shipyard Master (Chuanchang Taiye) from then on, while the 12 families continued their exile to Qiqihar. After arriving in Qiqihar, the 12 families were welcomed by the local Gedimu community. In 1852, they built the West Mosque (Bukuixi Si) on the west side of the Bukui Mosque, making it the only Jahriyya mosque in Heilongjiang.
The mosque keeps a banner inscribed with the words 'Benevolence, Loyalty, and Harmony.' It reads: 'In memory of the 50th anniversary of the passing of the late Imam Niu Chenggong, offered by his humble juniors Ma Yongcai and Ma Yongzhi on the 13th day of the eighth lunar month in the 14th year of Guangxu reign.' Imam Niu Chenggong is the same Master Niu who volunteered to take the blame and follow the Shipyard Master to Qiqihar. Master Niu was originally an imam from the Lingwu area of Wuzhong. Many stories of his miracles during the journey to Qiqihar are widely told among the Jahriyya menhuan. Every year, Jahriyya followers from places like Ningxia and Gansu travel thousands of miles to Qiqihar to visit Master Niu's grave.
3. Harbin Daowai Mosque
Daowai Mosque in Harbin and the century-old Laoguo Family Restaurant
Daowai Mosque, also known as the East Mosque or Binjiang Mosque, started in 1897 (the 23rd year of Guangxu reign) when five thatched rooms were bought on South 12th Street. It was rebuilt in 1904. In the early 1930s, Imam Ma Songting proposed a new building. Head Imam Bai Yusheng traveled around to collect donations (nietie) and hired Russian designers, the Krabryov siblings, to build the current hall of Daowai Mosque in 1935.
Daowai Mosque has a strong Russian style. Its Roman columns and onion domes modeled after Russian architecture are unique, making it a standout piece of mosque architecture from the Republican era.
The classic Russian onion dome actually started in the Middle East. The earliest visible onion domes appear in Syrian mosaic images from the Arab Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 AD), and the earliest physical examples were built by the Seljuk Empire in Iran during the 11th century. Historians are not sure when Russia started using onion domes. Some scholars guess they learned it from the mosques of the Kazan Tatars after Russia conquered the Kazan Khanate in the 16th century, while others think they developed from Byzantine domes.
4. Harbin Tatar Mosque
The history of Harbin Tatar Mosque
Construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway began in 1897 with Harbin as its center. After that, many Tatars from Russia came to live and work along the railway line. Tatars began settling in Harbin in 1901 and built the first wooden Tatar mosque that same year. As the Tatar population grew, they rebuilt the mosque using brick in 1906. The number of Tatar immigrants in Harbin rose after 1917, reaching over a thousand in the 1920s. Most of them made a living by trading furs, textiles, and clothing.
To mark the 1,000th anniversary of their ancestors, the Volga Bulgars, converting to Islam in 922 AD, the Harbin Tatars decided to build a new mosque. Construction of the new mosque started in 1923, but it stalled for a time due to the imam passing away, political instability, and poor management of funds. In 1936, Imam Münir Hasibullah traveled to every place where Tatars lived in the Far East to collect donations (niatie). The Millennium Mosque finally opened on October 8, 1937. After the Soviet Union entered Northeast China in 1945, most Harbin Tatars chose to move to the United States, Canada, and Turkey. By 1960, fewer than five Tatars remained in Harbin, and the Harbin Tatar community officially dissolved.
5. Acheng Mosque in Harbin
The beautiful Acheng Mosque in Heilongjiang
In 1770, a Hui Muslim named Yang Huaxian from Shen County, Shandong, settled in Acheng with the Qing army. Afterward, more Hui Muslims moved from Shandong to Acheng and rented homes from Manchu bannermen. By 1777, there were 26 (some say 28) Hui Muslim households in Acheng, including the Yang, Wang, San, Ma, Zhang, Ding, Jin, and Cai families. They rented houses and established the first Acheng Mosque, with Yang Huaxian serving as the mosque elder. In 1802, elder Yang Huaxian negotiated the purchase of land to build a formal Acheng Mosque. Construction took 50 years, spanning the Jiaqing, Daoguang, and Xianfeng reigns. In 1873, 12 years after the mosque was completed, a fire in Acheng destroyed the moon-sighting tower (wangyuelou) and the north lecture hall, leaving only the south lecture hall and the reception hall. In 1890, the mosque's imam, Liu Yuzhang, and manager Luo Yuzhang began organizing the reconstruction of the mosque. It took 10 years to complete the current structure in 1900.
Inside the hall of Acheng Mosque, there is a beautiful pulpit (minbar). It is actually one of two models built in 1890 for the reconstruction of the mosque's moon-sighting tower (wangyuelou). After the mosque elders discussed it, they chose the style of the other model, so this one was used as the pulpit (minbar).
Jilin
6. Changchun Changtong Road Mosque
Hand-pulled noodles (chenmian) in Nanguan, Changchun, and the Changtong Road Mosque
The Qing Dynasty relaxed its ban on Jilin in the early 19th century in Jiaqing reign. In 1800 (the fifth year of Jiaqing), Changchun Subprefecture was established in Changchunbao. Hui Muslims began moving to Changchun at this time, and because most came from Shandong, they were called the Shandong Group.
Changchun Changtong Road Mosque was built in 1824 (the fourth year of Daoguang). It was originally located inside the east gate of Dongsandao Street. In 1852 (the second year of Xianfeng), elder Han Xuecheng and Gong Wanmei donated houses, and elder Shi Xuecheng donated trees to move the mosque to its current location in Tielingtun. In 1864 (the third year of Tongzhi), Imam Han Dengqing and others raised funds to expand the mosque, building the current five-room hall and the three-story rear hall (yaodian). In 1889 (the 15th year of Guangxu reign), Imam Han Laixiang bought land from the Xu family in front of the mosque. He built the main gate tower, east and west side rooms, a north lecture hall, an east reception hall, and a front porch for the hall. The mosque was expanded several more times in the Republican era.
Liaoning
7. Old City Mosque in Kaiyuan, Tieling
A tour of three mosques in Liaoning: Lingyuan, Shenyang, and Kaiyuan
The Old City Mosque in Kaiyuan, Tieling, is inside the east gate of the old city of Kaiyuan. It was built in 1406 (the 4th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming) and is the oldest mosque in Northeast China. The current hall follows the style of the 1680 (the 19th year of Kangxi reign) reconstruction. It consists of a vaulted porch, the hall, and a hexagonal pavilion-style prayer niche (yaodian), which is similar in style to the South Mosque in Shenyang. The reception hall of the Old City Mosque stores old items, including drip tiles, eave tiles, roof ridge beasts, and carved wooden railings from the hall. It also holds the finial from the moon-sighting tower (wangyuelou) of the prayer niche and a plaque inscribed with the words 'Ling Luo Sha Juan' (fine silks and satins).
8. South Mosque in Shenyang
A tour of three mosques in Liaoning: Lingyuan, Shenyang, and Kaiyuan
Shenyang South Mosque was built in 1636, the first year of the Chongde reign of the Qing. The ancestors of the Tie family who founded it were Hui Muslims from Central Asia who arrived in China during the Mongol western campaigns. In the early Ming Dynasty, Tie Xuan served as a provincial official in Jinan. During the Jingnan Campaign, he led troops to defend the city of Jinan. After the Prince of Yan broke through the city, Tie Xuan was captured and executed by dismemberment. After Tie Xuan returned to Allah, his second son, Tie Fushu, fled outside the Great Wall. During the Wanli reign (1573-1620), he moved from Jinzhou to Shenyang.
In 1662, the first year of Kangxi reign, Tie Kui expanded Shenyang South Mosque. He invited the famous imam She Yuanshan from Beijing to set up a school there. After Imam She's student, Tie Hongji, finished his studies, he became the leader of the mosque. From then on, the position of imam at the South Mosque was passed down through the Tie family for 11 generations. The last imam, Tie Zizhang, served until 1956.
The rear hall of the mosque was expanded in 1902. The hall is not the traditional T-shape but a hexagonal kiln-style hall. This design, which adds a loft-style kiln hall to the back of the hall, is common in the Northeast region.
9. Shenyang East Mosque
A tour of three mosques in Liaoning: Lingyuan, Shenyang, and Kaiyuan
Shenyang East Mosque was built in 1803 (the eighth year of Jiaqing reign). In 1935, the hall was rebuilt in a Western style, but the Moon-Sighting Tower (wangyuelou) kept its original Chinese style. The East Mosque was taken over in 1958, returned in 1980, and became the Shenyang Islamic Institute (Shenyang jingxueyuan) in 1988.
10. Shenyang Xinmin Mosque
[Liaoning Trip during Dragon Boat Festival] Strolling through the morning market in Shenyang and visiting an old mosque in Xinmin.
Xinmin is in the northwest of Shenyang. During the early years of Qianlong reign of the Qing, many new immigrants came here to farm after crossing the border, which is how it got the name 'Xinmin'. Many Hui Muslims came to Xinmin in Qianlong reign, and they built the Xinmin Mosque in Nanyingzi in 1765 (the thirtieth year of Qianlong reign). The Xinmin Mosque burned down in 1866 (the fifth year of the Tongzhi reign) and was rebuilt in 1883 (the ninth year of Guangxu reign), which is the structure we see now.
The main structure of Xinmin Mosque consists of a porch (juanpeng), the hall, a rear vaulted hall (yaodian), and the Moon-Sighting Tower (wangyuelou) on top of the vaulted hall. The Moon-Sighting Tower has a double-eaved, four-cornered pointed roof, topped with a 1.5-meter-tall copper wind-mill finial. The beams of the porch are painted with Suzhou-style patterns, and the wooden screens feature intricate openwork carvings.
11. Fengcheng Mosque in Dandong
[Dragon Boat Festival Trip to Liaoning] Fengcheng Ancient Mosque and Dandong Food
Fengcheng Mosque was built in 1775 (the 40th year of Qianlong reign). It was renovated in 1862 (the 1st year of the Tongzhi reign), and in 1876 (the 2nd year of Guangxu reign), the north lecture hall was rebuilt and side rooms were added. In 1890 (the 16th year of Guangxu reign), the Moon-Sighting Tower was added, giving the mosque its current size. The most unique feature of Fengcheng Mosque is the Moon-Sighting Tower, built in Guangxu reign. It has a double-eaved, four-cornered pointed roof with elegant upturned eaves, brackets, and finely carved decorative brackets (que-ti).
12. Qingdui Mosque in Dalian
[Dragon Boat Festival Trip to Liaoning] Dalian City, Fuzhou Ancient City, and Qingdui Ancient Town
Qingdui Town is a thousand-year-old town that has served as a fishing port and commercial hub on the Liaodong Peninsula since the Tang Dynasty. Qingbu Port officially opened in 1743 (the eighth year of Qianlong reign), making Qingdui Town an important transit point for people from Shandong and Hebei migrating to the Northeast. During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republican era, Qingdui Town was home to over three hundred businesses, with shops lining the streets and bustling with activity. Today, Qingdui Town still preserves many old houses with green bricks and dark tiles from the late Qing and Republican periods, and Qingdui Mosque (Qingdui Si) is one of them.
Qingdui Mosque was built in the Daoguang reign of the Qing, starting as just three thatched rooms. In July 1894, the First Sino-Japanese War broke out, and the famous Hui Muslim general Zuo Baogui led his troops to Korea to fight the Japanese, passing by Qingdui Mosque on the way. General Zuo Baogui got along very well with Imam Zhang Chaozhen of Qingdui Mosque. Later, he donated money, and with additional funds raised by his personal Hui Muslim guards and three local halal restaurants—Deshengyuan, Qingshengyuan, and Yongshengyuan—they worked together to expand the mosque. It is a pity that General Zuo Baogui died heroically fighting the Japanese in Pyongyang before the expansion of Qingdui Mosque was finished.
In 1895 (the 21st year of Guangxu reign), Hui Wanchun, the elder in charge of Qingdui Mosque, led the rebuilding of the hall into the three-room green brick and tile structure we see now. In 1920 (the 9th year of the Republic), the gatehouse was rebuilt and the lecture hall was expanded, giving the mosque its current size.
Above the gate of Qingdui Mosque is a brick-carved couplet that reads: 'The pure palace spreads the teachings of the Muhammadan path, the true sage passes down scriptures that bring grace from the Western Regions.' This is a very precious piece of Republic-era brick-carved calligraphy. The main gate is usually closed, so you have to enter the mosque through the south wing where the imam lives. The imam is from Gansu, and he warmly told us about the history of Qingdui Mosque; it is not easy for his family to stay here and keep this small community mosque running.
13. Fuzhou Mosque in Dalian
[Dragon Boat Festival Trip to Liaoning] Dalian City, Fuzhou Ancient City, and Qingdui Ancient Town
In the early Qing Dynasty, Hui Muslims with the surnames Yin, Dai, Ma, and Hui arrived in Fuzhou. In 1649, the sixth year of the Shunzhi reign, they began planning the Fuzhou Mosque. By 1656, the thirteenth year of the Shunzhi reign, they finished building three thatched rooms to serve as the hall. The hall was rebuilt in 1774, the thirty-ninth year of Qianlong reign, and expanded again in 1880, the sixth year of Guangxu reign, though it still had a thatched roof. In 1920, the front porch and rear kiln-style hall were added, and the roof was changed to grey brick tiles, creating the structure seen now.
Hanging in front of the Fuzhou Mosque hall is a plaque inscribed with the words "Return to Simplicity and Truth" (Huan Pu Gui Zhen). It was presented in 1897, the twenty-third year of Guangxu reign, by Wang Tingxiang, a high-ranking official who held several titles including Imperial Censor of the Jiangnan Circuit and Commissioner of Education for Shanxi.
14. Xinlitun Mosque in Jinzhou
[Dragon Boat Festival Trip to Liaoning] The ancient town of Xinlitun in western Liaoning and the coal city of Fuxin
Xinlitun is an ancient town in western Liaoning, known as the "First Town Beyond the Frontier." During the Daoguang period of the Qing, Hui Muslims from places like Jinzhou, Yixian, Heishan, and Yingkou came to settle in Xinlitun. They built the Xinlitun Mosque in 1842.
On the 15th day of the first lunar month in 1873, Xinlitun held a stilt-walking festival. During the event, a conflict broke out between a Manchu banner man named Dashan, also known as Fifth Master Da, and Hui Muslims including Liu Hua, Zhao Guang'en, and Wang Yao. This escalated into a clash between the Manchu and Hui communities, which ended with the Xinlitun Mosque being burned down. Afterward, both the Manchu and Hui communities learned from the incident and decided to rebuild the Xinlitun Mosque. After several years of preparation, General Zuo Baogui, an anti-Japanese hero who led the Fengtian Army, took the lead by donating 300 taels of silver to finally complete the reconstruction.
15. Beizhen Mosque in Jinzhou
Visiting an old mosque in Jinzhou, Liaoning
The Beizhen Mosque was built in 1522, expanded in 1617, and renovated again in 1798. Beizhen Mosque was once inside the south wall of Guangning City. During Qianlong reign, the south wall was abandoned when the city was rebuilt. The wall slowly disappeared, and later Guangning City was renamed Beizhen City. This turned Beizhen Mosque from a city mosque into one located outside the city walls.
Beizhen Mosque follows the traditional northern mosque layout of a porch (juanpeng), hall (dadian), and rear niche (yaodian). Unusually, the porch and the hall are separate structures and do not connect. The beams and brackets are painted with floral patterns, and the wood carvings are very fine and detailed.
16. Luyang Mosque in Jinzhou
Visiting an old mosque in Jinzhou, Liaoning
Luyang Mosque in Jinzhou, Liaoning, was built in 1531 (the tenth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming). It was rebuilt in the Xianfeng reign of the Qing and reached its current form in 1925. Manager Wang of the Luyang Enliyong pastry shop oversaw the construction. He invited Yang Peiran (Yuchun), who was a brigade commander in the Northeast Army at the time, to help raise the funds. Luyang Mosque is a rare historic mosque in China that features a moon-viewing tower (wangyuelou) placed directly above the hall. You can climb up to the tower to view the moon using a hanging wooden ladder. A plaque inscribed by the anti-Japanese hero General Zuo Baogui once hung in front of the hall, but it was destroyed. The current plaque was inscribed in 1984.
17. Lingyuan Mosque in Chaoyang
A tour of three mosques in Liaoning: Lingyuan, Shenyang, and Kaiyuan
Lingyuan City in Chaoyang, Liaoning, sits at the border of Hebei, Liaoning, and Inner Mongolia. It was originally called Tazigou. Since the Qianlong era of the Qing, Hui Muslims from Shandong and Hebei kept traveling through the Great Wall gaps near Xifengkou to reach the northeast. Lingyuan was their first stop after crossing the wall, and some Hui Muslims settled there. Lingyuan Mosque was built during the Qianlong era. According to stone inscriptions in the mosque, a Hui Muslim doctor named Zhang Lichen and others cured the illness of a Mongol prince from the Harqin Left Banner. The prince's estate then provided the land and silver to build the Lingyuan Mosque.
18. Suizhong Mosque in Huludao
The mosque and halal snacks in Suizhong, Liaoning
Suizhong County in Huludao, Liaoning, sits right next to Shanhai Pass and is the southwesternmost county in Liaoning Province. Starting in the 18th century, more than ten families of Hui Muslims, including the Zhang, Ding, Li, and Jin families, moved to Suizhong from Hebei Province. The first Suizhong mosque was built in 1737 (the second year of Qianlong reign) below the Kuixing Tower in the southeast of the city. It moved to its current location inside the West Gate in 1797 (the third year of Jiaqing reign) and took on its present form after being rebuilt between 1924 and 1927.
Inner Mongolia
19. Chifeng North Mosque
Chifeng North Mosque in Inner Mongolia and halal food
During the early Qing Dynasty, Hui Muslims from Shandong and Hebei continuously traveled through Gubeikou and Chengde to reach eastern Inner Mongolia to make a living. In the 1730s, ten Hui families with the surnames Zhang, Ma, and Bai moved from Shandong and Hebei to settle in Chifeng, where they became known as the ten great Hui families or the 'mountain-claiming households' (zhanshanhu). In 1739 (the fourth year of Qianlong reign), village elder Zhang Yueming from Chifeng led the effort to lease seven point six mu of land from Mongolian princes. They built five mud houses and a three-room hall, which became the earliest Chifeng Mosque.
In 1742 (the seventh year of Qianlong reign), village elder Ma Fen, who once ran the Desheng Security Firm in Shenyang, initiated the renovation of Chifeng Mosque. He paid for a plot of land, and the imam along with several village elders traveled to various places to collect donations through written requests (nietie). Afterward, Ma Fen went to Shenyang to hire craftsmen. Construction took four years and finished in 1747 (the twelfth year of Qianlong reign). All the wood used came from red pine trees on the south mountain of Chifeng. From then on, the imam of the North Mosque was always a scripture reader from the Ma family line.
20. Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab
Longshengzhuang, a former trading town for Shanxi merchants traveling to Mongolia.
Longshengzhuang is on the border between Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. From the Qing to the early Republic of China, it was an important trading hub for Shanxi merchants traveling to Mongolia. During the early Qing Dynasty, Hui Muslims from Hebei and Shandong kept moving to Longshengzhuang for business. In the late Qing Dynasty, many Hui Muslims from Shaanxi also migrated there. During the reign of the Guangxu Emperor in the Qing, the Hui Muslim population in Longshengzhuang grew to two or three thousand people, reaching a peak of over five thousand in the early years of the Republic. Then, Longshengzhuang had nearly twenty businesses, including a large halal restaurant (qingzhen dafanzhuang), livestock traders, brokers, and inns for travelers with horses.
Longshengzhuang Mosque was built in 1751. It started with only three halls. As more Muslims came here for business, they added a hall, a front gate, a second gate, side rooms, and a screen wall in 1831, creating a three-courtyard layout. The arched porch (juanpeng) of Longshengzhuang Mosque was expanded in 1926 and features beautiful ironwork decorations from the Republican era.
21. Hohhot Great Mosque
Summer halal food tour in Hohhot
Hohhot Great Mosque was built between the end of the Ming and the beginning of the Qing. It was expanded in 1789 (the 54th year of Qianlong reign) and again in 1923. The mosque gate was built in 1892 (the 18th year of Guangxu reign). Above it hangs a plaque inscribed with "Great Mosque" (Qingzhen Dasi) from 1890 (the 16th year of Guangxu reign), with plaques reading "National Prosperity" (Guotai) and "Peace for the People" (Min'an) on either side. Inside the entrance, you can see a brick-carved screen wall behind the hall. It was built in 1896 (the 22nd year of Guangxu reign) and is inscribed with phrases meaning "rectify the heart and be sincere in self-cultivation," "recognize the oneness of Allah," "brighten the heart," and "see one's true nature." These were written by Ma Fuxiang, who served as the Suiyuan Military Governor in 1924. The hall was expanded in 1923 and consists of a porch, a front hall, a middle hall, and a rear kiln-style hall. The roof features a connected structure with four gables and five pointed pavilions, which symbolize the five pillars of Islam: faith, prayer (namaz), fasting, charity, and pilgrimage. The porch blends Chinese and Western styles with arched doorways. The walls are has Arabic plaques, couplets, and floral patterns. The Moon-Sighting Tower (Wangyue Lou) was built in 1939. It stands 36 meters tall with a hexagonal brick base and a single-eave hexagonal pointed roof at the top.
22. Hohhot East Mosque
Summer halal food tour in Hohhot
Hohhot East Mosque was built in Kangxi reign of the Qing. It started as a school and was expanded into a mosque in Guangxu reign. The current building was rebuilt in 2014.
Hebei
23. West Mosque (Xisi) in Chengde
Mosques and halal food in Chengde
Hui Muslims began settling in Chengde after the Qing built the Mountain Resort. Whenever Emperor Kangxi held the Mulan autumn hunt or visited the resort to escape the summer heat, Hui Muslim soldiers and merchants followed him. In the early years of the Yongzheng reign, the Qing government stationed Green Standard Army troops in Chengde. Because most soldiers came from Shaanxi, it was called the Shaanxi Camp, and the Left Camp within it was mostly made up of Hui Muslims. From then on, the Shaanxi Camp became the main residential area for Hui Muslims in Chengde.
By the Qianlong era, Chengde had become a major city in the north. Hui Muslims from Shandong and Hebei came to do business, working in the food industry and cattle and sheep slaughtering, a movement known as 'chasing the imperial camp'. Today, the ten major surnames of Chengde's Hui Muslims, including Wang, Ma, Shi, and Chen, all moved here from Shandong. The Wu family moved from Cangzhou, Hebei, and the Kong family moved from Beijing. The earliest mosque in Chengde, the East Mosque (Dongsi), was built in Kangxi reign and was occupied in 1958. The existing West Mosque (Xisi) was built in the Daoguang reign. The hall consists of a porch (juanpeng), a hall, and a rear niche (yaodian). The moon-sighting tower (wangyuelou) is on top of the hall, topped with a decorative finial (baoding).
24. Pingquan Mosque in Chengde
Go to the small town of Pingquan outside the Great Wall to drink lamb bone broth (yangtang).
The South Street Mosque in Pingquan, Hebei, was built in 1647 (the fourth year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing) and originally consisted of only three thatched rooms. As the number of Hui Muslims in Pingquan grew in Qianlong reign, the mosque's imam, Zhang Hongye, and his son, Zhang Jin, traveled to Beijing in 1742 (the seventh year of Qianlong reign). They made a model out of straw based on a mosque outside Qihua Gate (it is not verified whether it was the one at Nan Shangpo or Nan Xiapo) and brought it back to Pingquan to hire craftsmen to build the mosque. In 1915, Wu Zijian, the head of the Pingquan branch of the Islamic Promotion Association, led a renovation of the mosque.
25. Xinhua Street Mosque in Zhangjiakou
Mosques and halal food in Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua
Xinhua Street Mosque in Zhangjiakou was originally called Shenggou Mosque. It was built in 1863, the second year of the Tongzhi reign, by over eighty Hui families from Ningxia who had taken refuge in Zhangjiakou. Because these people mainly worked in the camel transport trade, Xinhua Street Mosque is also known as Camel Caravan Mosque (Tuofang Si).
These Hui Muslims were mostly from the Ma, Liu, Li, Du, Wu, Wang, and Ding families. They used camels to transport furs, silk, and tea for merchants, traveling between Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Gansu, Mongolia, and Russia. They first built a simple hall next to a business called Baoshun Camel Shop. It reached its current size at Xinhua Street Mosque after several expansions. In front of the hall of Xinhua Street Mosque, there are beautiful stone railings with pillar tops carved into the shape of fruit plates. All the large pine beams and pillars in the hall were brought from Mongolia, serving as a witness to the camel transport trade in Zhangjiakou.
26. Xiguan Mosque in Zhangjiakou
Mosques and halal food in Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua
The Xiguan Mosque in Zhangjiakou was built during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng (1723-1735) by Hui Muslims from the Xiao, Zheng, Song, and Wang families who had lived in the Xiabao area of Zhangjiakou since the Ming and Qing dynasties. It had several renovations during the Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Daoguang eras. The original mihrab inside the hall of the Xiguan Mosque was destroyed due to historical events, and it could not be restored for a long time due to a lack of records. Fortunately, the mosque management committee kept searching and recently found a clear photo in a foreign book. In June 2020, they invited the famous Arabic calligrapher Wang Qifei to restore the Ming-style calligraphy on the mihrab. At the same time, he used Ming-style calligraphy to write the 99 Names of Allah on the caisson ceiling of the arched hall.
27. Turgou Mosque in Zhangjiakou
Mosques and halal food in Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua
After the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway opened, the Qiaodong area of Zhangjiakou became prosperous. Hui Muslims with the surnames Yang, Chen, He, and Ma, who moved from the Dachang and Sanhe areas of Hebei, raised funds to build the Turgou Mosque in 1917. It was known as the Beijing and Jingdong Fangshang. The current hall was rebuilt in 1990.
28. Xuanhua South Mosque in Zhangjiakou
Mosques and halal food in Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua
The South Mosque (Nandasi) in Xuanhua, Zhangjiakou, Hebei, was built in 1403 (the first year of the Yongle reign of the Ming). In 1820 (the 25th year of Jiaqing reign of the Qing), Hui Muslims from the Ding, Shan, and Yu families decided to move it to Miaodi Street. Then, they dismantled the gate, plaques, and Moon-Watching Tower (Wangyuelou) from the Ming mosque and moved them to the new site. Construction finished in 1854 (the fourth year of the Xianfeng reign of the Qing), making it the largest mosque in Zhangjiakou.
After the 1960s, the South Mosque suffered severe damage. The Moon-Watching Tower, corridors, stone arch bridge, and memorial archway were torn down, and all historical stone tablets, plaques, and couplets were destroyed. Restoration was finally completed between 2004 and 2007.
The South Mosque is laid out symmetrically along an east-west axis, with 15 halls and pavilions forming a complete architectural complex. Entering the main gate leads to a courtyard with a stone arch bridge in the center. Directly ahead is the Heart-Reflecting Tower (Shengxinlou), which has a hallway on the ground floor. The Moon-Watching Tower features upturned eaves with bracket sets and a double-eaved, hexagonal, pointed roof. The Moon-Watching Tower connects to the north and south lecture halls through covered corridors. The hall consists of a front porch (juanpeng), a hall, and a rear niche (yaodian). It uses a traditional timber frame structure with hardwood palace lanterns hanging from the beams. During Ramadan each year, all the lanterns are lit, making the hall as bright as day. Four pillars support the 17.6-meter-high roof of the rear niche (yaodian). The roof of the rear niche (yaodian) is an octagonal pointed structure with upturned eaves and a decorative caisson ceiling (zaojing) inside.
29. Xuanhua North Mosque in Zhangjiakou
Mosques and halal food in Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua
Xuanhua North Mosque in Zhangjiakou, Hebei, was built in 1722 (the 61st year of Kangxi reign of the Qing). The side rooms and auxiliary halls were rebuilt in 1860 and 1865. The North Mosque originally featured a gate tower, a minaret (xuanlilou), corridors, north and south side rooms, and a hall, all has ornate carvings and paintings. The hall is unique because the front porch (juanpeng), hall, and rear niche (yaodian) form a cross-shaped floor plan. The overall structure is shallow and wide, which is very different from the long and deep halls common in eastern regions, but is actually more common in Xinjiang. The kiln-style hall (yaodian) is also unique, featuring a square, multi-story roof built on top of the arched shed structure.
After the 1960s, the North Mosque suffered severe damage. The gate tower, side gate, perimeter walls, hanging flower gate (chuihuamen), corridors, and minaret were all torn down and have not been restored to this day. Currently, the hall and the north and south side rooms are rented out as warehouses. The roof of the kiln-style hall has collapsed, and the north side hall and the ablution room (shuifang) were converted into a workshop for a halal pastry factory, which still occupies the space.
30. Xuanhua Middle Mosque in Zhangjiakou
Mosques and halal food in Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua
Located between the North Mosque and the South Mosque, the Xuanhua Middle Mosque in Zhangjiakou, Hebei, is smaller in scale. It was built in 1821 (the first year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing) and underwent renovations in 2016.
31. Baoding West Mosque
The ancient mosques and halal food of Baoding
The West Mosque in Baoding, Hebei, was built in 1616 (the 44th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming). According to the stone inscriptions in the mosque, a man named Fa Gong from Hanji Village in Fangshan served as a military officer in Baoding during the Wanli years. He noticed there was no mosque in the city, which meant local Hui Muslims had to travel elsewhere for prayers during Eid (Erde). He bought 12 mu of land from the Wei family vegetable garden to build one. Besides building the mosque, the surrounding land was used for housing, which officially established the mosque community layout in Baoding. The West Mosque was renovated many times after the Qing. The bathing room was rebuilt in 1906 (the 23rd year of Guangxu reign), and the north and south lecture halls were rebuilt in the Republican era, creating the current layout.
The hall has two sections. The roof of the rear hall features an octagonal pavilion over 7 meters high, with a couplet that reads, 'The Lord is formless but can be understood by the heart, to leave room for others is a high virtue,' and a horizontal plaque that says, 'Looking toward Mecca (Tianfang).' The roof ridges originally had animal statues, but in the Republican era, Bai Yunzhang, the owner of the famous local halal steamed bun shop Bai Yunzhang Baozipu, paid to have them replaced with flower and plant designs. As a famous mosque in North China, the West Mosque had a thriving religious community and trained many scholars (alim), including Xie Jinqing, Yang Yuzhen, An Shiwei, and Yang Yongchang. The mosque also once had a training ground that produced many famous wrestling masters and martial arts teachers.
32. Baoding East Mosque
The ancient mosques and halal food of Baoding
During the Tongzhi reign, the West Mosque in Baoding became too crowded as the number of worshippers grew, making the hall feel small. Local residents Shi Xie and his son Shi Jun built a scripture room to the east of the West Mosque. A few years later, the famous imam Yan Mingpu oversaw its official completion as the Baoding East Mosque. The Baoding East Mosque was renovated many times. During Guangxu reign, Imam Zhang Ziwen and Mr. Shi Tongshan led the construction of the south lecture hall and the washroom (shuifang). During the Xuantong reign, Imam Xie Jinqing oversaw the building of the north lecture hall, while Shi Changchun and Shi Tongshan managed a full renovation. In 1936, Imam Yang Baozhai led another major restoration. Although the Baoding East Mosque is not large, many well-known imams taught here, including Imam Wang Gui, Imam Li Ba, Imam Zhang Li, and Imam Bai Da, helping to train many talented students. After 1958, the East Mosque was taken over for use as a blueprint paper factory. In 1979, ownership was returned to the West Mosque, and it now serves as a warehouse for the Xinyue Halal Food Factory.
33. Baoding Women's Mosque
The ancient mosques and halal food of Baoding
The Baoding Women's Mosque in Hebei was founded in 1916 in the mosque's north alley by Imam Yan Fengshan from the Baoding East Mosque, with Jin Shiniang from Shandong serving as the prayer leader. In 1932, Imam Sha Zhijun from Jilin was hired to start a halal girls' primary school inside the mosque, which closed after the Japanese occupation in 1937. In 1940, Imam Sha and Elder Shi traveled to Beijing, Tianjin, and Jinan to raise funds. With additional help from local community elders, they bought a house from Bai Yunzhang, the owner of the famous Baoding halal steamed bun shop (baozhi), to build the current Baoding Women's Mosque. The mosque was taken over after 1958. In the 1970s, digging an air-raid shelter under the hall caused structural damage. After it was returned in 1982, the walls began to crack. A new building was constructed on the north side during the 2015 urban renewal project, and the old hall is now used as a storage room.
34. Baoding Zhuozhou Mosque
Going to Zhuozhou, Hebei, for Friday namaz.
Hui Muslims in Zhuozhou, Baoding, Hebei, mainly live in the areas of Ximen North Street and Yingfangqian Street. The area still keeps its traditional courtyard-style housing, and the thick rammed-earth sections of the old Zhuozhou west city wall are still standing near. The local Gao family in Zhuozhou City came here with the Prince of Yan during his northern military campaign in the early Ming Dynasty. The mosque was built during the Yongle period of the Ming, renovated in the 60th year of Kangxi reign of the Qing, and the hall was rebuilt in 2000 to reach its current appearance. In front of the mosque gate stand two 350-year-old Chinese scholar trees (guohuai), and the courtyard holds several 500-year-old Chinese arborvitae (cebai), all of which witness the history of the Zhuozhou mosque.
35. Cangzhou North Mosque
[Halal Travel Review] Hebei Cangzhou in 2016
Hui Muslim merchants began settling in Cangzhou with their families as early as the Yuan. However, during the Jingnan Campaign in 1399 (the first year of the Jianwen reign of the Ming), the Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, led his army to capture the old city of Cangzhou, killing thousands of surrendered soldiers and tens of thousands of residents, and destroying the entire old city. Afterward, the Prince of Yan ordered the city of Cangzhou to be moved to Changlu by the Grand Canal and brought in residents from Shanxi, Shandong, Anhui, and other places to settle, which included many Hui Muslims.
In 1403 (the first year of the Yongle reign of the Ming), Wu Zuoyong, a Hui Muslim from Anhui, was appointed as the Assistant Magistrate of the Cangzhou Salt Transport Commission in Hejian Prefecture, Zhili, and moved to Cangzhou from Shexian County in Huizhou, Anhui. The area near the south gate of Cangzhou was once a key route to the Grand Canal. Many Hui Muslims, mostly craftspeople and small vendors, chose to live here. In 1420, during the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming, the North Mosque of Cangzhou (Cangzhou Beidasi) was completed after Wu Yongzuo donated the land and oversaw its construction. This marked the official beginning of the current Hui community in Cangzhou.
36. Botou Mosque in Cangzhou
[Halal Travel Review] Botou, Hebei in 2017
Botou suffered heavy damage during the Jingnan Campaign in 1399, the first year of the Jianwen reign, and its population dropped sharply. In 1404, the second year of the Yongle reign, Emperor Zhu Di ordered residents to move to Cangzhou, which brought many Hui Muslims to Botou. Records show that seven Hui families—Yang, Cao, Dai, Hui, Zhang, Wang, and Shi—moved to Botou by imperial decree in 1404 from Erlanggang, Shangyuan County, Yingtian Prefecture in Nanjing. The first Botou Mosque was also built that year.
After that, more Hui Muslims moved here from Shandong, Shanxi, and Anhui. Botou Mosque underwent a large-scale expansion during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, which gave it the layout it has now.
37. Hongguanying Mosque in Xingtai.
The ancient canal city of Linqing, Shandong.
Hongguanying Mosque is in Linxi County, Xingtai, Hebei, just across the Wei Canal from Linqing. Hongguanying is named after the Hong family of Hui Muslims. According to the Hong Family Genealogy of Linqing, the ancestor of the Hong Hui Muslims was Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din. His sixth-generation descendant, Hong Badan, served as an official in Linqing during the Ming. His descendants took Hong as their surname and settled in Linqing. One branch settled in the urban area of Linqing and built the Hong Family Mosque (North Mosque). Another branch settled in Hongguanying Village and built the Hongguanying Mosque. Hongguanying Mosque was built between the Xuande and Tianshun periods of the Ming. It was burned down in 1854 (the fourth year of the Xianfeng reign) during the Northern Expedition of the Taiping Rebellion, and it was rebuilt in its current form in 1874 (the thirteenth year of the Tongzhi reign). We were warmly welcomed at Hongguanying Mosque by Imam Lan. He is a talented Arabic calligrapher, and his scripture paintings and stone carvings are truly impressive.
38. Shanhaiguan Mosque in Qinhuangdao
In July, I visited the mosque, the sea, and the Great Wall in Shanhaiguan.
Shanhaiguan Mosque in Qinhuangdao, Hebei, sits just outside the west gate of the Shanhaiguan fortress. According to the Kangxi-era Records of Shanhaiguan, in the first month of 1381 (the 14th year of the Hongwu reign), General Xu Da sent 15,100 soldiers from the Yanshan Garrison to build 32 passes, including Yongping and Jieling. People say the original Shanhaiguan Mosque was built by the Hui Muslim soldiers brought by Xu Da. Because of this, the local Hui Muslims in Shanhaiguan have a saying: The mosque came before the Shanhaiguan Pass. The current hall of the mosque was rebuilt between 1998 and 2003. In the courtyard, there is a 600-year-old Chinese pine (yousong) planted when the mosque was built, along with a Chinese arborvitae (cebai) planted at the same time. The north wing of the mosque houses Ming and Qing dynasty brick and wood carvings removed during the 1998 renovation, and some old-fashioned mantel clocks.
Beijing
39. Gubeikou Mosque in Miyun
Visiting the old mosque in Gubeikou
Gubeikou Mosque is in Hexi Village, Gubeikou, Miyun, Beijing. Its original construction date is unknown, but a stone tablet from the Ming Chongzhen era inside the mosque says it was rebuilt in the second year of Chongzhen (1629). During the Kangxi era, Gubeikou was a key military site for Kangxi’s campaigns against the Dzungars. It was also an imperial road for his northern hunting trips and inspections, making it very important. In the 34th year of Kangxi (1695), a Hui Muslim military officer named Ma Jinliang was promoted to commander-in-chief of Gubeikou in Zhili due to his outstanding battle achievements. People called him General Ma the Hui Muslim. While in Gubeikou, Ma Jinliang led the renovation of Gubeikou Mosque. In the ninth year of Tongzhi (1870), Zheng Kuishi, a famous late Qing Dynasty general and the Gubeikou commander at the time, worked with local elders from Rehe, Dage Town (now Fengning, Chengde), and Gubeikou to donate money to rebuild the mosque's kiln hall (yaodian), turning it from one story into two.
As the imperial road fell into disrepair at the end of the Qing, Hexi Village gradually became quiet. After the 1960s, the Gubeikou Mosque was used by the brigade headquarters. It was renovated in 2004 for the Olympics, but it has not resumed religious activities since. Today, the key to the Gubeikou Mosque is held by an elderly Hui Muslim man living next door. I only managed to get inside to visit after I happened to run into him.
40. Mujiayu Mosque in Miyun (rebuilt)
A halal tour around Miyun Reservoir
Mujiayu is located northeast of Miyun's urban area. Historically, it sat on the trade route from Gubeikou and Shixia Ancient City to the center of Miyun. The Hui Muslims with the surname Mu in the village came from Tianmu Village in Tianjin. They moved to Miyun in Qianlong reign, over two hundred years ago.
In 1771 (the 36th year of Qianlong reign), Mu Guobao was arrested for accidentally injuring someone while standing up for justice at a market in Tianjin, but he was rescued by his younger brother while being escorted. The two brothers fled Tianjin and came to Mengjiayu in Miyun (now Nanmujiayu Village) to work. In less than ten years, they built a house, bought land, married, and had children. They founded Mujiayu, and Mu Guobao was the first ancestor to move there. According to research by local scholar Cao Rongxin, Mujiayu originally only had the Mu family. Later, Hui Muslims with the surname Ha fled famine and settled there. In 1958, the construction of the Miyun Reservoir flooded the ancient city of Shixia. Hui Muslims with the surnames Li, Cao, Ma, and Zhang from the ancient city, along with the Mu family from Qianchao Duzhuang (whose first ancestor was the younger brother of Mu Guobao), all moved to Mujiayu. This eventually created the current size of Mujiayu.
Mu Chaoyu, the son of the first ancestor Mu Guobao, built the Mujiayu Mosque on a small hill by the river east of the village in his later years. In 1946, the Mujiayu Mosque was seized by the armed landlord group Huohui from West Mujiayu. It was destroyed in 1948 during the liberation of Miyun, and only two pine trees remain now. After 1949, Mujiayu used compensation money to build six rooms on the west side of the village. They originally planned to rebuild the hall, but the project failed due to road construction. Later, the mosque buildings were occupied by a collective canteen and other units. It was not until 1991 that the Mujiayu Mosque was finally rebuilt on the west side of the road in the west of the village. The Mujiayu Mosque was demolished and rebuilt again in 2023. What I am showing now is the Mujiayu Mosque before it was rebuilt.
41. Changping Nankou Village Mosque
Visiting seven ancient mosques during Ramadan.
Nankou is the first gateway for Beijing to reach Datong, Xuanhua, and the Mongolian grasslands via the Jundu Pass, one of the eight passes of the Taihang Mountains. It was also the final line of defense for the capital and has been a strategic military location since ancient times. To defend against Mongol invasions, the Ming built Nankou City in 1404 (the second year of the Yongle reign), and it was renovated many times later. After the Qing, trade with the grasslands flourished, filling Nankou City with shops and a constant stream of merchants and travelers. After the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway was completed in 1909, the commercial importance of Nankou City was gradually replaced by Nankou Town, where the railway station was located.
Nankou Mosque is located outside the south gate of Nankou City. Its exact founding date is unknown, but it is estimated to have been built during the Ming. The mosque houses a stone tablet from the 20th year of Guangxu reign (1894) titled 'Record of the Renovation of the Nankou Mosque in Yanqing Prefecture.' It records that Imam Yang Xiaoshan from Shixia City in Miyun was hired by Nankou Mosque in 1876. He traveled everywhere to raise donations (nietie), and then renovated the south lecture hall in 1879, the north quiet room in 1880, and built a water well in 1881. In 1887, Imam Yang was hired by Shacheng Mosque in Huailai County, and Nankou Mosque hired Imam Shan Hong'en, who continued to build a water room next to the well and a main gate in the northeast corner. The current Nankou Mosque generally keeps the layout from its renovation in Guangxu reign.
Nankou Mosque closed in 1958 and has not opened since. In 2005, the Changping District Cultural Relics Management Office renovated the hall and the north quiet room. They planned to open it afterward, but it has remained closed due to disputes over the mosque's property. The Changping District Cultural Relics Management Office repaired the mosque again between 2020 and 2021.
42. Changping Wujie Mosque
Visiting seven ancient mosques during Ramadan.
Changping Wujie Mosque is also called Changping City Mosque. Legend says it was built by Chang Yuchun during his northern military campaign. It was rebuilt in the Wanli reign using stone and wood left over from building the Ming Tombs. The golden nanmu wood beams and pillars in the hall still remain now.
Changping Wujie Mosque is now the only Jahriyya mosque in Beijing. The prayer rug used by Imam Jin Zichang is still kept inside the mosque. Imam Jin Zichang comes from the Jinjiadian Daotang in Jinan, Shandong. He is the Eastern Rais of the Jahriyya and manages the religious affairs of the Jahriyya in Jiangsu, Shandong, Hebei, and the three northeastern provinces. Imam Jin's ancestor, Jin Shizhang, joined Ma Mingxin in 1770 to study Jahriyya teachings. He was later appointed as the Rais in charge of religious affairs in Shandong, Zhili, and Jiangsu, and he founded the Jinjiadian Daotang in Xiguan, Jinan. Imam Jin's great-grandfather, Jin Zhong, once managed the religious affairs of the Nanshangpo Mosque outside Chaoyangmen in Beijing and the Wujie Mosque in Changping. His grandfather, Jin Shiyi, became the Rais of the Jahriyya in Xinjiang in 1912 and helped expand the Nanda Mosque in Urumqi.
43. Heying Mosque in Changping
Visiting the tomb of the Western Region sage Bo Hazhi
The tomb of the Western Region sage Bo Hazhi is in Heying, Changping, Beijing. Locals also call it the Sheikh Baba grave. Records say Bo Hazhi came from Medina and arrived in China to spread the faith in the early years of the Hongwu reign of the Ming. He eventually passed away in Heying, Changping, and is deeply respected by Hui Muslims. Local legends say Bo Hazhi killed a giant python on Mangshan Mountain to save the people, and that he appeared in white robes to protect villagers from soldiers when the rebel leader Chuang Wang marched on Beijing.
In front of the tomb of Bo Hazhi, there are five stone tablets from the Ming and Qing dynasties. The people who set them up include General Yang Yingrui, a Hui Muslim from Niujie in Beijing during the Ming dynasty; General Ma Fang, a legendary Hui Muslim who won many battles in the mid-Ming dynasty; and Ma Jinliang, a famous Hui Muslim officer from the early Qing dynasty. The cemetery holds 68 ancient cypress trees from the Ming dynasty. Outside of the Ming Tombs, this is the best-preserved collection of Ming-era trees in Changping.
A local Hui Muslim family named Zhang has guarded the tomb of Bo Hazhi for generations. Today, the guardians are Zhang Youjin and his wife. On the south side of the cemetery stands Heying Mosque (Heying Si), built by the Zhang family in the 1930s. The imam of Heying Mosque was forced to leave after the 1960s, and since then, the building has mainly been used for visiting graves and funeral rites (mayiti). When policies were updated in the 1980s, Heying Mosque was not included in the heritage protection area along with the tomb of Bo Hazhi, so it still does not have official status as a cultural relic. Heying Mosque is now being repaired step by step, and the north building has been rebuilt.
According to a tablet record from the first year of the Xuantong reign, officials and Hui Muslims from past dynasties have come here every year on the 24th day of the third lunar month to pay respects and visit the grave, a tradition that has lasted a long time. From the Ming dynasty until now, Hui Muslims from the local area and near have come to visit the grave of the Sheikh Baba (Shaihai Baba) on the 24th day of the third lunar month without fail. On this day, we invite the imam from a near mosque to lead the scripture reading and closing prayers. The villagers slaughter sheep to make meat porridge and fry dough fritters (youxiang), making it a very grand occasion.
44. Shahe Mosque in Changping
Visiting seven ancient mosques during Ramadan.
During the Wanli reign of the Ming, the northern capital road to Zhangjiakou moved to Shahe. Hui Muslims who traded cattle and sheep began to settle in Shahe. Shahe Mosque was built during the Ming and was renovated twice, once in Guangxu reign of the Qing and once in the Republican era.
The renovation stele from the 31st year of Guangxu reign (1905) on the north side of the hall's porch records the mosque's renovation process between 1895 and 1905. The text notes that at the time, the local sheep market donated five wen from the sale of every sheep, and one hundred wen from every cow and camel, to cover the mosque's various expenses. The 1920 renovation stele on the south side of the porch records that the mosque renovated its water room in 1917. Later, they collected donations (nieti) to build the rear hall and a Western-style gate in 1920. The first donor mentioned is the Republic-era Hui Muslim general Yang Kaijia. His ancestral home was Dachang, Hebei, and he served for a long time as a military guard for Yuan Shikai. He was promoted to lieutenant general for his many contributions. Most of the names that follow are various businesses, many from Madian outside Deshengmen. The most famous one among them is likely Donglaishun.
45. Xiguanshi Mosque in Changping
Xiguanshi Mosque
Visiting old mosques in Beijing during the Islamic New Year
Xiguanshi Mosque in Changping, Beijing, was built in 1494 (the seventh year of the Hongzhi reign of the Ming). The hall was rebuilt in 1709 (the forty-eighth year of Kangxi reign), the main gate in 1723 (the first year of the Yongzheng reign), the hall rooms in 1732 (the tenth year of the Yongzheng reign), and the kiln hall (yaodian) in 1761 (the twenty-sixth year of Qianlong reign). It was renovated many times in Guangxu reign and the Republican era.
On August 15, 1900, the Eight-Nation Alliance entered Beijing. Empress Dowager Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor left the city to head west, arriving at Xiguanshi by evening. Hui Muslim Li Xilun from Xiguanshi led a group to welcome the imperial party south of the village. He guided Cixi and her entourage to stay at Xiguanshi Mosque, where they were received by Imam Cai Wanchun. Afterward, Empress Dowager Cixi slept in the hall, Emperor Guangxu and his consorts slept in the side halls, and the rest of the group stayed in near private homes. The next day, Li Xijun, the owner of the Xiguangyu Escort Agency in Xiguanshi, prepared twenty mule-drawn sedan chairs, several silver ingots, and grain for Cixi’s group. A villager named Yang Juchuan volunteered to lead the way, and Li Jintang provided protection for the journey to the next stop. Two years later, Cixi returned to Beijing and donated silver to renovate the Xiguanshi mosque. She also ordered the imperial kilns at Liulihe to fire glazed tiles, roof finials, and ridge beasts, which were gifted to the Xiguanshi mosque and the mosque in Gaotou Village, Wuji County, the hometown of Imam Cai Wanchun.
Cixi inscribed a plaque for the Xiguanshi mosque that read 'Linggan Zhaozhu' (Manifestation of Spiritual Inspiration), Guangxu inscribed 'Zhongshu Qinshang' (Loyalty Dedicated to the Sovereign), Prince Su Shanqi inscribed 'Qingxu Weidao' (Pure and Void Taste of the Way), and Prince Li inscribed 'Aomiao Wuqiong' (Infinite Profundity). She also bestowed the title 'Marquis of Leading the Way' upon Yang Juchuan for his service, and granted Li Jintang the rank of a second-grade official with a peacock feather, serving as a candidate for a circuit intendant in Zhejiang. Others, including village elder Li Xilun and Imam Cai Wanchun, were awarded fifth, sixth, and seventh-grade official buttons. In 1958, when the communal canteen was established, the plaques from the hall were taken down and used as cutting boards, and their whereabouts are now unknown. After the 1960s, the hall was turned into a warehouse, and all the plaques and couplets were burned. Every building except for the hall and the front gate was demolished, until the site was restored and reopened in 1982.
46. Anheqiao Mosque in Haidian
Anheqiao Mosque in Haidian, Beijing, sits by Xiangshan Road at the southern foot of Hongshan Mountain. It was built at the end of the Ming. During Kangxi reign, the Qing built the Three Hills and Five Gardens in western Beijing. Many Hui Muslims settled in Anheqiao and expanded the mosque. It had several renovations during the Qianlong and Guangxu periods and the Republican era. In 1950, the mosque moved to make way for the Jingmi Diversion Canal. It moved again between 2003 and 2005 due to the construction of the Fifth Ring Road, resulting in its current four-story, octagonal pavilion-style hall.
47. Shucun Mosque in Haidian
Visiting old mosques in Beijing during autumn
Shucun Mosque in Beijing is located outside the north gate of the Old Summer Palace. It was built during the Kangxi (or possibly Yongzheng) reign. In 1873 (the 12th year of the Tongzhi reign), a eunuch named Ma donated 300 taels of silver. Hui Muslims from the local community and surrounding areas—including Sanjiadian, Xiguanshi, Anheqiao, Shangqinghe, Siwangfu, Landianchang, outside Deshengmen, and Xuanhua Prefecture in Zhangjiakou—raised over 2,000 taels of silver to restore it. In the early years of the Republic, a family named Shen from outside Deshengmen donated 2,000 silver dollars and asked a village elder named Man from Shucun to lead the renovation of the hall. Shucun Mosque was occupied in the 1950s and damaged in the 1960s. It resumed activities in 1983 and has had several renovations since. Shucun Village has been demolished, and the villagers have moved into apartment buildings. The mosque grounds hold two ancient cypress trees from the Qing, one dead and one alive. Also a plaque inscribed with the words "Heaven is close at hand" (tiantang zhichi), gifted by a fourth-rank imperial bodyguard in 1873 during a renovation.
48. Haidian Madian Mosque
Madian is on the Jingbei Avenue outside Deshengmen in Beijing. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, it has been a hub for cattle and sheep trading with a large population of Hui Muslims. The number of Hui Muslims here is no less than that of Niujie. After the Qing, hundreds of thousands of cattle, sheep, and horses entered Beijing from Mongolia via Zhangjiakou every year. Hui Muslims in Madian opened many horse and sheep shops to feed and sell these animals for a commission. Madian Mosque was built in Kangxi reign. In 1850 (the 30th year of the Daoguang reign), it was renovated with funds raised by over ten sheep and horse shops in Madian, and it was renovated again in the Republican era.
The ceremonial gate of Madian Mosque features a ridged hip-and-gable roof and a carved stone arched doorway. The hanging flower gate (chuihuamen) has a curved-shed gable-and-hip roof, and the lintels are has blue-green paintings. The hall uses a raised-beam timber frame and is spacious and bright. The arched door in front of the kiln hall (yaodian) is painted with intertwined passion flower patterns.
49. Haidian Mosque
Haidian Mosque in Beijing was built in Kangxi reign. Then, Hui Muslims from Tongzhou came to Haidian Town to sell fish and settled there. Haidian Mosque was expanded several times during the Jiaqing, Guangxu, and Republican periods. At its peak, it covered over 30 mu of land and included a vegetable garden and a cemetery. It was rebuilt into its current form in 1995. The hall consists of a curved shed, a hall, and a kiln hall (yaodian). The kiln hall has a four-cornered pointed roof with green and yellow glazed tiles with trimmed edges. There are many schools around Haidian Mosque. Every Friday prayer (Jumu'ah), hundreds of international students attend. When it is crowded, the basement, lobby, and courtyard are all packed with people, which is a spectacular sight.
50. Haidian Siwangfu Mosque
Visiting old mosques in Beijing during autumn
The Siwangfu Mosque in Haidian, Beijing, sits east of the Fragrant Hills Botanical Garden. It is shared by Hui Muslims from five near communities: Fragrant Hills (Xiangshan), Siwangfu, Mentou, Nanhetan, and Xiaotun. Legend says the Siwangfu Mosque was founded during the Qianlong era by elders from Houmenqiao and the local community. It was renovated in the Republican era, but closed in the 1960s, leaving the hall on the verge of collapse. After religious policy returned in the 1980s, the hall was torn down and its wood and bricks were sold. The north rooms and surrounding walls were rebuilt, and namaz was held in the north rooms instead. Through the hard work of local elders, the hall was finally rebuilt in 1990. Due to a construction error, the hall was moved to the east of its original site, which created the layout we see now. The courtyard is clean and tidy now, offering a glimpse of what the outskirts of Beijing felt like before.
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5 mosques in Heilongjiang
Qiqihar Buque East Mosque and Buque West Mosque
Harbin Daowai Mosque, Tatar Mosque, and Acheng Mosque
1 mosque in Jilin
Changchun Changtong Road Mosque
12 mosques in Liaoning
Tieling Kaiyuan Old City Mosque
Shenyang South Mosque, East Mosque, and Xinmin Mosque
Fengcheng Mosque in Dandong
Qingdui Mosque and Fuzhou Mosque in Dalian
Xinlitun Mosque, Beizhen Mosque, and Luyang Mosque in Jinzhou
Lingyuan Mosque in Chaoyang
Suizhong Mosque in Huludao
4 mosques in Inner Mongolia
North Mosque (Beidasi) in Chifeng
Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab
Hohhot Great Mosque and East Mosque
16 mosques in Hebei
Chengde West Mosque and Pingquan Mosque
Zhangjiakou Xinhua Street Mosque, Xiguan Mosque, Tu'ergou Mosque, Xuanhua South Great Mosque, Xuanhua North Mosque, and Xuanhua Middle Mosque
Baoding West Mosque, East Mosque, Women's Mosque, and Zhuozhou Mosque
Cangzhou North Great Mosque and Botou Mosque
Xingtai Hongguanying Mosque
Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Mosque
12 mosques in Beijing (continued in the next part)
Gubeikou Mosque and Mujia Yu Mosque in Miyun
Nankou Mosque, Wujie Mosque, Heying Mosque, Shahe Mosque, and Xiguanshi Mosque in Changping
Anheqiao Mosque, Shucun Mosque, Madian Mosque, Haidian Mosque, and Siwangfu Mosque in Haidian
Heilongjiang
1. Bukui East Mosque in Qiqihar
Bukui Ancient Mosque and the Hui community in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang
Bukui East Mosque in Qiqihar is the oldest mosque in Heilongjiang. The most common story is that it was built in 1676 by over 40 Hui families who moved to Bukui Village from Shandong and Hebei. Another theory says it was built in 1700 by the Wang and Xia families, who were Hui Muslims from Jinan, Shandong, and moved to Qiqihar with the Heilongjiang Naval Battalion. The original Bukui Mosque was just a thatched hut. It was rebuilt many times during the Jiaqing and Guangxu eras, eventually reaching its current size.
The most unique part of the East Mosque is the Moon-Sighting Tower (Wangyuelou) above the rear hall. It is a three-story structure with a four-cornered pointed roof and intricate brick carvings. On the east side, there is a plaque that reads 'Tianfang Jiejing'. The copper lotus-base gourd finial on top of the hall was added during the major renovation of the Bukui East Mosque in 1893 (the 19th year of the Guangxu era). People say Ma Wanliang bought it from a Tibetan Buddhist mosque near Zhangjiakou. Local legend says the finial was not installed until after the Republican era because it was taller than the near mansion of the Yikeming'an Eighth Prince.
2. Qiqihar
Bukui West Mosque
Bukui Ancient Mosque and the Hui community in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang
The Bukui West Mosque in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, belongs to the Jahriyya order. In 1817, the third-generation leader (murshid) of the Jahriyya, Ma Datian, was sentenced to exile in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang. Twelve families led by Master Niu volunteered to take his place and followed him into exile. Ma Datian passed away while passing through the Jilin Shipyard. He was honored as the Shipyard Master (Chuanchang Taiye) from then on, while the 12 families continued their exile to Qiqihar. After arriving in Qiqihar, the 12 families were welcomed by the local Gedimu community. In 1852, they built the West Mosque (Bukuixi Si) on the west side of the Bukui Mosque, making it the only Jahriyya mosque in Heilongjiang.
The mosque keeps a banner inscribed with the words 'Benevolence, Loyalty, and Harmony.' It reads: 'In memory of the 50th anniversary of the passing of the late Imam Niu Chenggong, offered by his humble juniors Ma Yongcai and Ma Yongzhi on the 13th day of the eighth lunar month in the 14th year of Guangxu reign.' Imam Niu Chenggong is the same Master Niu who volunteered to take the blame and follow the Shipyard Master to Qiqihar. Master Niu was originally an imam from the Lingwu area of Wuzhong. Many stories of his miracles during the journey to Qiqihar are widely told among the Jahriyya menhuan. Every year, Jahriyya followers from places like Ningxia and Gansu travel thousands of miles to Qiqihar to visit Master Niu's grave.
3. Harbin Daowai Mosque
Daowai Mosque in Harbin and the century-old Laoguo Family Restaurant
Daowai Mosque, also known as the East Mosque or Binjiang Mosque, started in 1897 (the 23rd year of Guangxu reign) when five thatched rooms were bought on South 12th Street. It was rebuilt in 1904. In the early 1930s, Imam Ma Songting proposed a new building. Head Imam Bai Yusheng traveled around to collect donations (nietie) and hired Russian designers, the Krabryov siblings, to build the current hall of Daowai Mosque in 1935.
Daowai Mosque has a strong Russian style. Its Roman columns and onion domes modeled after Russian architecture are unique, making it a standout piece of mosque architecture from the Republican era.
The classic Russian onion dome actually started in the Middle East. The earliest visible onion domes appear in Syrian mosaic images from the Arab Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 AD), and the earliest physical examples were built by the Seljuk Empire in Iran during the 11th century. Historians are not sure when Russia started using onion domes. Some scholars guess they learned it from the mosques of the Kazan Tatars after Russia conquered the Kazan Khanate in the 16th century, while others think they developed from Byzantine domes.
4. Harbin Tatar Mosque
The history of Harbin Tatar Mosque
Construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway began in 1897 with Harbin as its center. After that, many Tatars from Russia came to live and work along the railway line. Tatars began settling in Harbin in 1901 and built the first wooden Tatar mosque that same year. As the Tatar population grew, they rebuilt the mosque using brick in 1906. The number of Tatar immigrants in Harbin rose after 1917, reaching over a thousand in the 1920s. Most of them made a living by trading furs, textiles, and clothing.
To mark the 1,000th anniversary of their ancestors, the Volga Bulgars, converting to Islam in 922 AD, the Harbin Tatars decided to build a new mosque. Construction of the new mosque started in 1923, but it stalled for a time due to the imam passing away, political instability, and poor management of funds. In 1936, Imam Münir Hasibullah traveled to every place where Tatars lived in the Far East to collect donations (niatie). The Millennium Mosque finally opened on October 8, 1937. After the Soviet Union entered Northeast China in 1945, most Harbin Tatars chose to move to the United States, Canada, and Turkey. By 1960, fewer than five Tatars remained in Harbin, and the Harbin Tatar community officially dissolved.
5. Acheng Mosque in Harbin
The beautiful Acheng Mosque in Heilongjiang
In 1770, a Hui Muslim named Yang Huaxian from Shen County, Shandong, settled in Acheng with the Qing army. Afterward, more Hui Muslims moved from Shandong to Acheng and rented homes from Manchu bannermen. By 1777, there were 26 (some say 28) Hui Muslim households in Acheng, including the Yang, Wang, San, Ma, Zhang, Ding, Jin, and Cai families. They rented houses and established the first Acheng Mosque, with Yang Huaxian serving as the mosque elder. In 1802, elder Yang Huaxian negotiated the purchase of land to build a formal Acheng Mosque. Construction took 50 years, spanning the Jiaqing, Daoguang, and Xianfeng reigns. In 1873, 12 years after the mosque was completed, a fire in Acheng destroyed the moon-sighting tower (wangyuelou) and the north lecture hall, leaving only the south lecture hall and the reception hall. In 1890, the mosque's imam, Liu Yuzhang, and manager Luo Yuzhang began organizing the reconstruction of the mosque. It took 10 years to complete the current structure in 1900.
Inside the hall of Acheng Mosque, there is a beautiful pulpit (minbar). It is actually one of two models built in 1890 for the reconstruction of the mosque's moon-sighting tower (wangyuelou). After the mosque elders discussed it, they chose the style of the other model, so this one was used as the pulpit (minbar).
Jilin
6. Changchun Changtong Road Mosque
Hand-pulled noodles (chenmian) in Nanguan, Changchun, and the Changtong Road Mosque
The Qing Dynasty relaxed its ban on Jilin in the early 19th century in Jiaqing reign. In 1800 (the fifth year of Jiaqing), Changchun Subprefecture was established in Changchunbao. Hui Muslims began moving to Changchun at this time, and because most came from Shandong, they were called the Shandong Group.
Changchun Changtong Road Mosque was built in 1824 (the fourth year of Daoguang). It was originally located inside the east gate of Dongsandao Street. In 1852 (the second year of Xianfeng), elder Han Xuecheng and Gong Wanmei donated houses, and elder Shi Xuecheng donated trees to move the mosque to its current location in Tielingtun. In 1864 (the third year of Tongzhi), Imam Han Dengqing and others raised funds to expand the mosque, building the current five-room hall and the three-story rear hall (yaodian). In 1889 (the 15th year of Guangxu reign), Imam Han Laixiang bought land from the Xu family in front of the mosque. He built the main gate tower, east and west side rooms, a north lecture hall, an east reception hall, and a front porch for the hall. The mosque was expanded several more times in the Republican era.
Liaoning
7. Old City Mosque in Kaiyuan, Tieling
A tour of three mosques in Liaoning: Lingyuan, Shenyang, and Kaiyuan
The Old City Mosque in Kaiyuan, Tieling, is inside the east gate of the old city of Kaiyuan. It was built in 1406 (the 4th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming) and is the oldest mosque in Northeast China. The current hall follows the style of the 1680 (the 19th year of Kangxi reign) reconstruction. It consists of a vaulted porch, the hall, and a hexagonal pavilion-style prayer niche (yaodian), which is similar in style to the South Mosque in Shenyang. The reception hall of the Old City Mosque stores old items, including drip tiles, eave tiles, roof ridge beasts, and carved wooden railings from the hall. It also holds the finial from the moon-sighting tower (wangyuelou) of the prayer niche and a plaque inscribed with the words 'Ling Luo Sha Juan' (fine silks and satins).
8. South Mosque in Shenyang
A tour of three mosques in Liaoning: Lingyuan, Shenyang, and Kaiyuan
Shenyang South Mosque was built in 1636, the first year of the Chongde reign of the Qing. The ancestors of the Tie family who founded it were Hui Muslims from Central Asia who arrived in China during the Mongol western campaigns. In the early Ming Dynasty, Tie Xuan served as a provincial official in Jinan. During the Jingnan Campaign, he led troops to defend the city of Jinan. After the Prince of Yan broke through the city, Tie Xuan was captured and executed by dismemberment. After Tie Xuan returned to Allah, his second son, Tie Fushu, fled outside the Great Wall. During the Wanli reign (1573-1620), he moved from Jinzhou to Shenyang.
In 1662, the first year of Kangxi reign, Tie Kui expanded Shenyang South Mosque. He invited the famous imam She Yuanshan from Beijing to set up a school there. After Imam She's student, Tie Hongji, finished his studies, he became the leader of the mosque. From then on, the position of imam at the South Mosque was passed down through the Tie family for 11 generations. The last imam, Tie Zizhang, served until 1956.
The rear hall of the mosque was expanded in 1902. The hall is not the traditional T-shape but a hexagonal kiln-style hall. This design, which adds a loft-style kiln hall to the back of the hall, is common in the Northeast region.
9. Shenyang East Mosque
A tour of three mosques in Liaoning: Lingyuan, Shenyang, and Kaiyuan
Shenyang East Mosque was built in 1803 (the eighth year of Jiaqing reign). In 1935, the hall was rebuilt in a Western style, but the Moon-Sighting Tower (wangyuelou) kept its original Chinese style. The East Mosque was taken over in 1958, returned in 1980, and became the Shenyang Islamic Institute (Shenyang jingxueyuan) in 1988.
10. Shenyang Xinmin Mosque
[Liaoning Trip during Dragon Boat Festival] Strolling through the morning market in Shenyang and visiting an old mosque in Xinmin.
Xinmin is in the northwest of Shenyang. During the early years of Qianlong reign of the Qing, many new immigrants came here to farm after crossing the border, which is how it got the name 'Xinmin'. Many Hui Muslims came to Xinmin in Qianlong reign, and they built the Xinmin Mosque in Nanyingzi in 1765 (the thirtieth year of Qianlong reign). The Xinmin Mosque burned down in 1866 (the fifth year of the Tongzhi reign) and was rebuilt in 1883 (the ninth year of Guangxu reign), which is the structure we see now.
The main structure of Xinmin Mosque consists of a porch (juanpeng), the hall, a rear vaulted hall (yaodian), and the Moon-Sighting Tower (wangyuelou) on top of the vaulted hall. The Moon-Sighting Tower has a double-eaved, four-cornered pointed roof, topped with a 1.5-meter-tall copper wind-mill finial. The beams of the porch are painted with Suzhou-style patterns, and the wooden screens feature intricate openwork carvings.
11. Fengcheng Mosque in Dandong
[Dragon Boat Festival Trip to Liaoning] Fengcheng Ancient Mosque and Dandong Food
Fengcheng Mosque was built in 1775 (the 40th year of Qianlong reign). It was renovated in 1862 (the 1st year of the Tongzhi reign), and in 1876 (the 2nd year of Guangxu reign), the north lecture hall was rebuilt and side rooms were added. In 1890 (the 16th year of Guangxu reign), the Moon-Sighting Tower was added, giving the mosque its current size. The most unique feature of Fengcheng Mosque is the Moon-Sighting Tower, built in Guangxu reign. It has a double-eaved, four-cornered pointed roof with elegant upturned eaves, brackets, and finely carved decorative brackets (que-ti).
12. Qingdui Mosque in Dalian
[Dragon Boat Festival Trip to Liaoning] Dalian City, Fuzhou Ancient City, and Qingdui Ancient Town
Qingdui Town is a thousand-year-old town that has served as a fishing port and commercial hub on the Liaodong Peninsula since the Tang Dynasty. Qingbu Port officially opened in 1743 (the eighth year of Qianlong reign), making Qingdui Town an important transit point for people from Shandong and Hebei migrating to the Northeast. During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republican era, Qingdui Town was home to over three hundred businesses, with shops lining the streets and bustling with activity. Today, Qingdui Town still preserves many old houses with green bricks and dark tiles from the late Qing and Republican periods, and Qingdui Mosque (Qingdui Si) is one of them.
Qingdui Mosque was built in the Daoguang reign of the Qing, starting as just three thatched rooms. In July 1894, the First Sino-Japanese War broke out, and the famous Hui Muslim general Zuo Baogui led his troops to Korea to fight the Japanese, passing by Qingdui Mosque on the way. General Zuo Baogui got along very well with Imam Zhang Chaozhen of Qingdui Mosque. Later, he donated money, and with additional funds raised by his personal Hui Muslim guards and three local halal restaurants—Deshengyuan, Qingshengyuan, and Yongshengyuan—they worked together to expand the mosque. It is a pity that General Zuo Baogui died heroically fighting the Japanese in Pyongyang before the expansion of Qingdui Mosque was finished.
In 1895 (the 21st year of Guangxu reign), Hui Wanchun, the elder in charge of Qingdui Mosque, led the rebuilding of the hall into the three-room green brick and tile structure we see now. In 1920 (the 9th year of the Republic), the gatehouse was rebuilt and the lecture hall was expanded, giving the mosque its current size.
Above the gate of Qingdui Mosque is a brick-carved couplet that reads: 'The pure palace spreads the teachings of the Muhammadan path, the true sage passes down scriptures that bring grace from the Western Regions.' This is a very precious piece of Republic-era brick-carved calligraphy. The main gate is usually closed, so you have to enter the mosque through the south wing where the imam lives. The imam is from Gansu, and he warmly told us about the history of Qingdui Mosque; it is not easy for his family to stay here and keep this small community mosque running.
13. Fuzhou Mosque in Dalian
[Dragon Boat Festival Trip to Liaoning] Dalian City, Fuzhou Ancient City, and Qingdui Ancient Town
In the early Qing Dynasty, Hui Muslims with the surnames Yin, Dai, Ma, and Hui arrived in Fuzhou. In 1649, the sixth year of the Shunzhi reign, they began planning the Fuzhou Mosque. By 1656, the thirteenth year of the Shunzhi reign, they finished building three thatched rooms to serve as the hall. The hall was rebuilt in 1774, the thirty-ninth year of Qianlong reign, and expanded again in 1880, the sixth year of Guangxu reign, though it still had a thatched roof. In 1920, the front porch and rear kiln-style hall were added, and the roof was changed to grey brick tiles, creating the structure seen now.
Hanging in front of the Fuzhou Mosque hall is a plaque inscribed with the words "Return to Simplicity and Truth" (Huan Pu Gui Zhen). It was presented in 1897, the twenty-third year of Guangxu reign, by Wang Tingxiang, a high-ranking official who held several titles including Imperial Censor of the Jiangnan Circuit and Commissioner of Education for Shanxi.
14. Xinlitun Mosque in Jinzhou
[Dragon Boat Festival Trip to Liaoning] The ancient town of Xinlitun in western Liaoning and the coal city of Fuxin
Xinlitun is an ancient town in western Liaoning, known as the "First Town Beyond the Frontier." During the Daoguang period of the Qing, Hui Muslims from places like Jinzhou, Yixian, Heishan, and Yingkou came to settle in Xinlitun. They built the Xinlitun Mosque in 1842.
On the 15th day of the first lunar month in 1873, Xinlitun held a stilt-walking festival. During the event, a conflict broke out between a Manchu banner man named Dashan, also known as Fifth Master Da, and Hui Muslims including Liu Hua, Zhao Guang'en, and Wang Yao. This escalated into a clash between the Manchu and Hui communities, which ended with the Xinlitun Mosque being burned down. Afterward, both the Manchu and Hui communities learned from the incident and decided to rebuild the Xinlitun Mosque. After several years of preparation, General Zuo Baogui, an anti-Japanese hero who led the Fengtian Army, took the lead by donating 300 taels of silver to finally complete the reconstruction.
15. Beizhen Mosque in Jinzhou
Visiting an old mosque in Jinzhou, Liaoning
The Beizhen Mosque was built in 1522, expanded in 1617, and renovated again in 1798. Beizhen Mosque was once inside the south wall of Guangning City. During Qianlong reign, the south wall was abandoned when the city was rebuilt. The wall slowly disappeared, and later Guangning City was renamed Beizhen City. This turned Beizhen Mosque from a city mosque into one located outside the city walls.
Beizhen Mosque follows the traditional northern mosque layout of a porch (juanpeng), hall (dadian), and rear niche (yaodian). Unusually, the porch and the hall are separate structures and do not connect. The beams and brackets are painted with floral patterns, and the wood carvings are very fine and detailed.
16. Luyang Mosque in Jinzhou
Visiting an old mosque in Jinzhou, Liaoning
Luyang Mosque in Jinzhou, Liaoning, was built in 1531 (the tenth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming). It was rebuilt in the Xianfeng reign of the Qing and reached its current form in 1925. Manager Wang of the Luyang Enliyong pastry shop oversaw the construction. He invited Yang Peiran (Yuchun), who was a brigade commander in the Northeast Army at the time, to help raise the funds. Luyang Mosque is a rare historic mosque in China that features a moon-viewing tower (wangyuelou) placed directly above the hall. You can climb up to the tower to view the moon using a hanging wooden ladder. A plaque inscribed by the anti-Japanese hero General Zuo Baogui once hung in front of the hall, but it was destroyed. The current plaque was inscribed in 1984.
17. Lingyuan Mosque in Chaoyang
A tour of three mosques in Liaoning: Lingyuan, Shenyang, and Kaiyuan
Lingyuan City in Chaoyang, Liaoning, sits at the border of Hebei, Liaoning, and Inner Mongolia. It was originally called Tazigou. Since the Qianlong era of the Qing, Hui Muslims from Shandong and Hebei kept traveling through the Great Wall gaps near Xifengkou to reach the northeast. Lingyuan was their first stop after crossing the wall, and some Hui Muslims settled there. Lingyuan Mosque was built during the Qianlong era. According to stone inscriptions in the mosque, a Hui Muslim doctor named Zhang Lichen and others cured the illness of a Mongol prince from the Harqin Left Banner. The prince's estate then provided the land and silver to build the Lingyuan Mosque.
18. Suizhong Mosque in Huludao
The mosque and halal snacks in Suizhong, Liaoning
Suizhong County in Huludao, Liaoning, sits right next to Shanhai Pass and is the southwesternmost county in Liaoning Province. Starting in the 18th century, more than ten families of Hui Muslims, including the Zhang, Ding, Li, and Jin families, moved to Suizhong from Hebei Province. The first Suizhong mosque was built in 1737 (the second year of Qianlong reign) below the Kuixing Tower in the southeast of the city. It moved to its current location inside the West Gate in 1797 (the third year of Jiaqing reign) and took on its present form after being rebuilt between 1924 and 1927.
Inner Mongolia
19. Chifeng North Mosque
Chifeng North Mosque in Inner Mongolia and halal food
During the early Qing Dynasty, Hui Muslims from Shandong and Hebei continuously traveled through Gubeikou and Chengde to reach eastern Inner Mongolia to make a living. In the 1730s, ten Hui families with the surnames Zhang, Ma, and Bai moved from Shandong and Hebei to settle in Chifeng, where they became known as the ten great Hui families or the 'mountain-claiming households' (zhanshanhu). In 1739 (the fourth year of Qianlong reign), village elder Zhang Yueming from Chifeng led the effort to lease seven point six mu of land from Mongolian princes. They built five mud houses and a three-room hall, which became the earliest Chifeng Mosque.
In 1742 (the seventh year of Qianlong reign), village elder Ma Fen, who once ran the Desheng Security Firm in Shenyang, initiated the renovation of Chifeng Mosque. He paid for a plot of land, and the imam along with several village elders traveled to various places to collect donations through written requests (nietie). Afterward, Ma Fen went to Shenyang to hire craftsmen. Construction took four years and finished in 1747 (the twelfth year of Qianlong reign). All the wood used came from red pine trees on the south mountain of Chifeng. From then on, the imam of the North Mosque was always a scripture reader from the Ma family line.
20. Longshengzhuang Mosque in Ulanqab
Longshengzhuang, a former trading town for Shanxi merchants traveling to Mongolia.
Longshengzhuang is on the border between Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. From the Qing to the early Republic of China, it was an important trading hub for Shanxi merchants traveling to Mongolia. During the early Qing Dynasty, Hui Muslims from Hebei and Shandong kept moving to Longshengzhuang for business. In the late Qing Dynasty, many Hui Muslims from Shaanxi also migrated there. During the reign of the Guangxu Emperor in the Qing, the Hui Muslim population in Longshengzhuang grew to two or three thousand people, reaching a peak of over five thousand in the early years of the Republic. Then, Longshengzhuang had nearly twenty businesses, including a large halal restaurant (qingzhen dafanzhuang), livestock traders, brokers, and inns for travelers with horses.
Longshengzhuang Mosque was built in 1751. It started with only three halls. As more Muslims came here for business, they added a hall, a front gate, a second gate, side rooms, and a screen wall in 1831, creating a three-courtyard layout. The arched porch (juanpeng) of Longshengzhuang Mosque was expanded in 1926 and features beautiful ironwork decorations from the Republican era.
21. Hohhot Great Mosque
Summer halal food tour in Hohhot
Hohhot Great Mosque was built between the end of the Ming and the beginning of the Qing. It was expanded in 1789 (the 54th year of Qianlong reign) and again in 1923. The mosque gate was built in 1892 (the 18th year of Guangxu reign). Above it hangs a plaque inscribed with "Great Mosque" (Qingzhen Dasi) from 1890 (the 16th year of Guangxu reign), with plaques reading "National Prosperity" (Guotai) and "Peace for the People" (Min'an) on either side. Inside the entrance, you can see a brick-carved screen wall behind the hall. It was built in 1896 (the 22nd year of Guangxu reign) and is inscribed with phrases meaning "rectify the heart and be sincere in self-cultivation," "recognize the oneness of Allah," "brighten the heart," and "see one's true nature." These were written by Ma Fuxiang, who served as the Suiyuan Military Governor in 1924. The hall was expanded in 1923 and consists of a porch, a front hall, a middle hall, and a rear kiln-style hall. The roof features a connected structure with four gables and five pointed pavilions, which symbolize the five pillars of Islam: faith, prayer (namaz), fasting, charity, and pilgrimage. The porch blends Chinese and Western styles with arched doorways. The walls are has Arabic plaques, couplets, and floral patterns. The Moon-Sighting Tower (Wangyue Lou) was built in 1939. It stands 36 meters tall with a hexagonal brick base and a single-eave hexagonal pointed roof at the top.
22. Hohhot East Mosque
Summer halal food tour in Hohhot
Hohhot East Mosque was built in Kangxi reign of the Qing. It started as a school and was expanded into a mosque in Guangxu reign. The current building was rebuilt in 2014.
Hebei
23. West Mosque (Xisi) in Chengde
Mosques and halal food in Chengde
Hui Muslims began settling in Chengde after the Qing built the Mountain Resort. Whenever Emperor Kangxi held the Mulan autumn hunt or visited the resort to escape the summer heat, Hui Muslim soldiers and merchants followed him. In the early years of the Yongzheng reign, the Qing government stationed Green Standard Army troops in Chengde. Because most soldiers came from Shaanxi, it was called the Shaanxi Camp, and the Left Camp within it was mostly made up of Hui Muslims. From then on, the Shaanxi Camp became the main residential area for Hui Muslims in Chengde.
By the Qianlong era, Chengde had become a major city in the north. Hui Muslims from Shandong and Hebei came to do business, working in the food industry and cattle and sheep slaughtering, a movement known as 'chasing the imperial camp'. Today, the ten major surnames of Chengde's Hui Muslims, including Wang, Ma, Shi, and Chen, all moved here from Shandong. The Wu family moved from Cangzhou, Hebei, and the Kong family moved from Beijing. The earliest mosque in Chengde, the East Mosque (Dongsi), was built in Kangxi reign and was occupied in 1958. The existing West Mosque (Xisi) was built in the Daoguang reign. The hall consists of a porch (juanpeng), a hall, and a rear niche (yaodian). The moon-sighting tower (wangyuelou) is on top of the hall, topped with a decorative finial (baoding).
24. Pingquan Mosque in Chengde
Go to the small town of Pingquan outside the Great Wall to drink lamb bone broth (yangtang).
The South Street Mosque in Pingquan, Hebei, was built in 1647 (the fourth year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing) and originally consisted of only three thatched rooms. As the number of Hui Muslims in Pingquan grew in Qianlong reign, the mosque's imam, Zhang Hongye, and his son, Zhang Jin, traveled to Beijing in 1742 (the seventh year of Qianlong reign). They made a model out of straw based on a mosque outside Qihua Gate (it is not verified whether it was the one at Nan Shangpo or Nan Xiapo) and brought it back to Pingquan to hire craftsmen to build the mosque. In 1915, Wu Zijian, the head of the Pingquan branch of the Islamic Promotion Association, led a renovation of the mosque.
25. Xinhua Street Mosque in Zhangjiakou
Mosques and halal food in Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua
Xinhua Street Mosque in Zhangjiakou was originally called Shenggou Mosque. It was built in 1863, the second year of the Tongzhi reign, by over eighty Hui families from Ningxia who had taken refuge in Zhangjiakou. Because these people mainly worked in the camel transport trade, Xinhua Street Mosque is also known as Camel Caravan Mosque (Tuofang Si).
These Hui Muslims were mostly from the Ma, Liu, Li, Du, Wu, Wang, and Ding families. They used camels to transport furs, silk, and tea for merchants, traveling between Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Gansu, Mongolia, and Russia. They first built a simple hall next to a business called Baoshun Camel Shop. It reached its current size at Xinhua Street Mosque after several expansions. In front of the hall of Xinhua Street Mosque, there are beautiful stone railings with pillar tops carved into the shape of fruit plates. All the large pine beams and pillars in the hall were brought from Mongolia, serving as a witness to the camel transport trade in Zhangjiakou.
26. Xiguan Mosque in Zhangjiakou
Mosques and halal food in Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua
The Xiguan Mosque in Zhangjiakou was built during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng (1723-1735) by Hui Muslims from the Xiao, Zheng, Song, and Wang families who had lived in the Xiabao area of Zhangjiakou since the Ming and Qing dynasties. It had several renovations during the Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Daoguang eras. The original mihrab inside the hall of the Xiguan Mosque was destroyed due to historical events, and it could not be restored for a long time due to a lack of records. Fortunately, the mosque management committee kept searching and recently found a clear photo in a foreign book. In June 2020, they invited the famous Arabic calligrapher Wang Qifei to restore the Ming-style calligraphy on the mihrab. At the same time, he used Ming-style calligraphy to write the 99 Names of Allah on the caisson ceiling of the arched hall.
27. Turgou Mosque in Zhangjiakou
Mosques and halal food in Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua
After the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway opened, the Qiaodong area of Zhangjiakou became prosperous. Hui Muslims with the surnames Yang, Chen, He, and Ma, who moved from the Dachang and Sanhe areas of Hebei, raised funds to build the Turgou Mosque in 1917. It was known as the Beijing and Jingdong Fangshang. The current hall was rebuilt in 1990.
28. Xuanhua South Mosque in Zhangjiakou
Mosques and halal food in Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua
The South Mosque (Nandasi) in Xuanhua, Zhangjiakou, Hebei, was built in 1403 (the first year of the Yongle reign of the Ming). In 1820 (the 25th year of Jiaqing reign of the Qing), Hui Muslims from the Ding, Shan, and Yu families decided to move it to Miaodi Street. Then, they dismantled the gate, plaques, and Moon-Watching Tower (Wangyuelou) from the Ming mosque and moved them to the new site. Construction finished in 1854 (the fourth year of the Xianfeng reign of the Qing), making it the largest mosque in Zhangjiakou.
After the 1960s, the South Mosque suffered severe damage. The Moon-Watching Tower, corridors, stone arch bridge, and memorial archway were torn down, and all historical stone tablets, plaques, and couplets were destroyed. Restoration was finally completed between 2004 and 2007.
The South Mosque is laid out symmetrically along an east-west axis, with 15 halls and pavilions forming a complete architectural complex. Entering the main gate leads to a courtyard with a stone arch bridge in the center. Directly ahead is the Heart-Reflecting Tower (Shengxinlou), which has a hallway on the ground floor. The Moon-Watching Tower features upturned eaves with bracket sets and a double-eaved, hexagonal, pointed roof. The Moon-Watching Tower connects to the north and south lecture halls through covered corridors. The hall consists of a front porch (juanpeng), a hall, and a rear niche (yaodian). It uses a traditional timber frame structure with hardwood palace lanterns hanging from the beams. During Ramadan each year, all the lanterns are lit, making the hall as bright as day. Four pillars support the 17.6-meter-high roof of the rear niche (yaodian). The roof of the rear niche (yaodian) is an octagonal pointed structure with upturned eaves and a decorative caisson ceiling (zaojing) inside.
29. Xuanhua North Mosque in Zhangjiakou
Mosques and halal food in Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua
Xuanhua North Mosque in Zhangjiakou, Hebei, was built in 1722 (the 61st year of Kangxi reign of the Qing). The side rooms and auxiliary halls were rebuilt in 1860 and 1865. The North Mosque originally featured a gate tower, a minaret (xuanlilou), corridors, north and south side rooms, and a hall, all has ornate carvings and paintings. The hall is unique because the front porch (juanpeng), hall, and rear niche (yaodian) form a cross-shaped floor plan. The overall structure is shallow and wide, which is very different from the long and deep halls common in eastern regions, but is actually more common in Xinjiang. The kiln-style hall (yaodian) is also unique, featuring a square, multi-story roof built on top of the arched shed structure.
After the 1960s, the North Mosque suffered severe damage. The gate tower, side gate, perimeter walls, hanging flower gate (chuihuamen), corridors, and minaret were all torn down and have not been restored to this day. Currently, the hall and the north and south side rooms are rented out as warehouses. The roof of the kiln-style hall has collapsed, and the north side hall and the ablution room (shuifang) were converted into a workshop for a halal pastry factory, which still occupies the space.
30. Xuanhua Middle Mosque in Zhangjiakou
Mosques and halal food in Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua
Located between the North Mosque and the South Mosque, the Xuanhua Middle Mosque in Zhangjiakou, Hebei, is smaller in scale. It was built in 1821 (the first year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing) and underwent renovations in 2016.
31. Baoding West Mosque
The ancient mosques and halal food of Baoding
The West Mosque in Baoding, Hebei, was built in 1616 (the 44th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming). According to the stone inscriptions in the mosque, a man named Fa Gong from Hanji Village in Fangshan served as a military officer in Baoding during the Wanli years. He noticed there was no mosque in the city, which meant local Hui Muslims had to travel elsewhere for prayers during Eid (Erde). He bought 12 mu of land from the Wei family vegetable garden to build one. Besides building the mosque, the surrounding land was used for housing, which officially established the mosque community layout in Baoding. The West Mosque was renovated many times after the Qing. The bathing room was rebuilt in 1906 (the 23rd year of Guangxu reign), and the north and south lecture halls were rebuilt in the Republican era, creating the current layout.
The hall has two sections. The roof of the rear hall features an octagonal pavilion over 7 meters high, with a couplet that reads, 'The Lord is formless but can be understood by the heart, to leave room for others is a high virtue,' and a horizontal plaque that says, 'Looking toward Mecca (Tianfang).' The roof ridges originally had animal statues, but in the Republican era, Bai Yunzhang, the owner of the famous local halal steamed bun shop Bai Yunzhang Baozipu, paid to have them replaced with flower and plant designs. As a famous mosque in North China, the West Mosque had a thriving religious community and trained many scholars (alim), including Xie Jinqing, Yang Yuzhen, An Shiwei, and Yang Yongchang. The mosque also once had a training ground that produced many famous wrestling masters and martial arts teachers.
32. Baoding East Mosque
The ancient mosques and halal food of Baoding
During the Tongzhi reign, the West Mosque in Baoding became too crowded as the number of worshippers grew, making the hall feel small. Local residents Shi Xie and his son Shi Jun built a scripture room to the east of the West Mosque. A few years later, the famous imam Yan Mingpu oversaw its official completion as the Baoding East Mosque. The Baoding East Mosque was renovated many times. During Guangxu reign, Imam Zhang Ziwen and Mr. Shi Tongshan led the construction of the south lecture hall and the washroom (shuifang). During the Xuantong reign, Imam Xie Jinqing oversaw the building of the north lecture hall, while Shi Changchun and Shi Tongshan managed a full renovation. In 1936, Imam Yang Baozhai led another major restoration. Although the Baoding East Mosque is not large, many well-known imams taught here, including Imam Wang Gui, Imam Li Ba, Imam Zhang Li, and Imam Bai Da, helping to train many talented students. After 1958, the East Mosque was taken over for use as a blueprint paper factory. In 1979, ownership was returned to the West Mosque, and it now serves as a warehouse for the Xinyue Halal Food Factory.
33. Baoding Women's Mosque
The ancient mosques and halal food of Baoding
The Baoding Women's Mosque in Hebei was founded in 1916 in the mosque's north alley by Imam Yan Fengshan from the Baoding East Mosque, with Jin Shiniang from Shandong serving as the prayer leader. In 1932, Imam Sha Zhijun from Jilin was hired to start a halal girls' primary school inside the mosque, which closed after the Japanese occupation in 1937. In 1940, Imam Sha and Elder Shi traveled to Beijing, Tianjin, and Jinan to raise funds. With additional help from local community elders, they bought a house from Bai Yunzhang, the owner of the famous Baoding halal steamed bun shop (baozhi), to build the current Baoding Women's Mosque. The mosque was taken over after 1958. In the 1970s, digging an air-raid shelter under the hall caused structural damage. After it was returned in 1982, the walls began to crack. A new building was constructed on the north side during the 2015 urban renewal project, and the old hall is now used as a storage room.
34. Baoding Zhuozhou Mosque
Going to Zhuozhou, Hebei, for Friday namaz.
Hui Muslims in Zhuozhou, Baoding, Hebei, mainly live in the areas of Ximen North Street and Yingfangqian Street. The area still keeps its traditional courtyard-style housing, and the thick rammed-earth sections of the old Zhuozhou west city wall are still standing near. The local Gao family in Zhuozhou City came here with the Prince of Yan during his northern military campaign in the early Ming Dynasty. The mosque was built during the Yongle period of the Ming, renovated in the 60th year of Kangxi reign of the Qing, and the hall was rebuilt in 2000 to reach its current appearance. In front of the mosque gate stand two 350-year-old Chinese scholar trees (guohuai), and the courtyard holds several 500-year-old Chinese arborvitae (cebai), all of which witness the history of the Zhuozhou mosque.
35. Cangzhou North Mosque
[Halal Travel Review] Hebei Cangzhou in 2016
Hui Muslim merchants began settling in Cangzhou with their families as early as the Yuan. However, during the Jingnan Campaign in 1399 (the first year of the Jianwen reign of the Ming), the Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, led his army to capture the old city of Cangzhou, killing thousands of surrendered soldiers and tens of thousands of residents, and destroying the entire old city. Afterward, the Prince of Yan ordered the city of Cangzhou to be moved to Changlu by the Grand Canal and brought in residents from Shanxi, Shandong, Anhui, and other places to settle, which included many Hui Muslims.
In 1403 (the first year of the Yongle reign of the Ming), Wu Zuoyong, a Hui Muslim from Anhui, was appointed as the Assistant Magistrate of the Cangzhou Salt Transport Commission in Hejian Prefecture, Zhili, and moved to Cangzhou from Shexian County in Huizhou, Anhui. The area near the south gate of Cangzhou was once a key route to the Grand Canal. Many Hui Muslims, mostly craftspeople and small vendors, chose to live here. In 1420, during the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming, the North Mosque of Cangzhou (Cangzhou Beidasi) was completed after Wu Yongzuo donated the land and oversaw its construction. This marked the official beginning of the current Hui community in Cangzhou.
36. Botou Mosque in Cangzhou
[Halal Travel Review] Botou, Hebei in 2017
Botou suffered heavy damage during the Jingnan Campaign in 1399, the first year of the Jianwen reign, and its population dropped sharply. In 1404, the second year of the Yongle reign, Emperor Zhu Di ordered residents to move to Cangzhou, which brought many Hui Muslims to Botou. Records show that seven Hui families—Yang, Cao, Dai, Hui, Zhang, Wang, and Shi—moved to Botou by imperial decree in 1404 from Erlanggang, Shangyuan County, Yingtian Prefecture in Nanjing. The first Botou Mosque was also built that year.
After that, more Hui Muslims moved here from Shandong, Shanxi, and Anhui. Botou Mosque underwent a large-scale expansion during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, which gave it the layout it has now.
37. Hongguanying Mosque in Xingtai.
The ancient canal city of Linqing, Shandong.
Hongguanying Mosque is in Linxi County, Xingtai, Hebei, just across the Wei Canal from Linqing. Hongguanying is named after the Hong family of Hui Muslims. According to the Hong Family Genealogy of Linqing, the ancestor of the Hong Hui Muslims was Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din. His sixth-generation descendant, Hong Badan, served as an official in Linqing during the Ming. His descendants took Hong as their surname and settled in Linqing. One branch settled in the urban area of Linqing and built the Hong Family Mosque (North Mosque). Another branch settled in Hongguanying Village and built the Hongguanying Mosque. Hongguanying Mosque was built between the Xuande and Tianshun periods of the Ming. It was burned down in 1854 (the fourth year of the Xianfeng reign) during the Northern Expedition of the Taiping Rebellion, and it was rebuilt in its current form in 1874 (the thirteenth year of the Tongzhi reign). We were warmly welcomed at Hongguanying Mosque by Imam Lan. He is a talented Arabic calligrapher, and his scripture paintings and stone carvings are truly impressive.
38. Shanhaiguan Mosque in Qinhuangdao
In July, I visited the mosque, the sea, and the Great Wall in Shanhaiguan.
Shanhaiguan Mosque in Qinhuangdao, Hebei, sits just outside the west gate of the Shanhaiguan fortress. According to the Kangxi-era Records of Shanhaiguan, in the first month of 1381 (the 14th year of the Hongwu reign), General Xu Da sent 15,100 soldiers from the Yanshan Garrison to build 32 passes, including Yongping and Jieling. People say the original Shanhaiguan Mosque was built by the Hui Muslim soldiers brought by Xu Da. Because of this, the local Hui Muslims in Shanhaiguan have a saying: The mosque came before the Shanhaiguan Pass. The current hall of the mosque was rebuilt between 1998 and 2003. In the courtyard, there is a 600-year-old Chinese pine (yousong) planted when the mosque was built, along with a Chinese arborvitae (cebai) planted at the same time. The north wing of the mosque houses Ming and Qing dynasty brick and wood carvings removed during the 1998 renovation, and some old-fashioned mantel clocks.
Beijing
39. Gubeikou Mosque in Miyun
Visiting the old mosque in Gubeikou
Gubeikou Mosque is in Hexi Village, Gubeikou, Miyun, Beijing. Its original construction date is unknown, but a stone tablet from the Ming Chongzhen era inside the mosque says it was rebuilt in the second year of Chongzhen (1629). During the Kangxi era, Gubeikou was a key military site for Kangxi’s campaigns against the Dzungars. It was also an imperial road for his northern hunting trips and inspections, making it very important. In the 34th year of Kangxi (1695), a Hui Muslim military officer named Ma Jinliang was promoted to commander-in-chief of Gubeikou in Zhili due to his outstanding battle achievements. People called him General Ma the Hui Muslim. While in Gubeikou, Ma Jinliang led the renovation of Gubeikou Mosque. In the ninth year of Tongzhi (1870), Zheng Kuishi, a famous late Qing Dynasty general and the Gubeikou commander at the time, worked with local elders from Rehe, Dage Town (now Fengning, Chengde), and Gubeikou to donate money to rebuild the mosque's kiln hall (yaodian), turning it from one story into two.
As the imperial road fell into disrepair at the end of the Qing, Hexi Village gradually became quiet. After the 1960s, the Gubeikou Mosque was used by the brigade headquarters. It was renovated in 2004 for the Olympics, but it has not resumed religious activities since. Today, the key to the Gubeikou Mosque is held by an elderly Hui Muslim man living next door. I only managed to get inside to visit after I happened to run into him.
40. Mujiayu Mosque in Miyun (rebuilt)
A halal tour around Miyun Reservoir
Mujiayu is located northeast of Miyun's urban area. Historically, it sat on the trade route from Gubeikou and Shixia Ancient City to the center of Miyun. The Hui Muslims with the surname Mu in the village came from Tianmu Village in Tianjin. They moved to Miyun in Qianlong reign, over two hundred years ago.
In 1771 (the 36th year of Qianlong reign), Mu Guobao was arrested for accidentally injuring someone while standing up for justice at a market in Tianjin, but he was rescued by his younger brother while being escorted. The two brothers fled Tianjin and came to Mengjiayu in Miyun (now Nanmujiayu Village) to work. In less than ten years, they built a house, bought land, married, and had children. They founded Mujiayu, and Mu Guobao was the first ancestor to move there. According to research by local scholar Cao Rongxin, Mujiayu originally only had the Mu family. Later, Hui Muslims with the surname Ha fled famine and settled there. In 1958, the construction of the Miyun Reservoir flooded the ancient city of Shixia. Hui Muslims with the surnames Li, Cao, Ma, and Zhang from the ancient city, along with the Mu family from Qianchao Duzhuang (whose first ancestor was the younger brother of Mu Guobao), all moved to Mujiayu. This eventually created the current size of Mujiayu.
Mu Chaoyu, the son of the first ancestor Mu Guobao, built the Mujiayu Mosque on a small hill by the river east of the village in his later years. In 1946, the Mujiayu Mosque was seized by the armed landlord group Huohui from West Mujiayu. It was destroyed in 1948 during the liberation of Miyun, and only two pine trees remain now. After 1949, Mujiayu used compensation money to build six rooms on the west side of the village. They originally planned to rebuild the hall, but the project failed due to road construction. Later, the mosque buildings were occupied by a collective canteen and other units. It was not until 1991 that the Mujiayu Mosque was finally rebuilt on the west side of the road in the west of the village. The Mujiayu Mosque was demolished and rebuilt again in 2023. What I am showing now is the Mujiayu Mosque before it was rebuilt.
41. Changping Nankou Village Mosque
Visiting seven ancient mosques during Ramadan.
Nankou is the first gateway for Beijing to reach Datong, Xuanhua, and the Mongolian grasslands via the Jundu Pass, one of the eight passes of the Taihang Mountains. It was also the final line of defense for the capital and has been a strategic military location since ancient times. To defend against Mongol invasions, the Ming built Nankou City in 1404 (the second year of the Yongle reign), and it was renovated many times later. After the Qing, trade with the grasslands flourished, filling Nankou City with shops and a constant stream of merchants and travelers. After the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway was completed in 1909, the commercial importance of Nankou City was gradually replaced by Nankou Town, where the railway station was located.
Nankou Mosque is located outside the south gate of Nankou City. Its exact founding date is unknown, but it is estimated to have been built during the Ming. The mosque houses a stone tablet from the 20th year of Guangxu reign (1894) titled 'Record of the Renovation of the Nankou Mosque in Yanqing Prefecture.' It records that Imam Yang Xiaoshan from Shixia City in Miyun was hired by Nankou Mosque in 1876. He traveled everywhere to raise donations (nietie), and then renovated the south lecture hall in 1879, the north quiet room in 1880, and built a water well in 1881. In 1887, Imam Yang was hired by Shacheng Mosque in Huailai County, and Nankou Mosque hired Imam Shan Hong'en, who continued to build a water room next to the well and a main gate in the northeast corner. The current Nankou Mosque generally keeps the layout from its renovation in Guangxu reign.
Nankou Mosque closed in 1958 and has not opened since. In 2005, the Changping District Cultural Relics Management Office renovated the hall and the north quiet room. They planned to open it afterward, but it has remained closed due to disputes over the mosque's property. The Changping District Cultural Relics Management Office repaired the mosque again between 2020 and 2021.
42. Changping Wujie Mosque
Visiting seven ancient mosques during Ramadan.
Changping Wujie Mosque is also called Changping City Mosque. Legend says it was built by Chang Yuchun during his northern military campaign. It was rebuilt in the Wanli reign using stone and wood left over from building the Ming Tombs. The golden nanmu wood beams and pillars in the hall still remain now.
Changping Wujie Mosque is now the only Jahriyya mosque in Beijing. The prayer rug used by Imam Jin Zichang is still kept inside the mosque. Imam Jin Zichang comes from the Jinjiadian Daotang in Jinan, Shandong. He is the Eastern Rais of the Jahriyya and manages the religious affairs of the Jahriyya in Jiangsu, Shandong, Hebei, and the three northeastern provinces. Imam Jin's ancestor, Jin Shizhang, joined Ma Mingxin in 1770 to study Jahriyya teachings. He was later appointed as the Rais in charge of religious affairs in Shandong, Zhili, and Jiangsu, and he founded the Jinjiadian Daotang in Xiguan, Jinan. Imam Jin's great-grandfather, Jin Zhong, once managed the religious affairs of the Nanshangpo Mosque outside Chaoyangmen in Beijing and the Wujie Mosque in Changping. His grandfather, Jin Shiyi, became the Rais of the Jahriyya in Xinjiang in 1912 and helped expand the Nanda Mosque in Urumqi.
43. Heying Mosque in Changping
Visiting the tomb of the Western Region sage Bo Hazhi
The tomb of the Western Region sage Bo Hazhi is in Heying, Changping, Beijing. Locals also call it the Sheikh Baba grave. Records say Bo Hazhi came from Medina and arrived in China to spread the faith in the early years of the Hongwu reign of the Ming. He eventually passed away in Heying, Changping, and is deeply respected by Hui Muslims. Local legends say Bo Hazhi killed a giant python on Mangshan Mountain to save the people, and that he appeared in white robes to protect villagers from soldiers when the rebel leader Chuang Wang marched on Beijing.
In front of the tomb of Bo Hazhi, there are five stone tablets from the Ming and Qing dynasties. The people who set them up include General Yang Yingrui, a Hui Muslim from Niujie in Beijing during the Ming dynasty; General Ma Fang, a legendary Hui Muslim who won many battles in the mid-Ming dynasty; and Ma Jinliang, a famous Hui Muslim officer from the early Qing dynasty. The cemetery holds 68 ancient cypress trees from the Ming dynasty. Outside of the Ming Tombs, this is the best-preserved collection of Ming-era trees in Changping.
A local Hui Muslim family named Zhang has guarded the tomb of Bo Hazhi for generations. Today, the guardians are Zhang Youjin and his wife. On the south side of the cemetery stands Heying Mosque (Heying Si), built by the Zhang family in the 1930s. The imam of Heying Mosque was forced to leave after the 1960s, and since then, the building has mainly been used for visiting graves and funeral rites (mayiti). When policies were updated in the 1980s, Heying Mosque was not included in the heritage protection area along with the tomb of Bo Hazhi, so it still does not have official status as a cultural relic. Heying Mosque is now being repaired step by step, and the north building has been rebuilt.
According to a tablet record from the first year of the Xuantong reign, officials and Hui Muslims from past dynasties have come here every year on the 24th day of the third lunar month to pay respects and visit the grave, a tradition that has lasted a long time. From the Ming dynasty until now, Hui Muslims from the local area and near have come to visit the grave of the Sheikh Baba (Shaihai Baba) on the 24th day of the third lunar month without fail. On this day, we invite the imam from a near mosque to lead the scripture reading and closing prayers. The villagers slaughter sheep to make meat porridge and fry dough fritters (youxiang), making it a very grand occasion.
44. Shahe Mosque in Changping
Visiting seven ancient mosques during Ramadan.
During the Wanli reign of the Ming, the northern capital road to Zhangjiakou moved to Shahe. Hui Muslims who traded cattle and sheep began to settle in Shahe. Shahe Mosque was built during the Ming and was renovated twice, once in Guangxu reign of the Qing and once in the Republican era.
The renovation stele from the 31st year of Guangxu reign (1905) on the north side of the hall's porch records the mosque's renovation process between 1895 and 1905. The text notes that at the time, the local sheep market donated five wen from the sale of every sheep, and one hundred wen from every cow and camel, to cover the mosque's various expenses. The 1920 renovation stele on the south side of the porch records that the mosque renovated its water room in 1917. Later, they collected donations (nieti) to build the rear hall and a Western-style gate in 1920. The first donor mentioned is the Republic-era Hui Muslim general Yang Kaijia. His ancestral home was Dachang, Hebei, and he served for a long time as a military guard for Yuan Shikai. He was promoted to lieutenant general for his many contributions. Most of the names that follow are various businesses, many from Madian outside Deshengmen. The most famous one among them is likely Donglaishun.
45. Xiguanshi Mosque in Changping
Xiguanshi Mosque
Visiting old mosques in Beijing during the Islamic New Year
Xiguanshi Mosque in Changping, Beijing, was built in 1494 (the seventh year of the Hongzhi reign of the Ming). The hall was rebuilt in 1709 (the forty-eighth year of Kangxi reign), the main gate in 1723 (the first year of the Yongzheng reign), the hall rooms in 1732 (the tenth year of the Yongzheng reign), and the kiln hall (yaodian) in 1761 (the twenty-sixth year of Qianlong reign). It was renovated many times in Guangxu reign and the Republican era.
On August 15, 1900, the Eight-Nation Alliance entered Beijing. Empress Dowager Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor left the city to head west, arriving at Xiguanshi by evening. Hui Muslim Li Xilun from Xiguanshi led a group to welcome the imperial party south of the village. He guided Cixi and her entourage to stay at Xiguanshi Mosque, where they were received by Imam Cai Wanchun. Afterward, Empress Dowager Cixi slept in the hall, Emperor Guangxu and his consorts slept in the side halls, and the rest of the group stayed in near private homes. The next day, Li Xijun, the owner of the Xiguangyu Escort Agency in Xiguanshi, prepared twenty mule-drawn sedan chairs, several silver ingots, and grain for Cixi’s group. A villager named Yang Juchuan volunteered to lead the way, and Li Jintang provided protection for the journey to the next stop. Two years later, Cixi returned to Beijing and donated silver to renovate the Xiguanshi mosque. She also ordered the imperial kilns at Liulihe to fire glazed tiles, roof finials, and ridge beasts, which were gifted to the Xiguanshi mosque and the mosque in Gaotou Village, Wuji County, the hometown of Imam Cai Wanchun.
Cixi inscribed a plaque for the Xiguanshi mosque that read 'Linggan Zhaozhu' (Manifestation of Spiritual Inspiration), Guangxu inscribed 'Zhongshu Qinshang' (Loyalty Dedicated to the Sovereign), Prince Su Shanqi inscribed 'Qingxu Weidao' (Pure and Void Taste of the Way), and Prince Li inscribed 'Aomiao Wuqiong' (Infinite Profundity). She also bestowed the title 'Marquis of Leading the Way' upon Yang Juchuan for his service, and granted Li Jintang the rank of a second-grade official with a peacock feather, serving as a candidate for a circuit intendant in Zhejiang. Others, including village elder Li Xilun and Imam Cai Wanchun, were awarded fifth, sixth, and seventh-grade official buttons. In 1958, when the communal canteen was established, the plaques from the hall were taken down and used as cutting boards, and their whereabouts are now unknown. After the 1960s, the hall was turned into a warehouse, and all the plaques and couplets were burned. Every building except for the hall and the front gate was demolished, until the site was restored and reopened in 1982.
46. Anheqiao Mosque in Haidian
Anheqiao Mosque in Haidian, Beijing, sits by Xiangshan Road at the southern foot of Hongshan Mountain. It was built at the end of the Ming. During Kangxi reign, the Qing built the Three Hills and Five Gardens in western Beijing. Many Hui Muslims settled in Anheqiao and expanded the mosque. It had several renovations during the Qianlong and Guangxu periods and the Republican era. In 1950, the mosque moved to make way for the Jingmi Diversion Canal. It moved again between 2003 and 2005 due to the construction of the Fifth Ring Road, resulting in its current four-story, octagonal pavilion-style hall.
47. Shucun Mosque in Haidian
Visiting old mosques in Beijing during autumn
Shucun Mosque in Beijing is located outside the north gate of the Old Summer Palace. It was built during the Kangxi (or possibly Yongzheng) reign. In 1873 (the 12th year of the Tongzhi reign), a eunuch named Ma donated 300 taels of silver. Hui Muslims from the local community and surrounding areas—including Sanjiadian, Xiguanshi, Anheqiao, Shangqinghe, Siwangfu, Landianchang, outside Deshengmen, and Xuanhua Prefecture in Zhangjiakou—raised over 2,000 taels of silver to restore it. In the early years of the Republic, a family named Shen from outside Deshengmen donated 2,000 silver dollars and asked a village elder named Man from Shucun to lead the renovation of the hall. Shucun Mosque was occupied in the 1950s and damaged in the 1960s. It resumed activities in 1983 and has had several renovations since. Shucun Village has been demolished, and the villagers have moved into apartment buildings. The mosque grounds hold two ancient cypress trees from the Qing, one dead and one alive. Also a plaque inscribed with the words "Heaven is close at hand" (tiantang zhichi), gifted by a fourth-rank imperial bodyguard in 1873 during a renovation.
48. Haidian Madian Mosque
Madian is on the Jingbei Avenue outside Deshengmen in Beijing. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, it has been a hub for cattle and sheep trading with a large population of Hui Muslims. The number of Hui Muslims here is no less than that of Niujie. After the Qing, hundreds of thousands of cattle, sheep, and horses entered Beijing from Mongolia via Zhangjiakou every year. Hui Muslims in Madian opened many horse and sheep shops to feed and sell these animals for a commission. Madian Mosque was built in Kangxi reign. In 1850 (the 30th year of the Daoguang reign), it was renovated with funds raised by over ten sheep and horse shops in Madian, and it was renovated again in the Republican era.
The ceremonial gate of Madian Mosque features a ridged hip-and-gable roof and a carved stone arched doorway. The hanging flower gate (chuihuamen) has a curved-shed gable-and-hip roof, and the lintels are has blue-green paintings. The hall uses a raised-beam timber frame and is spacious and bright. The arched door in front of the kiln hall (yaodian) is painted with intertwined passion flower patterns.
49. Haidian Mosque
Haidian Mosque in Beijing was built in Kangxi reign. Then, Hui Muslims from Tongzhou came to Haidian Town to sell fish and settled there. Haidian Mosque was expanded several times during the Jiaqing, Guangxu, and Republican periods. At its peak, it covered over 30 mu of land and included a vegetable garden and a cemetery. It was rebuilt into its current form in 1995. The hall consists of a curved shed, a hall, and a kiln hall (yaodian). The kiln hall has a four-cornered pointed roof with green and yellow glazed tiles with trimmed edges. There are many schools around Haidian Mosque. Every Friday prayer (Jumu'ah), hundreds of international students attend. When it is crowded, the basement, lobby, and courtyard are all packed with people, which is a spectacular sight.
50. Haidian Siwangfu Mosque
Visiting old mosques in Beijing during autumn
The Siwangfu Mosque in Haidian, Beijing, sits east of the Fragrant Hills Botanical Garden. It is shared by Hui Muslims from five near communities: Fragrant Hills (Xiangshan), Siwangfu, Mentou, Nanhetan, and Xiaotun. Legend says the Siwangfu Mosque was founded during the Qianlong era by elders from Houmenqiao and the local community. It was renovated in the Republican era, but closed in the 1960s, leaving the hall on the verge of collapse. After religious policy returned in the 1980s, the hall was torn down and its wood and bricks were sold. The north rooms and surrounding walls were rebuilt, and namaz was held in the north rooms instead. Through the hard work of local elders, the hall was finally rebuilt in 1990. Due to a construction error, the hall was moved to the east of its original site, which created the layout we see now. The courtyard is clean and tidy now, offering a glimpse of what the outskirts of Beijing felt like before.
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Halal Food Guide: Beijing New Restaurants - Turkish, Tunisian and Local Eats (Part 2)
Reposted from the web
Summary: Beijing New Restaurants - Turkish, Tunisian and Local Eats (Part 2) is presented as a photo-based continuation of the original Chinese post, keeping the images in their original order. The entry is organized for readers looking for Beijing Halal Food, New Restaurants, Muslim Travel without adding new claims beyond the source material.
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Summary: Beijing New Restaurants - Turkish, Tunisian and Local Eats (Part 2) is presented as a photo-based continuation of the original Chinese post, keeping the images in their original order. The entry is organized for readers looking for Beijing Halal Food, New Restaurants, Muslim Travel without adding new claims beyond the source material.
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Halal Travel Guide: Beijing Niujie - Women's Mosque, Stewed Meat Noodles and Houheyan Mosque
Reposted from the web
Summary: Beijing Niujie - Women's Mosque, Stewed Meat Noodles and Houheyan Mosque is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Niujie, Beijing Mosques, Halal Food.
I visited a friend on Niujie Street after work yesterday. The Niujie Mosque is currently closed for major renovations, so prayers are being held at the women's mosque.
The Niujie Women's Mosque was first built in 1925 as the first women's mosque in Beijing. Its original site was on Shouliu Hutong, which is now Niujie Dongli. The mosque was initiated by a Niujie elder named Min Deren (also known as Xinquan). Another elder, Ma Zhiqing, donated a vacant lot and a well on Shouliu Hutong, and the community elders purchased the materials and handled the construction. Construction stopped due to a lack of funds but resumed after more money was raised in 1922. With donations from Min Xinquan, Ma Fuxiang, and elders from various districts in Beijing, the mosque was officially completed in 1925.
In 1958, the Niujie Women's Mosque became a kindergarten for Hui Muslims. It turned into a wool textile factory after 1966. In the 1980s, after policy changes, it returned to being a kindergarten for Hui Muslims until it was demolished during the Niujie redevelopment. The women's mosque was rebuilt on the north side of the Niujie Mosque in 2005 and officially finished in 2006. The new Niujie Women's Mosque functions as the women's hall for the Niujie Mosque. It does not have a female imam; instead, the women follow the prayer leader (imam) in the men's hall through an audio system.
To the right of the main gate of the Niujie Women's Mosque, there used to be a plaque handwritten by Ma Fuxiang in 1925, but it is currently covered by a sign that reads Niujie Mosque Temporary Service Office. Inside the main prayer hall, a beautiful piece of brick-carved calligraphy is embedded in the wall facing the direction of prayer.
Afterward, Digele went to the newly opened He's Beef Noodles (Heji Niuroumian) on Niujie Street, which markets itself as the taste of home in Niujie. They only serve noodles topped with stewed meat, but you can buy braised beef separately, and noodle refills are free. Their noodles are freshly pressed buckwheat noodles (heluo mian) with a good chew, the broth tastes great, and the stewed meat is on the firmer side but still delicious. I wasn't satisfied after one bowl, so I ordered another serving of noodles. Also, they do not sell alcohol, only soft drinks, which is great.
In the evening, I visited the Houheyan Mosque on Changchun Street with several imams from Sichuan who were here for study, along with Yahya Dosti.
Houheyanyan Mosque sits right next to the south bank of the moat. During the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China era, many transport workers and halal food vendors lived nearby. In 1944, Yang Yuting from the 'Heyan Yang family' and his sons Yang Hongda and Yang Honglai donated their family ice cellar. Then, village elders Yang Zengbin and Yang Zengsen led a fundraising effort. They received strong support from Hui Muslims in Beijing and Dachang, including Peking Opera master Ma Lianliang and Kaorou Wan restaurant owner Wan Qirui. The mosque was built in 1948. Houheyanyan Mosque originally covered a large area. In the 1970s, part of the land was taken to fill in the moat for subway construction. The current building was rebuilt in 2012.
I received beef jerky and beef tallow hot pot base from Imam Feng. It is authentic intangible cultural heritage food from Nanchong, and it tastes delicious.
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Summary: Beijing Niujie - Women's Mosque, Stewed Meat Noodles and Houheyan Mosque is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Niujie, Beijing Mosques, Halal Food.
I visited a friend on Niujie Street after work yesterday. The Niujie Mosque is currently closed for major renovations, so prayers are being held at the women's mosque.
The Niujie Women's Mosque was first built in 1925 as the first women's mosque in Beijing. Its original site was on Shouliu Hutong, which is now Niujie Dongli. The mosque was initiated by a Niujie elder named Min Deren (also known as Xinquan). Another elder, Ma Zhiqing, donated a vacant lot and a well on Shouliu Hutong, and the community elders purchased the materials and handled the construction. Construction stopped due to a lack of funds but resumed after more money was raised in 1922. With donations from Min Xinquan, Ma Fuxiang, and elders from various districts in Beijing, the mosque was officially completed in 1925.
In 1958, the Niujie Women's Mosque became a kindergarten for Hui Muslims. It turned into a wool textile factory after 1966. In the 1980s, after policy changes, it returned to being a kindergarten for Hui Muslims until it was demolished during the Niujie redevelopment. The women's mosque was rebuilt on the north side of the Niujie Mosque in 2005 and officially finished in 2006. The new Niujie Women's Mosque functions as the women's hall for the Niujie Mosque. It does not have a female imam; instead, the women follow the prayer leader (imam) in the men's hall through an audio system.
To the right of the main gate of the Niujie Women's Mosque, there used to be a plaque handwritten by Ma Fuxiang in 1925, but it is currently covered by a sign that reads Niujie Mosque Temporary Service Office. Inside the main prayer hall, a beautiful piece of brick-carved calligraphy is embedded in the wall facing the direction of prayer.
Afterward, Digele went to the newly opened He's Beef Noodles (Heji Niuroumian) on Niujie Street, which markets itself as the taste of home in Niujie. They only serve noodles topped with stewed meat, but you can buy braised beef separately, and noodle refills are free. Their noodles are freshly pressed buckwheat noodles (heluo mian) with a good chew, the broth tastes great, and the stewed meat is on the firmer side but still delicious. I wasn't satisfied after one bowl, so I ordered another serving of noodles. Also, they do not sell alcohol, only soft drinks, which is great.
In the evening, I visited the Houheyan Mosque on Changchun Street with several imams from Sichuan who were here for study, along with Yahya Dosti.
Houheyanyan Mosque sits right next to the south bank of the moat. During the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China era, many transport workers and halal food vendors lived nearby. In 1944, Yang Yuting from the 'Heyan Yang family' and his sons Yang Hongda and Yang Honglai donated their family ice cellar. Then, village elders Yang Zengbin and Yang Zengsen led a fundraising effort. They received strong support from Hui Muslims in Beijing and Dachang, including Peking Opera master Ma Lianliang and Kaorou Wan restaurant owner Wan Qirui. The mosque was built in 1948. Houheyanyan Mosque originally covered a large area. In the 1970s, part of the land was taken to fill in the moat for subway construction. The current building was rebuilt in 2012.
I received beef jerky and beef tallow hot pot base from Imam Feng. It is authentic intangible cultural heritage food from Nanchong, and it tastes delicious.
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Halal Food Guide: Tianjin - Yemeni Food, Algerian Sweets and Family Eats
Reposted from the web
Summary: Tianjin - Yemeni Food, Algerian Sweets and Family Eats is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Tianjin Food, Yemeni Food, Halal Travel.
My whole family went to Tianjin last weekend, and we started by visiting the Socotra Yemeni restaurant on Saturday at noon. Many Yemeni restaurants have opened in Guangzhou and Yiwu, but Arabic restaurants in Beijing still mostly serve Levantine food. If you want a Yemeni meal, you have to take an intercity train to Tianjin.
Socotra is an island in the Arabian Sea off the southeast coast of Yemen. It was called Sugudala in the Ming Dynasty's Zheng He Navigation Map. Socotra Island became a World Natural Heritage site in 2008 and is famous for its dragon blood trees. The Socotra restaurant uses a dragon blood tree as its logo and hangs photos of the trees in the shop.
We ordered the signature soup, chicken lentil soup, lamb Zurbian rice, Mushakkal stir-fried vegetables, Fahsa beef stew, banana mango juice, and Khubz flatbread. Zurbian rice is a bit like Indian Biryani rice, as both are stir-fried with various spices. Their lamb is roasted and tastes very fragrant, but we found the rice a bit dry. There are also small bone fragments in it, so be careful not to let children eat it.
When you go to a Yemeni restaurant, you must try the classic Yemeni dish, Fahsa meat stew. Fahsa is usually made with lamb, but this place uses beef. They stew the meat until it is very tender, starting in a large barrel before moving it to a small pot to finish cooking. Besides ginger, garlic, and cumin, they add a spice called fenugreek (Hulbah) to the stew. Fenugreek is the same as the fragrant beans (xiangdouzi) often mentioned by people in Northwest China. People in the Northwest dry the leaves and grind them into powder for steaming buns, while Yemenis grind the seeds to stew with meat. Fenugreek seeds expand in water and easily create foam when you stir them in a bowl.
The classic way to eat Fahsa stew is with large Yemeni flatbread (Mulawah), but this place requires you to order it in advance, so we could only have pita bread (Khubz) there. Khubz is actually the same as pita bread (pita) from Levantine cuisine, but the version they make is quite hard and, to be honest, not very good.
We went to the National Maritime Museum in the afternoon; it was very hard to book, and it was crowded inside. Here are some of the exhibits:
A 13th-century star-shaped glazed tile with Arabic script from Iran.
A 12th to 13th-century white-glazed bowl with Arabic script from the Kashan region of Iran.
A 13th-century green-glazed bowl featuring figures from Samarkand, Central Asia.
A 12th to 13th-century green-glazed incised pitcher from Urgench, Central Asia.
A 14th-century fragment of Coptic textile from Egypt.
Then I went to Dongdi Park. It is just a levee here with no beach, but many people were setting up tents. The road there only had two lanes open, so it was very congested.
In the evening, I went to Qianmu in Beichen for Japanese food. Beijing no longer has any halal Japanese restaurants, so you have to go to Tianjin if you want to eat that. Their place is very popular, and it is hard to get a seat if you do not book in advance. When we arrived after eight o'clock, they had even sold out of rice, so we went straight to the ramen shop across the street to buy some.
We ordered tempura udon noodles, sukiyaki (sukiyaki), eel rice (unagi don), a large grilled platter (yakimono), baked potato with cod roe (mentaiko), baked crab shell with cheese (kani miso), a seared sushi platter, and marble soda (ramune). Suleiman loved their udon noodles the most and could not stop eating them; he finished his meal feeling great and fell right asleep. There are plenty of grilled items, but they are mostly mushroom and vegetable dishes with less meat. The soy sauce for the sushi was a bit salty, and the sushi itself tasted average, which was a pity. The staff saw we had a child with us, so they cooked the sukiyaki for us before bringing it to the table, which deserves a thumbs up. The eel rice tasted okay. Next time I want to try their teriyaki chicken rice.
Having breakfast on Sunday morning. Ever since the Northwest Corner became super popular, I basically stopped going there to eat. Actually, Tianjin has so many delicious breakfast spots, not just the Northwest Corner. I used to go to Tianmu and Jinjiayao for breakfast, but this time I went to Xueji Northwest Corner Old Flavor Breakfast (Xueji Xibeijiao Laowei Zaodian) in the Lushuidao area of Jinnan District. Their shop is a simple neighborhood eatery on the ground floor of an apartment complex, where all the older folks come to eat.
We didn't arrive until nine o'clock, so most things were sold out. We just ordered water chestnut soup (lingjiao tang), sesame flatbread with meat (shaobing jiarou), and savory crepe strips in sauce (guobacai). Their water chestnut soup is truly delicious. The skin is the perfect texture, and the filling is very fragrant. Suleiman ate several of them in one go. The sesame flatbread for the meat sandwich is crispy, and the taste is quite good. Crispy rice pancake strips in gravy (guobacai) have a classic, old-school taste. Eating water caltrop soup (lingjiaotang) and guobacai together is a bit too much, though. I think guobacai pairs best with iron-pot soy milk.
At noon, I had an Algerian afternoon tea at Lyn's Healthy Bakeshop on Chifeng Road in Tianjin. Chifeng Road is in the former French Concession area. There are many small Western-style villas here, and all kinds of little eateries have opened up.
The owner is from Algeria and opened this small shop for tea and desserts. It is likely the first Algerian eatery in China. It is impressive to see Tianjin's food scene leading the way in international variety again.
You can order items individually or get an afternoon tea set. They serve both traditional Algerian desserts and Western pastries. Everything uses maple syrup instead of white sugar, focusing on healthy eating. This is the least sweet Arabic dessert shop I have ever visited.
We drank Algerian mint tea and an Algerian orange blossom lemonade called Sherbet Mazhar. The mint tea is brewed to order, so you have to wait a while. It has a very strong aroma, but since it is freshly brewed, you cannot get refills. Orange blossom water is definitely a signature Algerian drink, especially classic at wedding banquets in northern Algeria. Orange blossom water (ma'zahar) is made by distilling bitter orange blossoms and mixing them with syrup and water. It is very refreshing to drink in the summer.
We ate Algerian baklava (baklawa), apple pie, milk pudding (m'halbi), and cheesecake. Suleiman loved the cheesecake the most. Baklava was brought to Algeria from Turkey during the Ottoman period. The Algerian version adds crushed almonds and orange blossom water, so it tastes different from the Turkish one.
Milk pudding (m'halbi) is a classic Middle Eastern dessert for breaking the fast and is most popular during Ramadan. The name m'halbi comes from Al-Muhallab, a governor of Khorasan during the Umayyad Caliphate. Legend says he once had a stomachache, and a doctor fed him rice flour boiled in milk with sugar. He liked it so much that he named the dessert after himself.
Finally, their food is excellent, but the decor is a bit simple. If they could highlight more Algerian features, it would definitely become a new popular spot in Tianjin.
In the evening, we went to Yiweizhai on Xihu Road Food Street in Tianjin to eat rice noodle rolls (changfen). I used to go to Yeji Rice Noodle Rolls (Yeji Changfen) whenever I visited Tianjin, but this was my first time eating at Yiweizhai. The Yiweizhai shop is small, but they have a huge variety of dishes. We ordered seafood rice noodle rolls (changfen), fresh shrimp steamed dumplings (shaomai), chicken feet in black bean sauce (chizhi fengzhua), cured beef claypot rice (labaozai fan), plain beef tendon balls (jing niujin wan), curry beef balls, and curry fish balls, plus some crispy braised starch jelly (cui pi menzi) made in the old Tianjin style. Except for the claypot rice, which takes a while because they cook the raw rice fresh, all the other dishes arrived very quickly.
Overall, their food is very good. It really shows how much effort Tianjin people put into their cooking. Their rice noodle rolls have a great texture, not as hard as the ones I had in Hong Kong before. The beef tendon balls and fish balls also had a fantastic texture, so we ordered another round after finishing the first. By comparison, the beef balls were just average. This was my first time having crispy braised starch jelly. I had only ever eaten pan-fried starch jelly before, and it definitely doesn't compare to the crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside texture of this version.
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Summary: Tianjin - Yemeni Food, Algerian Sweets and Family Eats is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Tianjin Food, Yemeni Food, Halal Travel.
My whole family went to Tianjin last weekend, and we started by visiting the Socotra Yemeni restaurant on Saturday at noon. Many Yemeni restaurants have opened in Guangzhou and Yiwu, but Arabic restaurants in Beijing still mostly serve Levantine food. If you want a Yemeni meal, you have to take an intercity train to Tianjin.
Socotra is an island in the Arabian Sea off the southeast coast of Yemen. It was called Sugudala in the Ming Dynasty's Zheng He Navigation Map. Socotra Island became a World Natural Heritage site in 2008 and is famous for its dragon blood trees. The Socotra restaurant uses a dragon blood tree as its logo and hangs photos of the trees in the shop.
We ordered the signature soup, chicken lentil soup, lamb Zurbian rice, Mushakkal stir-fried vegetables, Fahsa beef stew, banana mango juice, and Khubz flatbread. Zurbian rice is a bit like Indian Biryani rice, as both are stir-fried with various spices. Their lamb is roasted and tastes very fragrant, but we found the rice a bit dry. There are also small bone fragments in it, so be careful not to let children eat it.
When you go to a Yemeni restaurant, you must try the classic Yemeni dish, Fahsa meat stew. Fahsa is usually made with lamb, but this place uses beef. They stew the meat until it is very tender, starting in a large barrel before moving it to a small pot to finish cooking. Besides ginger, garlic, and cumin, they add a spice called fenugreek (Hulbah) to the stew. Fenugreek is the same as the fragrant beans (xiangdouzi) often mentioned by people in Northwest China. People in the Northwest dry the leaves and grind them into powder for steaming buns, while Yemenis grind the seeds to stew with meat. Fenugreek seeds expand in water and easily create foam when you stir them in a bowl.
The classic way to eat Fahsa stew is with large Yemeni flatbread (Mulawah), but this place requires you to order it in advance, so we could only have pita bread (Khubz) there. Khubz is actually the same as pita bread (pita) from Levantine cuisine, but the version they make is quite hard and, to be honest, not very good.
We went to the National Maritime Museum in the afternoon; it was very hard to book, and it was crowded inside. Here are some of the exhibits:
A 13th-century star-shaped glazed tile with Arabic script from Iran.
A 12th to 13th-century white-glazed bowl with Arabic script from the Kashan region of Iran.
A 13th-century green-glazed bowl featuring figures from Samarkand, Central Asia.
A 12th to 13th-century green-glazed incised pitcher from Urgench, Central Asia.
A 14th-century fragment of Coptic textile from Egypt.
Then I went to Dongdi Park. It is just a levee here with no beach, but many people were setting up tents. The road there only had two lanes open, so it was very congested.
In the evening, I went to Qianmu in Beichen for Japanese food. Beijing no longer has any halal Japanese restaurants, so you have to go to Tianjin if you want to eat that. Their place is very popular, and it is hard to get a seat if you do not book in advance. When we arrived after eight o'clock, they had even sold out of rice, so we went straight to the ramen shop across the street to buy some.
We ordered tempura udon noodles, sukiyaki (sukiyaki), eel rice (unagi don), a large grilled platter (yakimono), baked potato with cod roe (mentaiko), baked crab shell with cheese (kani miso), a seared sushi platter, and marble soda (ramune). Suleiman loved their udon noodles the most and could not stop eating them; he finished his meal feeling great and fell right asleep. There are plenty of grilled items, but they are mostly mushroom and vegetable dishes with less meat. The soy sauce for the sushi was a bit salty, and the sushi itself tasted average, which was a pity. The staff saw we had a child with us, so they cooked the sukiyaki for us before bringing it to the table, which deserves a thumbs up. The eel rice tasted okay. Next time I want to try their teriyaki chicken rice.
Having breakfast on Sunday morning. Ever since the Northwest Corner became super popular, I basically stopped going there to eat. Actually, Tianjin has so many delicious breakfast spots, not just the Northwest Corner. I used to go to Tianmu and Jinjiayao for breakfast, but this time I went to Xueji Northwest Corner Old Flavor Breakfast (Xueji Xibeijiao Laowei Zaodian) in the Lushuidao area of Jinnan District. Their shop is a simple neighborhood eatery on the ground floor of an apartment complex, where all the older folks come to eat.
We didn't arrive until nine o'clock, so most things were sold out. We just ordered water chestnut soup (lingjiao tang), sesame flatbread with meat (shaobing jiarou), and savory crepe strips in sauce (guobacai). Their water chestnut soup is truly delicious. The skin is the perfect texture, and the filling is very fragrant. Suleiman ate several of them in one go. The sesame flatbread for the meat sandwich is crispy, and the taste is quite good. Crispy rice pancake strips in gravy (guobacai) have a classic, old-school taste. Eating water caltrop soup (lingjiaotang) and guobacai together is a bit too much, though. I think guobacai pairs best with iron-pot soy milk.
At noon, I had an Algerian afternoon tea at Lyn's Healthy Bakeshop on Chifeng Road in Tianjin. Chifeng Road is in the former French Concession area. There are many small Western-style villas here, and all kinds of little eateries have opened up.
The owner is from Algeria and opened this small shop for tea and desserts. It is likely the first Algerian eatery in China. It is impressive to see Tianjin's food scene leading the way in international variety again.
You can order items individually or get an afternoon tea set. They serve both traditional Algerian desserts and Western pastries. Everything uses maple syrup instead of white sugar, focusing on healthy eating. This is the least sweet Arabic dessert shop I have ever visited.
We drank Algerian mint tea and an Algerian orange blossom lemonade called Sherbet Mazhar. The mint tea is brewed to order, so you have to wait a while. It has a very strong aroma, but since it is freshly brewed, you cannot get refills. Orange blossom water is definitely a signature Algerian drink, especially classic at wedding banquets in northern Algeria. Orange blossom water (ma'zahar) is made by distilling bitter orange blossoms and mixing them with syrup and water. It is very refreshing to drink in the summer.
We ate Algerian baklava (baklawa), apple pie, milk pudding (m'halbi), and cheesecake. Suleiman loved the cheesecake the most. Baklava was brought to Algeria from Turkey during the Ottoman period. The Algerian version adds crushed almonds and orange blossom water, so it tastes different from the Turkish one.
Milk pudding (m'halbi) is a classic Middle Eastern dessert for breaking the fast and is most popular during Ramadan. The name m'halbi comes from Al-Muhallab, a governor of Khorasan during the Umayyad Caliphate. Legend says he once had a stomachache, and a doctor fed him rice flour boiled in milk with sugar. He liked it so much that he named the dessert after himself.
Finally, their food is excellent, but the decor is a bit simple. If they could highlight more Algerian features, it would definitely become a new popular spot in Tianjin.
In the evening, we went to Yiweizhai on Xihu Road Food Street in Tianjin to eat rice noodle rolls (changfen). I used to go to Yeji Rice Noodle Rolls (Yeji Changfen) whenever I visited Tianjin, but this was my first time eating at Yiweizhai. The Yiweizhai shop is small, but they have a huge variety of dishes. We ordered seafood rice noodle rolls (changfen), fresh shrimp steamed dumplings (shaomai), chicken feet in black bean sauce (chizhi fengzhua), cured beef claypot rice (labaozai fan), plain beef tendon balls (jing niujin wan), curry beef balls, and curry fish balls, plus some crispy braised starch jelly (cui pi menzi) made in the old Tianjin style. Except for the claypot rice, which takes a while because they cook the raw rice fresh, all the other dishes arrived very quickly.
Overall, their food is very good. It really shows how much effort Tianjin people put into their cooking. Their rice noodle rolls have a great texture, not as hard as the ones I had in Hong Kong before. The beef tendon balls and fish balls also had a fantastic texture, so we ordered another round after finishing the first. By comparison, the beef balls were just average. This was my first time having crispy braised starch jelly. I had only ever eaten pan-fried starch jelly before, and it definitely doesn't compare to the crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside texture of this version.
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Islamic History Guide: Old Cairo - Al-Azhar Mosque and Historic Streets
Reposted from the web
Summary: Old Cairo - Al-Azhar Mosque and Historic Streets is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Old Cairo, Al-Azhar Mosque, Islamic History.
In our first article, 'Experiencing the Thousand-Year History of Old Cairo (Inside the North Gate),' we started at the North Gate of Cairo, built during the 11th-century Fatimid Caliphate. We entered the thousand-year-old city from there and visited 13 historic buildings from the Fatimid, Mamluk, and Ottoman eras, moving from north to south.
In the second article, 'Experiencing the Thousand-Year History of Old Cairo (Between Two Palaces),' we continued south. We visited eight grand building complexes from the Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman dynasties that were built on the ruins of Fatimid palaces.
In the third article, we reached the heart of Old Cairo to visit the Al-Azhar Mosque and the historic buildings surrounding it.
1. Al-Azhar Mosque: 972
2. Al-Hussein Mosque: First built in 1154, rebuilt in 1874
3. Qaytbay Caravanserai complex: 1477
4. Abu al-Dhahab Mosque: 1774
5. Al-Ghuri complex: 1505
6. Other buildings
1. Al-Azhar Mosque: 972
In 969 AD, the Shia Ismaili Fatimid dynasty conquered Egypt and immediately began building their new capital, Cairo. At that time, the Sunni city of Fustat was already densely populated in the south of Cairo, so the newly built Cairo became the religious center for the Shia Ismailis.
After two years of construction, the first Friday mosque (Jami al-Qahira) in Cairo officially opened in 972 and was named after the city. The mosque was later renamed the Al-Azhar Mosque (al-Jami al-Azhar), with Al-Azhar meaning "the radiant."
After the Al-Azhar Mosque opened, the Ismailis shifted from secret to public preaching. The mosque's first chief judge, Qadi al-Numan, became the founder of Ismaili law and the author of the authoritative Ismaili text, The Pillars of Islam (Kitab da'a'im al-Islam).
The main prayer hall of the Al-Azhar Mosque is a hypostyle hall. The marble columns in its four rows of arcades came from architectural ruins of different eras, including those of the pharaohs, ancient Rome, and the Copts, and they were leveled using column bases of varying heights.
The main hall originally had three domes on top, but none survived later renovations. The original mihrab was rediscovered in 1933, and the prayer niche still holds ornate stucco carvings from the Fatimid period.
Several Fatimid caliphs expanded and renovated Al-Azhar Mosque. Caliph al-Hafiz (reigned 1132-1149) carried out a major renovation in 1138. The four-centered arches in the courtyard and the dome at the entrance to the main hall date back to this time. The stucco patterns in the courtyard also come from this period, though they were renovated again in 1891.
In 1171, Saladin overthrew the Fatimid dynasty and established the Sunni Ayyubid dynasty. Cairo's main Friday mosque moved to Al-Hakim Mosque in the north of the city, and Al-Azhar Mosque was neglected because it had been the center of Ismaili teachings. Saladin removed the silver bands inscribed with the names of Fatimid caliphs from the mihrab niche at Al-Azhar Mosque and destroyed all the Ismaili manuscripts kept there.
It was not until 1266 that the Mamluk Sultan Baybars (reigned 1260-1277) restored Friday prayers at Al-Azhar Mosque and repaired the building. The Ayyubid dynasty followed the Shafi'i school of law, which held that a community could have only one main Friday mosque, while the Mamluk dynasty followed the Hanafi school, which had no such rule.
The Mamluk dynasty left two grand minarets for the Al-Azhar Mosque—the Qaytbay minaret and the twin minarets of Ghuri—along with a Qaytbay gate. The Qaytbay minaret was built in 1483 or 1495 and features three balconies decorated with ornate carvings, while the Qaytbay gate was built in 1495 and leads directly into the courtyard. Both are fine examples of late Mamluk dynasty architecture. During the reign of Sultan Qaytbay (1468-96), the Mamluk dynasty enjoyed political and economic stability and won several military victories against the Ottoman dynasty. The Sultan had a deep interest in art and architecture and funded as many as 230 buildings.
In 1509, the Mamluk Sultan Ghuri (Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri, reigned 1501-16) built the twin minarets of Ghuri. Ghuri was the last powerful ruler of the Mamluk dynasty; he was eventually defeated by the Ottoman dynasty and fell on the battlefield in Syria.
In 1517, the Ottoman dynasty conquered the Mamluk dynasty and occupied Egypt, causing the status of the Al-Azhar Mosque to decline once again. It was not until after the 18th century, when the Mamluk elite regained influence in Egypt, that the renovation and expansion of the Al-Azhar Mosque continued.
In 1749, Abd al-Rahman was appointed as the head of the guards (Katkhuda). In 1753, he oversaw the construction of three Ottoman-style gates for the Al-Azhar Mosque: the Barbers' Gate (Bab al-Muzayinīn), the Sa'ayida Gate (Bab al-Sa'ayida), and the Soup Gate (Bab al-Shurba). Outside the Barbers' Gate was where students got their hair cut, Sa'ayida means people from Upper Egypt, and the Soup Gate was where students went to get soup. From then on, the Barbers' Gate became the main entrance to the Al-Azhar Mosque.
Abd al-Rahman also doubled the size of the main prayer hall of the Al-Azhar Mosque by expanding it to the south and added a new mihrab, giving the hall its final shape. After Abd al-Rahman died in 1776, he was buried inside the Al-Azhar Mosque, becoming the last person in history to be buried there.
After the 18th century, the Al-Azhar Mosque became the most influential educational institution in Egypt, and the ulama (scholars) were able to report to the pasha (governor) as official advisors.
Napoleon occupied Cairo on July 22, 1798. On October 21, an uprising against the French broke out at the Al-Azhar Mosque. Napoleon shelled the mosque directly from the Cairo Citadel, resulting in over 3,000 Egyptian casualties and the deaths of six ulama from the Al-Azhar Mosque. Napoleon's army tied their horses to the mihrab of Al-Azhar Mosque and looted the student dorms and library. In 1800, a student from Al-Azhar assassinated the commander-in-chief of the French expeditionary force, leading Napoleon to order the closure of Al-Azhar Mosque. Cairo was recaptured by the British and the Ottoman Empire in June 1801, and Al-Azhar Mosque reopened.
Between 1892 and 1901, Abbas II Hilmi Pasha, the last Khedive of Egypt under the Ottoman Empire, rebuilt the facade of Al-Azhar Mosque as part of the modernization wave in British-occupied Egypt. At the same time, Al-Azhar University carried out educational reforms to oppose fundamentalism. To counter the influence of the Saudi Wahhabi movement, many students from Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, came to study at Al-Azhar University during this period.
The last two photos show the Fatimid dynasty stucco carvings restored by the Committee for the Conservation of Monuments of Arab Art during the reign of Abbas II Hilmi Pasha.
2. Al-Hussein Mosque: First built in 1154, rebuilt in 1874
Across from the Al-Azhar Mosque is the Al-Hussein Mosque, where Shia Muslims believe the head of Imam Hussein is buried. The mosque was first built in 1154, but the current structure dates back to its reconstruction in 1874.
The Fatimid dynasty believed that the Abbasid dynasty secretly moved Imam Hussein's head from a grave at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. The Fatimids later rediscovered it in 1091 and built a shrine for it in Ashkelon, Palestine.
In 1153, the Fatimid dynasty ordered the head of Hussein to be moved to Cairo to be buried with the Fatimid caliphs, and they built the Al-Hussein Mosque in 1154. Today, the lower part of the south gate of the Al-Hussein Mosque still keeps its original Fatimid structure.
The Ayyubid dynasty rebuilt the Al-Hussein Mosque in 1237, but it later burned down, leaving only one Ayyubid minaret (bangke ta) standing today.
In 1874, Isma'il Pasha, the ruler of the Muhammad Ali dynasty who reigned from 1863 to 1879, rebuilt the Al-Hussein Mosque in a Gothic Revival style and added a minaret that blends Gothic and Ottoman styles. During his rule, Isma'il Pasha carried out large-scale modernization projects to make Egypt more European, and the Al-Hussein Mosque was part of this transformation.
In 1893, a room for storing items of the Prophet (Bab al-Mukhallafat al-Nabawiyya) was added next to the shrine of the head of Hussein. It contains four strands of the Prophet's hair, a linen cloak he wore during his lifetime, his lantern, a copper kohl applicator, his staff, and a sword given to him by one of his companions.
Today, the center of the shrine of the head of Hussein is the Zarih grille, which was crafted in Mumbai in 1965 by Taher Saifuddin, the leader of the Dawoodi Bohras branch of Ismailism. People say this Zarih was originally designed for the shrine of Abbas ibn Ali in Karbala, but it could not be installed there. Taher Saifuddin believed this was guided by Allah, so he had the Zarih flown to Cairo and installed inside the Hussein Mosque.
The area around the Hussein Mosque is very busy. There are so many people during namaz that sometimes they cannot all fit in at once and have to pray in two separate groups, which is a rare sight in Cairo.
3. Qaytbay Caravanserai complex: 1477
Right next to the south wall of the Al-Azhar Mosque is the Qaytbay caravanserai (Wikala) complex, built in 1477 by the Mamluk Sultan Qaytbay. The entire complex consists of a caravanserai (Wikala), a fountain (Sabil), an elementary school (Kuttab), and an animal drinking trough (Hod). Sultan Qaytbay built two caravanserais in Cairo. We have already introduced the other one, which is located inside the north gate.
The caravan inn consists of storage rooms on the first floor and guest rooms on the second floor. The upstairs area is now abandoned, while the ground floor has become a street of bookstores. To the west of the caravan inn is a fountain-primary school. The fountain on the ground floor provides drinking water for the community, and the classrooms upstairs are where children study the Quran. At that time, it was very popular for sultans of the Mamluk dynasty to build fountain-primary schools as a waqf (endowment) to seek the mercy of Allah.
4. Abu al-Dhahab Mosque: 1774
Right next to the west wall of the Al-Azhar Mosque stands the Abu al-Dhahab Mosque, built in 1774 by the Egyptian Mamluk ruler Abu al-Dhahab. This was the last large building complex constructed by the Mamluks in Egypt, but only the mosque remains today.
Abu al-Dhahab means 'Father of Gold,' and he was a wealthy and generous Mamluk emir. During the Russo-Turkish War, the Mamluk emir Ali Bey of Egypt declared independence from the Ottoman Empire, and Abu al-Dhahab led an army to conquer most of the Hejaz and Syria. After taking Damascus in 1772, Abu al-Dhahab turned his army to occupy Cairo and became the de facto ruler of Egypt until he died suddenly of the plague in 1775 while conquering Palestine.
The architecture of the Abu al-Dhahab Mosque mixes different styles, featuring Mamluk-style outer walls and Ottoman-style domes, while the minaret was inspired by the early 16th-century minaret of the nearby Sultan al-Ghuri complex.
The mihrab (prayer niche) and minbar (pulpit) of the Abu al-Dhahab Mosque feature Mamluk-style decorations inlaid with mother-of-pearl and marble.
The tomb of Abu al-Dhahab is in the northeast corner of the mosque's front portico, with walls decorated in tiles from Iznik, Istanbul, Tunisia, and local Cairo.
On the west side of the Abu al-Dhahab Mosque is the Abu al-Dhahab Sufi lodge (takiya) built in the late 18th century, which is now the museum for the Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz.
5. Al-Ghuri complex: 1505
Heading west from the Al-Azhar Mosque back to al-Muizz Street, the main road of Old Cairo, you can see the Al-Ghuri complex built between 1503 and 1505 by the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri, who reigned from 1501 to 1516. This massive complex includes a caravanserai, a mausoleum, a Sufi lodge (daotang), a fountain, a primary school, a main hall, and a madrasa.
The Ghouri Caravanserai (Wikala) sits at the far east end of the complex and was built between 1504 and 1505. The ground floor of the inn stored goods and livestock, the second floor held guest rooms for merchants, and the third and fourth floors were apartment units (Rab). Income from the inn and apartments went toward a charitable endowment (Waqf). The inn features beautiful latticed window screens (Mashrabiyas), which were a signature style for Mamluk-era caravanserais.
I compared the Sultan Ghouri complex I photographed with a painting by Orientalist artist David Roberts from 1839. This area has been a textile market in Old Cairo for hundreds of years.
The west building of the Ghouri complex houses the main hall and madrasa. It follows the classic late Mamluk layout of a central courtyard with four vaulted halls (Iwan). The building is decorated with rich, colorful marble and arabesque stone carvings. Elegant Kufic calligraphy is inlaid into white marble using black bitumen. The mihrab in the main hall features black and white marble mosaic patterns, with marble mosaic panels covering both sides.
The east building of the Qansuh al-Ghuri complex houses the tomb and the prayer hall (daotang). The prayer hall is where Sufis perform dhikr, and today it serves as a venue for whirling dervish dances and traditional music.
Next to the prayer hall is a fountain-primary school, which is a classic example of Mamluk dynasty architecture.
On August 24, 1516, the Mamluk Sultanate and the Ottoman Empire fought a decisive battle in the town of Dabiq, Syria. Sultan al-Ghuri was killed in the battle, and the Ottoman Empire successfully occupied Syria. Because Sultan al-Ghuri's body (mayyit) was never found, he is not buried in the Sultan al-Ghuri tomb.
Today, the tomb holds the remains of Tuman Bay II, the last sultan of the Mamluk dynasty, who reigned from 1516 to 1517. Tuman Bay II took the throne after Sultan al-Ghuri died in Syria. On January 22, 1517, he fought a final battle against the Ottoman army at Ridaniya in Egypt. Sultan Tuman Bay II bravely charged into the Ottoman camp and personally killed the Ottoman Grand Vizier, Hadım Sinan Pasha. But he was eventually defeated by the Ottoman army and retreated to Giza on the other side of the Nile.
In late March 1517, Sultan Tuman Bay II led his army in a final battle against the Ottoman forces beneath the Giza pyramids. After two days of bitter fighting, the Sultan was betrayed by his Bedouin allies and taken prisoner by the Ottoman dynasty. On April 15, 1517, Sultan Tuman Bay II was hanged at the gates of Cairo, and his body was left hanging there for three days, marking the end of the Mamluk dynasty that had ruled Egypt for 267 years.
6. Other buildings
The Ottoman-era Zarakesha caravan inn (Khan) features beautiful wooden lattice (Mashrabiya) window shutters.
The Ainy Madrasa was built in 1411 by the famous Hanafi scholar Muhammad Badr El-Din El-Ayntabi, who served as an advisor in the courts of three Mamluk sultans.
The residence of Mamluk Princess Zeinab Khatoon was built in 1486 during the Mamluk dynasty and was later renovated in 1713.
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Summary: Old Cairo - Al-Azhar Mosque and Historic Streets is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Old Cairo, Al-Azhar Mosque, Islamic History.
In our first article, 'Experiencing the Thousand-Year History of Old Cairo (Inside the North Gate),' we started at the North Gate of Cairo, built during the 11th-century Fatimid Caliphate. We entered the thousand-year-old city from there and visited 13 historic buildings from the Fatimid, Mamluk, and Ottoman eras, moving from north to south.
In the second article, 'Experiencing the Thousand-Year History of Old Cairo (Between Two Palaces),' we continued south. We visited eight grand building complexes from the Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman dynasties that were built on the ruins of Fatimid palaces.
In the third article, we reached the heart of Old Cairo to visit the Al-Azhar Mosque and the historic buildings surrounding it.
1. Al-Azhar Mosque: 972
2. Al-Hussein Mosque: First built in 1154, rebuilt in 1874
3. Qaytbay Caravanserai complex: 1477
4. Abu al-Dhahab Mosque: 1774
5. Al-Ghuri complex: 1505
6. Other buildings
1. Al-Azhar Mosque: 972
In 969 AD, the Shia Ismaili Fatimid dynasty conquered Egypt and immediately began building their new capital, Cairo. At that time, the Sunni city of Fustat was already densely populated in the south of Cairo, so the newly built Cairo became the religious center for the Shia Ismailis.
After two years of construction, the first Friday mosque (Jami al-Qahira) in Cairo officially opened in 972 and was named after the city. The mosque was later renamed the Al-Azhar Mosque (al-Jami al-Azhar), with Al-Azhar meaning "the radiant."
After the Al-Azhar Mosque opened, the Ismailis shifted from secret to public preaching. The mosque's first chief judge, Qadi al-Numan, became the founder of Ismaili law and the author of the authoritative Ismaili text, The Pillars of Islam (Kitab da'a'im al-Islam).
The main prayer hall of the Al-Azhar Mosque is a hypostyle hall. The marble columns in its four rows of arcades came from architectural ruins of different eras, including those of the pharaohs, ancient Rome, and the Copts, and they were leveled using column bases of varying heights.
The main hall originally had three domes on top, but none survived later renovations. The original mihrab was rediscovered in 1933, and the prayer niche still holds ornate stucco carvings from the Fatimid period.
Several Fatimid caliphs expanded and renovated Al-Azhar Mosque. Caliph al-Hafiz (reigned 1132-1149) carried out a major renovation in 1138. The four-centered arches in the courtyard and the dome at the entrance to the main hall date back to this time. The stucco patterns in the courtyard also come from this period, though they were renovated again in 1891.
In 1171, Saladin overthrew the Fatimid dynasty and established the Sunni Ayyubid dynasty. Cairo's main Friday mosque moved to Al-Hakim Mosque in the north of the city, and Al-Azhar Mosque was neglected because it had been the center of Ismaili teachings. Saladin removed the silver bands inscribed with the names of Fatimid caliphs from the mihrab niche at Al-Azhar Mosque and destroyed all the Ismaili manuscripts kept there.
It was not until 1266 that the Mamluk Sultan Baybars (reigned 1260-1277) restored Friday prayers at Al-Azhar Mosque and repaired the building. The Ayyubid dynasty followed the Shafi'i school of law, which held that a community could have only one main Friday mosque, while the Mamluk dynasty followed the Hanafi school, which had no such rule.
The Mamluk dynasty left two grand minarets for the Al-Azhar Mosque—the Qaytbay minaret and the twin minarets of Ghuri—along with a Qaytbay gate. The Qaytbay minaret was built in 1483 or 1495 and features three balconies decorated with ornate carvings, while the Qaytbay gate was built in 1495 and leads directly into the courtyard. Both are fine examples of late Mamluk dynasty architecture. During the reign of Sultan Qaytbay (1468-96), the Mamluk dynasty enjoyed political and economic stability and won several military victories against the Ottoman dynasty. The Sultan had a deep interest in art and architecture and funded as many as 230 buildings.
In 1509, the Mamluk Sultan Ghuri (Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri, reigned 1501-16) built the twin minarets of Ghuri. Ghuri was the last powerful ruler of the Mamluk dynasty; he was eventually defeated by the Ottoman dynasty and fell on the battlefield in Syria.
In 1517, the Ottoman dynasty conquered the Mamluk dynasty and occupied Egypt, causing the status of the Al-Azhar Mosque to decline once again. It was not until after the 18th century, when the Mamluk elite regained influence in Egypt, that the renovation and expansion of the Al-Azhar Mosque continued.
In 1749, Abd al-Rahman was appointed as the head of the guards (Katkhuda). In 1753, he oversaw the construction of three Ottoman-style gates for the Al-Azhar Mosque: the Barbers' Gate (Bab al-Muzayinīn), the Sa'ayida Gate (Bab al-Sa'ayida), and the Soup Gate (Bab al-Shurba). Outside the Barbers' Gate was where students got their hair cut, Sa'ayida means people from Upper Egypt, and the Soup Gate was where students went to get soup. From then on, the Barbers' Gate became the main entrance to the Al-Azhar Mosque.
Abd al-Rahman also doubled the size of the main prayer hall of the Al-Azhar Mosque by expanding it to the south and added a new mihrab, giving the hall its final shape. After Abd al-Rahman died in 1776, he was buried inside the Al-Azhar Mosque, becoming the last person in history to be buried there.
After the 18th century, the Al-Azhar Mosque became the most influential educational institution in Egypt, and the ulama (scholars) were able to report to the pasha (governor) as official advisors.
Napoleon occupied Cairo on July 22, 1798. On October 21, an uprising against the French broke out at the Al-Azhar Mosque. Napoleon shelled the mosque directly from the Cairo Citadel, resulting in over 3,000 Egyptian casualties and the deaths of six ulama from the Al-Azhar Mosque. Napoleon's army tied their horses to the mihrab of Al-Azhar Mosque and looted the student dorms and library. In 1800, a student from Al-Azhar assassinated the commander-in-chief of the French expeditionary force, leading Napoleon to order the closure of Al-Azhar Mosque. Cairo was recaptured by the British and the Ottoman Empire in June 1801, and Al-Azhar Mosque reopened.
Between 1892 and 1901, Abbas II Hilmi Pasha, the last Khedive of Egypt under the Ottoman Empire, rebuilt the facade of Al-Azhar Mosque as part of the modernization wave in British-occupied Egypt. At the same time, Al-Azhar University carried out educational reforms to oppose fundamentalism. To counter the influence of the Saudi Wahhabi movement, many students from Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, came to study at Al-Azhar University during this period.
The last two photos show the Fatimid dynasty stucco carvings restored by the Committee for the Conservation of Monuments of Arab Art during the reign of Abbas II Hilmi Pasha.
2. Al-Hussein Mosque: First built in 1154, rebuilt in 1874
Across from the Al-Azhar Mosque is the Al-Hussein Mosque, where Shia Muslims believe the head of Imam Hussein is buried. The mosque was first built in 1154, but the current structure dates back to its reconstruction in 1874.
The Fatimid dynasty believed that the Abbasid dynasty secretly moved Imam Hussein's head from a grave at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. The Fatimids later rediscovered it in 1091 and built a shrine for it in Ashkelon, Palestine.
In 1153, the Fatimid dynasty ordered the head of Hussein to be moved to Cairo to be buried with the Fatimid caliphs, and they built the Al-Hussein Mosque in 1154. Today, the lower part of the south gate of the Al-Hussein Mosque still keeps its original Fatimid structure.
The Ayyubid dynasty rebuilt the Al-Hussein Mosque in 1237, but it later burned down, leaving only one Ayyubid minaret (bangke ta) standing today.
In 1874, Isma'il Pasha, the ruler of the Muhammad Ali dynasty who reigned from 1863 to 1879, rebuilt the Al-Hussein Mosque in a Gothic Revival style and added a minaret that blends Gothic and Ottoman styles. During his rule, Isma'il Pasha carried out large-scale modernization projects to make Egypt more European, and the Al-Hussein Mosque was part of this transformation.
In 1893, a room for storing items of the Prophet (Bab al-Mukhallafat al-Nabawiyya) was added next to the shrine of the head of Hussein. It contains four strands of the Prophet's hair, a linen cloak he wore during his lifetime, his lantern, a copper kohl applicator, his staff, and a sword given to him by one of his companions.
Today, the center of the shrine of the head of Hussein is the Zarih grille, which was crafted in Mumbai in 1965 by Taher Saifuddin, the leader of the Dawoodi Bohras branch of Ismailism. People say this Zarih was originally designed for the shrine of Abbas ibn Ali in Karbala, but it could not be installed there. Taher Saifuddin believed this was guided by Allah, so he had the Zarih flown to Cairo and installed inside the Hussein Mosque.
The area around the Hussein Mosque is very busy. There are so many people during namaz that sometimes they cannot all fit in at once and have to pray in two separate groups, which is a rare sight in Cairo.
3. Qaytbay Caravanserai complex: 1477
Right next to the south wall of the Al-Azhar Mosque is the Qaytbay caravanserai (Wikala) complex, built in 1477 by the Mamluk Sultan Qaytbay. The entire complex consists of a caravanserai (Wikala), a fountain (Sabil), an elementary school (Kuttab), and an animal drinking trough (Hod). Sultan Qaytbay built two caravanserais in Cairo. We have already introduced the other one, which is located inside the north gate.
The caravan inn consists of storage rooms on the first floor and guest rooms on the second floor. The upstairs area is now abandoned, while the ground floor has become a street of bookstores. To the west of the caravan inn is a fountain-primary school. The fountain on the ground floor provides drinking water for the community, and the classrooms upstairs are where children study the Quran. At that time, it was very popular for sultans of the Mamluk dynasty to build fountain-primary schools as a waqf (endowment) to seek the mercy of Allah.
4. Abu al-Dhahab Mosque: 1774
Right next to the west wall of the Al-Azhar Mosque stands the Abu al-Dhahab Mosque, built in 1774 by the Egyptian Mamluk ruler Abu al-Dhahab. This was the last large building complex constructed by the Mamluks in Egypt, but only the mosque remains today.
Abu al-Dhahab means 'Father of Gold,' and he was a wealthy and generous Mamluk emir. During the Russo-Turkish War, the Mamluk emir Ali Bey of Egypt declared independence from the Ottoman Empire, and Abu al-Dhahab led an army to conquer most of the Hejaz and Syria. After taking Damascus in 1772, Abu al-Dhahab turned his army to occupy Cairo and became the de facto ruler of Egypt until he died suddenly of the plague in 1775 while conquering Palestine.
The architecture of the Abu al-Dhahab Mosque mixes different styles, featuring Mamluk-style outer walls and Ottoman-style domes, while the minaret was inspired by the early 16th-century minaret of the nearby Sultan al-Ghuri complex.
The mihrab (prayer niche) and minbar (pulpit) of the Abu al-Dhahab Mosque feature Mamluk-style decorations inlaid with mother-of-pearl and marble.
The tomb of Abu al-Dhahab is in the northeast corner of the mosque's front portico, with walls decorated in tiles from Iznik, Istanbul, Tunisia, and local Cairo.
On the west side of the Abu al-Dhahab Mosque is the Abu al-Dhahab Sufi lodge (takiya) built in the late 18th century, which is now the museum for the Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz.
5. Al-Ghuri complex: 1505
Heading west from the Al-Azhar Mosque back to al-Muizz Street, the main road of Old Cairo, you can see the Al-Ghuri complex built between 1503 and 1505 by the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri, who reigned from 1501 to 1516. This massive complex includes a caravanserai, a mausoleum, a Sufi lodge (daotang), a fountain, a primary school, a main hall, and a madrasa.
The Ghouri Caravanserai (Wikala) sits at the far east end of the complex and was built between 1504 and 1505. The ground floor of the inn stored goods and livestock, the second floor held guest rooms for merchants, and the third and fourth floors were apartment units (Rab). Income from the inn and apartments went toward a charitable endowment (Waqf). The inn features beautiful latticed window screens (Mashrabiyas), which were a signature style for Mamluk-era caravanserais.
I compared the Sultan Ghouri complex I photographed with a painting by Orientalist artist David Roberts from 1839. This area has been a textile market in Old Cairo for hundreds of years.
The west building of the Ghouri complex houses the main hall and madrasa. It follows the classic late Mamluk layout of a central courtyard with four vaulted halls (Iwan). The building is decorated with rich, colorful marble and arabesque stone carvings. Elegant Kufic calligraphy is inlaid into white marble using black bitumen. The mihrab in the main hall features black and white marble mosaic patterns, with marble mosaic panels covering both sides.
The east building of the Qansuh al-Ghuri complex houses the tomb and the prayer hall (daotang). The prayer hall is where Sufis perform dhikr, and today it serves as a venue for whirling dervish dances and traditional music.
Next to the prayer hall is a fountain-primary school, which is a classic example of Mamluk dynasty architecture.
On August 24, 1516, the Mamluk Sultanate and the Ottoman Empire fought a decisive battle in the town of Dabiq, Syria. Sultan al-Ghuri was killed in the battle, and the Ottoman Empire successfully occupied Syria. Because Sultan al-Ghuri's body (mayyit) was never found, he is not buried in the Sultan al-Ghuri tomb.
Today, the tomb holds the remains of Tuman Bay II, the last sultan of the Mamluk dynasty, who reigned from 1516 to 1517. Tuman Bay II took the throne after Sultan al-Ghuri died in Syria. On January 22, 1517, he fought a final battle against the Ottoman army at Ridaniya in Egypt. Sultan Tuman Bay II bravely charged into the Ottoman camp and personally killed the Ottoman Grand Vizier, Hadım Sinan Pasha. But he was eventually defeated by the Ottoman army and retreated to Giza on the other side of the Nile.
In late March 1517, Sultan Tuman Bay II led his army in a final battle against the Ottoman forces beneath the Giza pyramids. After two days of bitter fighting, the Sultan was betrayed by his Bedouin allies and taken prisoner by the Ottoman dynasty. On April 15, 1517, Sultan Tuman Bay II was hanged at the gates of Cairo, and his body was left hanging there for three days, marking the end of the Mamluk dynasty that had ruled Egypt for 267 years.
6. Other buildings
The Ottoman-era Zarakesha caravan inn (Khan) features beautiful wooden lattice (Mashrabiya) window shutters.
The Ainy Madrasa was built in 1411 by the famous Hanafi scholar Muhammad Badr El-Din El-Ayntabi, who served as an advisor in the courts of three Mamluk sultans.
The residence of Mamluk Princess Zeinab Khatoon was built in 1486 during the Mamluk dynasty and was later renovated in 1713.
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Halal Travel Guide: Chengdu Huangcheng Mosque Quarter - Food, Streets and Muslim Heritage
Reposted from the web
Summary: Chengdu Huangcheng Mosque Quarter - Food, Streets and Muslim Heritage is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Chengdu, Huangcheng Mosque, Halal Food.
I went to Chengdu for work in May and stayed right behind Huangcheng Mosque. This time, the area in front of Huangcheng Mosque felt much busier than before, with many new restaurants opening up.
Staying next to the mosque makes it very convenient to join the congregation (jama'at) there. The congregation at Huangcheng Mosque is quite large, and many of them are friends (dosti) from Xinjiang in the northwest who run businesses nearby. I even met a friend (dosti) from Urumqi at the mosque who is friends with my wife's relatives.
After Zhang Xianzhong massacred the people of Sichuan at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the population dropped sharply. After the Qing Dynasty was established, the government used immigration policies to increase the population of Sichuan. Hui Muslims from Shaanxi began moving to the abandoned Ming Dynasty Shu King's Palace (Huangchengba) area to settle, and they built Huangcheng Mosque in 1666 (the fifth year of the Kangxi reign).
Huangcheng Mosque was renovated in 1858 (the eighth year of the Xianfeng reign). In 1917, most of it was destroyed during the warlord conflicts between Sichuan and Yunnan. It was rebuilt that same year, but the scale was reduced due to limited funds. During the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, Huangcheng Mosque was famous for its scripture hall education and trained many imams for Sichuan. After religious policies were restored in 1978, Huangcheng Mosque became the only one of the seven mosques in Huangchengba to reopen. In 1998, Huangcheng Mosque was moved to the southwest side of Tianfu Square to make way for construction, which is where the current building stands.
Historically, Huangcheng Mosque had hundreds of plaques and couplets, but sadly they were all destroyed after the 1960s. The couplets and plaques in front of the main hall were made in 1989. They were written by Imam Yang Hua from Xichang, with gold leaf hammered by Master Bai Lianquan from the Chengdu Silver Thread Factory and applied by masters Qiu and Li.
Huangcheng Mosque still keeps beautiful wooden scripture boxes, though the scriptures inside are no longer there.
Huangcheng Mosque has a reading area and a cultural exhibition room. All friends (dosti) and visitors can read books and see exhibits here to learn about the religious culture in Chengdu, which I think is excellent.
Since the Qing Dynasty, Chengdu has been famous for its scripture hall education and scripture printing. The exhibition room at Huangcheng Mosque displays related printed classics. I was lucky enough to meet Wan Duosi, a descendant of the Baozhen Hall (Baozhen Tang), which was the most famous place in Chengdu for printing the works of Ming and Qing dynasty scholars. He is also an expert on the religious culture of Sichuan. The founder of Baozhen Hall, Yu Haiting, came from the Tie Gai Yu family in Jianyang, Sichuan. During the Tongzhi reign, he came to the Huangcheng Dam area in Chengdu to work as an apprentice at a halal restaurant. He converted to Islam there, and after finishing his apprenticeship, he opened his own halal restaurant called Changfa Garden (Changfa Yuan). Yu Haiting started Baozhen Hall next to his Changfa Garden restaurant in 1871 to print religious scriptures and classics. His son, Yu Zezhou, took over in 1908, and the business ran until 1928. Over those 57 years, they published 28 books.
The Huangcheng Mosque (Huangcheng Si) cultural exhibition room displays imam robes, religious textbooks, and wooden printing blocks.
Downstairs at the Huangcheng Mosque, there is a row of halal restaurants, each with its own unique style.
The restaurant furthest to the west is Tianfang Tower (Tianfang Lou), which has been open since 1986. It started as a traditional restaurant, but in 2020, they rebranded to serve modern Sichuan cuisine. The new decor is excellent and perfect for business dinners. The restaurant does not sell alcohol, and drinking is not allowed in the main dining hall.
We ordered fish-flavored crispy beef ribs, traditional Huangcheng sliced beef and ox tongue (fuqi feipian), kung pao peony shrimp, young ginger rabbit, spicy chicken, a mixed meat stew (hejia man guan xiang), boiled fish, mugwort rice cakes (ai cao ci ba), and leaf-wrapped rice cakes (ye er ba). Their menu is very extensive, and the food is prepared with great care. It looks beautiful, tastes great, and even features some creative twists. In this restaurant, I see the drive of Sichuan Hui Muslims to keep up with the times. They help Sichuan-style halal food culture thrive while satisfying the tastes of many different people.
To the east of Tianfanglou is Yuehuang Tea Restaurant. It is also an alcohol-free restaurant, and you can come for morning tea starting at nine o'clock. The environment is nice, and the service is excellent. I ordered Cantonese-style roast duck, vegetarian steamed rice rolls with mixed vegetables (luohanzhai suchangfen), and fresh beef congee. They were all surprisingly delicious, even better than what I have had in Guangzhou and Hong Kong. The vegetarian steamed rice rolls (luohanzhai) are filled with carrots, wood ear mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms. It was my first time trying them, and the texture was very rich. Overall, I am very satisfied with this place. Their menu is quite varied, and I will definitely eat here again next time I am in Chengdu!
At the southeast corner of Huangcheng Mosque are Gongyuanli Beef Noodle Soup and Fanfang Suxiaomeng Beef Pie. Upstairs is Huangchengba Beef Hot Pot. These shops are all owned by Ma Zhijun and his friends (dostis). Ma Zhijun is from Xinjiang, and his parents were also in the restaurant business. He came to Chengdu in 1993, worked in foreign trade, and even ran a shoe factory. Before the Huangchengba area was demolished, he loved the halal snacks around Huangcheng Mosque. In 2012, he apprenticed to learn Sichuan-style halal cuisine. He officially opened Gongyuanli Steak Noodles in 2018, Suxiaomeng Beef Pie in 2019, and Huangchengba Beef Hot Pot in 2020. These shops brought life back to the entrance of Huangcheng Mosque. It gets especially crowded at night, and you have to wait in long lines just to get a beef pie.
During my few days on a business trip in Chengdu, I ate beef noodles at Gongyuanli almost every morning. It is a pity that they only have beef noodles in the morning, not steak noodles. Their braised beef noodles have a very rich flavor. Even for someone like me who usually loves spicy chicken, it felt super numbing and spicy, so I ordered the clear broth beef noodles for the following days. The flavor of their soup base is quite good, but the machine-made noodles have no texture at all, which seems to be a common feature of noodles in the south. The beef pie is just like the crispy beef pie (niuroubing) commonly found in the Muslim Quarter of Xi'an. I did not have to wait in line when I ate it in the morning, so friends who want to try it should come in the morning.
East of Huangcheng Mosque is the Tangjiasi Luo Family Braised Meat Shop. They sell authentic Chengdu Hui Muslim braised meats, including oil-seared duck (youtangya), braised duck, smoked goose, spicy rabbit cubes (hongyou tuding), mixed beef lung slices (ban feipian), and spicy rabbit heads. Every dish has a unique flavor. I bought some oil-seared duck and braised rabbit to eat on the train. They were incredibly fragrant, and I really love Sichuan-style braised food.
Tangjiasi is located in the northern suburbs of Chengdu, along the ancient Jinniu Road that connected Sichuan and Shaanxi. Hui Muslims with the surname Luo settled here in the mid-Ming Dynasty. According to the revised Xindu County Annals from the Republic of China era, the Luo Family Mosque (Luo Jia Si) was built in 1417 during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty in Lijiaying, east of the county. Unfortunately, the 600-year-old Luo Family Mosque was torn down in 1976 and replaced by Jinguang Primary School. Today, the Luo family Hui Muslims mainly live near Tuqiaosi and Huangcheng Mosque, and they are an important part of the Hui Muslim community in Chengdu.
At night, the area in front of Huangcheng Mosque is busy. There is a Laiyi Hui stall selling Sichuan-style spicy hot pot (malatang), a Medisker burger shop, a Northwest-style Jiuding beef noodle shop, and a Dosti stall selling Qinghai yellow-skin yogurt. I bought some once and it tasted very authentic. I have never even had such authentic Qinghai yogurt in Beijing.
There are many Xinjiang restaurants near Huangcheng Mosque where you can buy all kinds of baked flatbread (nang). Across from Huangcheng Mosque, I was surprised to find a real Xinjiang Hui Muslim restaurant called Fat Old Man Pepper Chicken (Pang Laohan Jiaoma Ji). I had eaten there in Urumqi before, where the locals really love it, so I did not expect to see it open in Chengdu.
Besides the shops along the street at Huangcheng Mosque, there are several other Hui Muslim restaurants in the surrounding area. On the north side of Huangcheng Mosque is a very famous old Hui Muslim brand called Yuexiangcun. They call themselves the authentic beef Sichuan restaurant that has never left Huangchengba. A local Hui Muslim from Huangchengba named Wan Duositi treated me to fish-flavored eggplant cakes (yuxiang qiebing), steamed beef with rice flour (fenzheng niurou), and boiled beef (shuizhu niurou) at Yuexiangcun. These are classic Huangchengba Sichuan dishes, and the restaurant makes them perfectly. The fish-flavored eggplant cakes are especially good for people who cannot handle spicy food, and the sweet and sour flavor goes great with rice.
Yuexiangcun was founded in 1943. It was started by a Guangdong-born officer in the Sichuan Army and an imam from Chengdu's West Mosque named Ha Youfu. Even though it is named Yuexiangcun, they serve authentic Sichuan food. Yuexiangcun was originally located inside the Broadway Tea Garden on East Imperial Street in Huangchengba, with Imam Ha Youfu presiding and Zhao Zihua in charge of the kitchen. Broadway was very lively back then. It was not just a place to drink morning tea and chat, but also a hub for the bird market and fur traders to negotiate business. After 1950, Yuexiangcun moved across from the West Mosque on West Imperial Street, where business boomed and the restaurant was often packed with diners. It moved several more times later on, but always stayed within the Huangchengba area. After a renovation at the end of 2022, Yuexiangcun has a great atmosphere that really appeals to young people.
The opening of Chengdu Hui Muslim Cuisine in Eshi Lane, north of Huangcheng Mosque, by Ma Zhijun and his friends (dostis), is arguably the biggest event in the Huangcheng Mosque neighborhood this year. They specialize in the traditional Chengdu Hui Muslim banquet dish known as the Eight Beef Bowls (niu bawan). While the menu is not huge, every dish aims to recreate the authentic, traditional Chengdu halal flavor.
I ordered the steamed beef brisket with preserved vegetables (yacai zheng niuxiong) and the stewed beef trotters (dun niutihua). The preserved vegetables go perfectly with rice, and the trotter soup is delicious. Neither of these two dishes is spicy. This is because not every traditional Sichuan dish is spicy; each one has its own color and a unique flavor profile.
The restaurant's decor is truly exquisite. With bamboo-woven rattan chairs, birdcages hanging from the ceiling, and a soup pot sign (tangping) at the entrance, they work hard to recreate the atmosphere of old-time Hui Muslim eateries in Huangchengba.
The Eshi Lane Hui Muslim restaurant in Chengdu catches your eye the moment you walk through the door. When I visited, an older Hui Muslim gentleman with a Sichuan accent was standing at the door to welcome guests, which is a rare sight these days. A large piece of calligraphy reading "Salam" hangs at the entrance, along with a "no smoking or alcohol" sign and an introduction to the Hui Muslim diet in Huangchengba. The main hall is filled with replicas of various Islamic calligraphy pieces from the Chengdu area, which are important cultural heritage items for the local community. Additionally, their restroom is equipped with a bidet sprayer for ritual cleansing, which is another reflection of their faith.
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Summary: Chengdu Huangcheng Mosque Quarter - Food, Streets and Muslim Heritage is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Chengdu, Huangcheng Mosque, Halal Food.
I went to Chengdu for work in May and stayed right behind Huangcheng Mosque. This time, the area in front of Huangcheng Mosque felt much busier than before, with many new restaurants opening up.
Staying next to the mosque makes it very convenient to join the congregation (jama'at) there. The congregation at Huangcheng Mosque is quite large, and many of them are friends (dosti) from Xinjiang in the northwest who run businesses nearby. I even met a friend (dosti) from Urumqi at the mosque who is friends with my wife's relatives.
After Zhang Xianzhong massacred the people of Sichuan at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the population dropped sharply. After the Qing Dynasty was established, the government used immigration policies to increase the population of Sichuan. Hui Muslims from Shaanxi began moving to the abandoned Ming Dynasty Shu King's Palace (Huangchengba) area to settle, and they built Huangcheng Mosque in 1666 (the fifth year of the Kangxi reign).
Huangcheng Mosque was renovated in 1858 (the eighth year of the Xianfeng reign). In 1917, most of it was destroyed during the warlord conflicts between Sichuan and Yunnan. It was rebuilt that same year, but the scale was reduced due to limited funds. During the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, Huangcheng Mosque was famous for its scripture hall education and trained many imams for Sichuan. After religious policies were restored in 1978, Huangcheng Mosque became the only one of the seven mosques in Huangchengba to reopen. In 1998, Huangcheng Mosque was moved to the southwest side of Tianfu Square to make way for construction, which is where the current building stands.
Historically, Huangcheng Mosque had hundreds of plaques and couplets, but sadly they were all destroyed after the 1960s. The couplets and plaques in front of the main hall were made in 1989. They were written by Imam Yang Hua from Xichang, with gold leaf hammered by Master Bai Lianquan from the Chengdu Silver Thread Factory and applied by masters Qiu and Li.
Huangcheng Mosque still keeps beautiful wooden scripture boxes, though the scriptures inside are no longer there.
Huangcheng Mosque has a reading area and a cultural exhibition room. All friends (dosti) and visitors can read books and see exhibits here to learn about the religious culture in Chengdu, which I think is excellent.
Since the Qing Dynasty, Chengdu has been famous for its scripture hall education and scripture printing. The exhibition room at Huangcheng Mosque displays related printed classics. I was lucky enough to meet Wan Duosi, a descendant of the Baozhen Hall (Baozhen Tang), which was the most famous place in Chengdu for printing the works of Ming and Qing dynasty scholars. He is also an expert on the religious culture of Sichuan. The founder of Baozhen Hall, Yu Haiting, came from the Tie Gai Yu family in Jianyang, Sichuan. During the Tongzhi reign, he came to the Huangcheng Dam area in Chengdu to work as an apprentice at a halal restaurant. He converted to Islam there, and after finishing his apprenticeship, he opened his own halal restaurant called Changfa Garden (Changfa Yuan). Yu Haiting started Baozhen Hall next to his Changfa Garden restaurant in 1871 to print religious scriptures and classics. His son, Yu Zezhou, took over in 1908, and the business ran until 1928. Over those 57 years, they published 28 books.
The Huangcheng Mosque (Huangcheng Si) cultural exhibition room displays imam robes, religious textbooks, and wooden printing blocks.
Downstairs at the Huangcheng Mosque, there is a row of halal restaurants, each with its own unique style.
The restaurant furthest to the west is Tianfang Tower (Tianfang Lou), which has been open since 1986. It started as a traditional restaurant, but in 2020, they rebranded to serve modern Sichuan cuisine. The new decor is excellent and perfect for business dinners. The restaurant does not sell alcohol, and drinking is not allowed in the main dining hall.
We ordered fish-flavored crispy beef ribs, traditional Huangcheng sliced beef and ox tongue (fuqi feipian), kung pao peony shrimp, young ginger rabbit, spicy chicken, a mixed meat stew (hejia man guan xiang), boiled fish, mugwort rice cakes (ai cao ci ba), and leaf-wrapped rice cakes (ye er ba). Their menu is very extensive, and the food is prepared with great care. It looks beautiful, tastes great, and even features some creative twists. In this restaurant, I see the drive of Sichuan Hui Muslims to keep up with the times. They help Sichuan-style halal food culture thrive while satisfying the tastes of many different people.
To the east of Tianfanglou is Yuehuang Tea Restaurant. It is also an alcohol-free restaurant, and you can come for morning tea starting at nine o'clock. The environment is nice, and the service is excellent. I ordered Cantonese-style roast duck, vegetarian steamed rice rolls with mixed vegetables (luohanzhai suchangfen), and fresh beef congee. They were all surprisingly delicious, even better than what I have had in Guangzhou and Hong Kong. The vegetarian steamed rice rolls (luohanzhai) are filled with carrots, wood ear mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms. It was my first time trying them, and the texture was very rich. Overall, I am very satisfied with this place. Their menu is quite varied, and I will definitely eat here again next time I am in Chengdu!
At the southeast corner of Huangcheng Mosque are Gongyuanli Beef Noodle Soup and Fanfang Suxiaomeng Beef Pie. Upstairs is Huangchengba Beef Hot Pot. These shops are all owned by Ma Zhijun and his friends (dostis). Ma Zhijun is from Xinjiang, and his parents were also in the restaurant business. He came to Chengdu in 1993, worked in foreign trade, and even ran a shoe factory. Before the Huangchengba area was demolished, he loved the halal snacks around Huangcheng Mosque. In 2012, he apprenticed to learn Sichuan-style halal cuisine. He officially opened Gongyuanli Steak Noodles in 2018, Suxiaomeng Beef Pie in 2019, and Huangchengba Beef Hot Pot in 2020. These shops brought life back to the entrance of Huangcheng Mosque. It gets especially crowded at night, and you have to wait in long lines just to get a beef pie.
During my few days on a business trip in Chengdu, I ate beef noodles at Gongyuanli almost every morning. It is a pity that they only have beef noodles in the morning, not steak noodles. Their braised beef noodles have a very rich flavor. Even for someone like me who usually loves spicy chicken, it felt super numbing and spicy, so I ordered the clear broth beef noodles for the following days. The flavor of their soup base is quite good, but the machine-made noodles have no texture at all, which seems to be a common feature of noodles in the south. The beef pie is just like the crispy beef pie (niuroubing) commonly found in the Muslim Quarter of Xi'an. I did not have to wait in line when I ate it in the morning, so friends who want to try it should come in the morning.
East of Huangcheng Mosque is the Tangjiasi Luo Family Braised Meat Shop. They sell authentic Chengdu Hui Muslim braised meats, including oil-seared duck (youtangya), braised duck, smoked goose, spicy rabbit cubes (hongyou tuding), mixed beef lung slices (ban feipian), and spicy rabbit heads. Every dish has a unique flavor. I bought some oil-seared duck and braised rabbit to eat on the train. They were incredibly fragrant, and I really love Sichuan-style braised food.
Tangjiasi is located in the northern suburbs of Chengdu, along the ancient Jinniu Road that connected Sichuan and Shaanxi. Hui Muslims with the surname Luo settled here in the mid-Ming Dynasty. According to the revised Xindu County Annals from the Republic of China era, the Luo Family Mosque (Luo Jia Si) was built in 1417 during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty in Lijiaying, east of the county. Unfortunately, the 600-year-old Luo Family Mosque was torn down in 1976 and replaced by Jinguang Primary School. Today, the Luo family Hui Muslims mainly live near Tuqiaosi and Huangcheng Mosque, and they are an important part of the Hui Muslim community in Chengdu.
At night, the area in front of Huangcheng Mosque is busy. There is a Laiyi Hui stall selling Sichuan-style spicy hot pot (malatang), a Medisker burger shop, a Northwest-style Jiuding beef noodle shop, and a Dosti stall selling Qinghai yellow-skin yogurt. I bought some once and it tasted very authentic. I have never even had such authentic Qinghai yogurt in Beijing.
There are many Xinjiang restaurants near Huangcheng Mosque where you can buy all kinds of baked flatbread (nang). Across from Huangcheng Mosque, I was surprised to find a real Xinjiang Hui Muslim restaurant called Fat Old Man Pepper Chicken (Pang Laohan Jiaoma Ji). I had eaten there in Urumqi before, where the locals really love it, so I did not expect to see it open in Chengdu.
Besides the shops along the street at Huangcheng Mosque, there are several other Hui Muslim restaurants in the surrounding area. On the north side of Huangcheng Mosque is a very famous old Hui Muslim brand called Yuexiangcun. They call themselves the authentic beef Sichuan restaurant that has never left Huangchengba. A local Hui Muslim from Huangchengba named Wan Duositi treated me to fish-flavored eggplant cakes (yuxiang qiebing), steamed beef with rice flour (fenzheng niurou), and boiled beef (shuizhu niurou) at Yuexiangcun. These are classic Huangchengba Sichuan dishes, and the restaurant makes them perfectly. The fish-flavored eggplant cakes are especially good for people who cannot handle spicy food, and the sweet and sour flavor goes great with rice.
Yuexiangcun was founded in 1943. It was started by a Guangdong-born officer in the Sichuan Army and an imam from Chengdu's West Mosque named Ha Youfu. Even though it is named Yuexiangcun, they serve authentic Sichuan food. Yuexiangcun was originally located inside the Broadway Tea Garden on East Imperial Street in Huangchengba, with Imam Ha Youfu presiding and Zhao Zihua in charge of the kitchen. Broadway was very lively back then. It was not just a place to drink morning tea and chat, but also a hub for the bird market and fur traders to negotiate business. After 1950, Yuexiangcun moved across from the West Mosque on West Imperial Street, where business boomed and the restaurant was often packed with diners. It moved several more times later on, but always stayed within the Huangchengba area. After a renovation at the end of 2022, Yuexiangcun has a great atmosphere that really appeals to young people.
The opening of Chengdu Hui Muslim Cuisine in Eshi Lane, north of Huangcheng Mosque, by Ma Zhijun and his friends (dostis), is arguably the biggest event in the Huangcheng Mosque neighborhood this year. They specialize in the traditional Chengdu Hui Muslim banquet dish known as the Eight Beef Bowls (niu bawan). While the menu is not huge, every dish aims to recreate the authentic, traditional Chengdu halal flavor.
I ordered the steamed beef brisket with preserved vegetables (yacai zheng niuxiong) and the stewed beef trotters (dun niutihua). The preserved vegetables go perfectly with rice, and the trotter soup is delicious. Neither of these two dishes is spicy. This is because not every traditional Sichuan dish is spicy; each one has its own color and a unique flavor profile.
The restaurant's decor is truly exquisite. With bamboo-woven rattan chairs, birdcages hanging from the ceiling, and a soup pot sign (tangping) at the entrance, they work hard to recreate the atmosphere of old-time Hui Muslim eateries in Huangchengba.
The Eshi Lane Hui Muslim restaurant in Chengdu catches your eye the moment you walk through the door. When I visited, an older Hui Muslim gentleman with a Sichuan accent was standing at the door to welcome guests, which is a rare sight these days. A large piece of calligraphy reading "Salam" hangs at the entrance, along with a "no smoking or alcohol" sign and an introduction to the Hui Muslim diet in Huangchengba. The main hall is filled with replicas of various Islamic calligraphy pieces from the Chengdu area, which are important cultural heritage items for the local community. Additionally, their restroom is equipped with a bidet sprayer for ritual cleansing, which is another reflection of their faith.
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Muslim Culture Guide: 2024 Indonesian Cultural Festival - Food, Dance and Community
Reposted from the web
Summary: 2024 Indonesian Cultural Festival - Food, Dance and Community is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Indonesian Culture, Food Festival, Muslim Travel.
I went to the Indonesian Embassy on Saturday for the annual Indonesian Cultural Festival. I ate a lot of special Indonesian food at the festival last year, which I wrote about in "Attending the Indonesian Cultural Festival at the Indonesian Embassy." The stalls were similar to last year, but there were even more people! Nom Nom still had the longest line, and it is the only Indonesian restaurant in Beijing. We did not wait in that line and chose a few other stalls instead.
We started by eating Indonesian steamed dumplings (siomay). Indonesian steamed dumplings (siomay) come from the steamed dumplings (shaomai) of southern China. Sundanese people in West Java first changed the pork filling to fish, then added sides like cabbage, tofu, potatoes, boiled eggs, and stuffed bitter melon. It is served with peanut sauce and sweet soy sauce and is now a classic street snack all over Indonesia.
At that stall, you could also get three classic Indonesian street snacks: fried pastry (kue pastel), fried spring rolls (risoles), and Indonesian rice cake (arem arem). We bought the Indonesian rice cake (arem arem) this time. Arem arem is most common on Java island. It is made by cooking rice in coconut milk, stuffing it with meat and vegetables, shaping it into a cylinder, and wrapping it in a banana leaf.
Next, we drank a Javanese mixed drink called es teler, which contains jackfruit, avocado, and coconut meat mixed with condensed milk and syrup. In 1981, an Indonesian housewife named Murniati Widjaja won a TV competition with her es teler. The following year, she opened a specialty food shop in Jakarta called Es Teler 77, which has now grown into a massive food chain.
We continued walking through the Indonesian cultural festival. We were impressed by this Minangkabau stall during last year's festival. The Minangkabau people are an Austronesian ethnic group living in the western highlands of Sumatra, centered around their capital, Padang. The Minangkabau have a large matrilineal society. Men are used to traveling for work, while women are responsible for farming and maintaining family life at home. Because of this, property, surnames, and land are passed from mother to daughter.
This time, we bought their Padang beef satay skewers (sate padang) again. The Padang version of beef satay skewers is quite different from the Javanese version we usually eat. First, the beef is boiled until tender, then cut into small pieces, skewered, and sprinkled with spicy sauce. A rich yellow sauce is made by mixing the beef broth with 19 spices, including turmeric, ginger, garlic, cilantro, and cumin. It is served with a side of Indonesian rice cake (lontong). Rice cake (lontong) is made by wrapping rice in banana leaves, boiling it until firm, and then slicing it. It is a staple food in Indonesian culture, just as important as regular rice.
We also bought Minangkabau steamed rice (nasi kapau) at their shop. Minangkabau steamed rice (nasi kapau) is similar to the Padang rice (nasi padang) found all over Indonesia, but it comes with some unique side dishes. The version we ate included beef rendang, long bean curry, boiled eggs, and spicy sauce. Beef rendang likely started as a curry brought by Indian merchants who came to Sumatra to trade before the 15th century, which then evolved through the local Minangkabau diet. The main ingredients for rendang are meat, coconut milk, chili, and various spices. To suit the needs of Minangkabau merchants on long voyages, the rendang is simmered over low heat until it becomes rich and dry, allowing it to be stored for several weeks.
Next to the Minangkabau stall, they sell various Indonesian fried shrimp crackers (rempeyek). They add coconut milk, salt, chopped cilantro, and crushed candlenut when frying them, and Suleiman really loves eating them.
Indonesian Ambassador to China Djauhari Oratmangun sang at the Indonesian Cultural Festival, with Papuan dancers performing behind him.
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Summary: 2024 Indonesian Cultural Festival - Food, Dance and Community is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Indonesian Culture, Food Festival, Muslim Travel.
I went to the Indonesian Embassy on Saturday for the annual Indonesian Cultural Festival. I ate a lot of special Indonesian food at the festival last year, which I wrote about in "Attending the Indonesian Cultural Festival at the Indonesian Embassy." The stalls were similar to last year, but there were even more people! Nom Nom still had the longest line, and it is the only Indonesian restaurant in Beijing. We did not wait in that line and chose a few other stalls instead.
We started by eating Indonesian steamed dumplings (siomay). Indonesian steamed dumplings (siomay) come from the steamed dumplings (shaomai) of southern China. Sundanese people in West Java first changed the pork filling to fish, then added sides like cabbage, tofu, potatoes, boiled eggs, and stuffed bitter melon. It is served with peanut sauce and sweet soy sauce and is now a classic street snack all over Indonesia.
At that stall, you could also get three classic Indonesian street snacks: fried pastry (kue pastel), fried spring rolls (risoles), and Indonesian rice cake (arem arem). We bought the Indonesian rice cake (arem arem) this time. Arem arem is most common on Java island. It is made by cooking rice in coconut milk, stuffing it with meat and vegetables, shaping it into a cylinder, and wrapping it in a banana leaf.
Next, we drank a Javanese mixed drink called es teler, which contains jackfruit, avocado, and coconut meat mixed with condensed milk and syrup. In 1981, an Indonesian housewife named Murniati Widjaja won a TV competition with her es teler. The following year, she opened a specialty food shop in Jakarta called Es Teler 77, which has now grown into a massive food chain.
We continued walking through the Indonesian cultural festival. We were impressed by this Minangkabau stall during last year's festival. The Minangkabau people are an Austronesian ethnic group living in the western highlands of Sumatra, centered around their capital, Padang. The Minangkabau have a large matrilineal society. Men are used to traveling for work, while women are responsible for farming and maintaining family life at home. Because of this, property, surnames, and land are passed from mother to daughter.
This time, we bought their Padang beef satay skewers (sate padang) again. The Padang version of beef satay skewers is quite different from the Javanese version we usually eat. First, the beef is boiled until tender, then cut into small pieces, skewered, and sprinkled with spicy sauce. A rich yellow sauce is made by mixing the beef broth with 19 spices, including turmeric, ginger, garlic, cilantro, and cumin. It is served with a side of Indonesian rice cake (lontong). Rice cake (lontong) is made by wrapping rice in banana leaves, boiling it until firm, and then slicing it. It is a staple food in Indonesian culture, just as important as regular rice.
We also bought Minangkabau steamed rice (nasi kapau) at their shop. Minangkabau steamed rice (nasi kapau) is similar to the Padang rice (nasi padang) found all over Indonesia, but it comes with some unique side dishes. The version we ate included beef rendang, long bean curry, boiled eggs, and spicy sauce. Beef rendang likely started as a curry brought by Indian merchants who came to Sumatra to trade before the 15th century, which then evolved through the local Minangkabau diet. The main ingredients for rendang are meat, coconut milk, chili, and various spices. To suit the needs of Minangkabau merchants on long voyages, the rendang is simmered over low heat until it becomes rich and dry, allowing it to be stored for several weeks.
Next to the Minangkabau stall, they sell various Indonesian fried shrimp crackers (rempeyek). They add coconut milk, salt, chopped cilantro, and crushed candlenut when frying them, and Suleiman really loves eating them.
Indonesian Ambassador to China Djauhari Oratmangun sang at the Indonesian Cultural Festival, with Papuan dancers performing behind him.
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Halal Food Guide: Beijing Samosa China-Pakistan Friendship Restaurant Anniversary
Reposted from the web
Summary: Beijing Samosa China-Pakistan Friendship Restaurant Anniversary is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Beijing Halal Food, Pakistani Food, Samosa.
Yesterday, August 13, I went to Xibahe in Beijing to attend the one-year anniversary celebration of the Samosa China-Pakistan Friendship Restaurant. The buffet that night added two new flavors of samosa, potato and minced lamb, and the crust was crispy and delicious. There were also various traditional Pakistani desserts and snacks, but they looked like they had too much sugar, so I didn't dare eat too many. They now offer an afternoon tea set, and you can drink as much mint special drink as you want! I love their mint special drink so much that I can't get enough of it.
After the buffet, there were speeches from various guests, and the commercial counselor from the Pakistani Embassy also came. Then there was a music performance, and the staff members are all very talented!
A Pakistani staff member performed a rubab solo.
Then the shop held a tasting contest for new dishes. Eight chefs each prepared a new dish, numbered them, and let everyone taste them to pick their favorites. Zainab and Suleiman both liked the chickpea dip (hummus), and I really liked the black pepper roasted chicken pieces. Finally, they chose first, second, and third place winners and gave the chefs cash prizes. I think this kind of event is very meaningful because it lets customers try new food and encourages chefs to improve their skills.
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Summary: Beijing Samosa China-Pakistan Friendship Restaurant Anniversary is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Beijing Halal Food, Pakistani Food, Samosa.
Yesterday, August 13, I went to Xibahe in Beijing to attend the one-year anniversary celebration of the Samosa China-Pakistan Friendship Restaurant. The buffet that night added two new flavors of samosa, potato and minced lamb, and the crust was crispy and delicious. There were also various traditional Pakistani desserts and snacks, but they looked like they had too much sugar, so I didn't dare eat too many. They now offer an afternoon tea set, and you can drink as much mint special drink as you want! I love their mint special drink so much that I can't get enough of it.
After the buffet, there were speeches from various guests, and the commercial counselor from the Pakistani Embassy also came. Then there was a music performance, and the staff members are all very talented!
A Pakistani staff member performed a rubab solo.
Then the shop held a tasting contest for new dishes. Eight chefs each prepared a new dish, numbered them, and let everyone taste them to pick their favorites. Zainab and Suleiman both liked the chickpea dip (hummus), and I really liked the black pepper roasted chicken pieces. Finally, they chose first, second, and third place winners and gave the chefs cash prizes. I think this kind of event is very meaningful because it lets customers try new food and encourages chefs to improve their skills.
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Islamic History Guide: Quanzhou Xingzhai Guo Family Ancestral Hall and Hui Muslim Heritage
Reposted from the web
Summary: Quanzhou Xingzhai Guo Family Ancestral Hall and Hui Muslim Heritage is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Quanzhou, Hui Muslims, Family Heritage.
In Quanzhou, besides the famous Baiqi Guo family of Hui Muslims, there is another branch known as the Jundong Guo family of Hui Muslims. According to family records, the ancestors of both the Baiqi Guo and Jundong Guo families came from Guo Family Village in Fuyang, Zhejiang, and were descendants of Guo Zhang. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Guo Zhang's sons, Guo Deguang and Guo Dezhao, along with Guo Dezhao's grandson Guo Mengliang, all moved to Quanzhou. The Quanzhou Prefecture Gazetteer records: 'Guo Tong, courtesy name Mengliang, art name Leqiao, was originally from Fuyang, Zhejiang.' At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, he followed his grand-uncle to Quanzhou to serve as the Salt Commissioner.
Because Guo Mengliang lived on East Street in Quanzhou, his descendants became known as the Jundong Guo family. During the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, Guo Mengliang's fifth-generation grandsons, Guo Quan and Guo Yuan, moved from East Street to Xingzhai Village, and their descendants are also called the Xingzhai Guo family.
The Xingzhai Guo family ancestral temple was first built in the mid-Ming Dynasty, rebuilt after being struck by lightning in 1670, expanded again in 1947, and has undergone many repairs since then. Today, the Xingzhai Guo Family Ancestral Hall is a large Minnan-style ancestral shrine with three rows of buildings and two courtyards. It is a protected cultural site in Quanzhou and serves as the cultural activity center for the Xingzhai Hui Muslim Seniors Association. When we visited, there were many elderly people playing mahjong in the courtyard.
Inside the Xingzhai Guo Family Ancestral Hall, there are several stone tablets. One is carved with the words, 'Sharing the same noble lineage, forever bonding the Han and Hui,' and another is inscribed with 'Site of the Islamic Mosque'. People say there was once a mosque inside the Xingzhai Guo Family Ancestral Hall, but no written records have been found to confirm this yet.
Compared to the Guo Hui Muslims of Baiqi, the history of religious changes among the Xingzhai Guo Hui Muslims is much less clear. Guo Zhongyuan, the first ancestor to move to Baiqi, was a cousin of Guo Mengliang, the first ancestor to move to Xingzhai. After moving to Baiqi in the early Ming Dynasty, he built a mosque. According to the Guo family genealogy, 'Preface to Returning to the Hui Teachings,' it states: 'Since our ancestor established the foundation in Baiqi, he kept thirty volumes of the holy scriptures, built a mosque, respected the teachings, and made recognizing Allah the foundation.' According to the book 'Quanzhou Religious Stone Carvings,' the Xingzhai Guo Family Ancestral Hall held a collection of Muslim tombstone fragments before it was renovated. There were also Muslim tomb stones dug up by the Xingzhai Guo clan in 1973 while they were reclaiming land from the sea. Unfortunately, I did not see these tomb stones when I visited the Xingzhai Guo Family Ancestral Hall this time.
The street scene near the Guo Family Ancestral Hall in Xingzhai, where local women also have the custom of wearing headscarves.
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Summary: Quanzhou Xingzhai Guo Family Ancestral Hall and Hui Muslim Heritage is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Quanzhou, Hui Muslims, Family Heritage.
In Quanzhou, besides the famous Baiqi Guo family of Hui Muslims, there is another branch known as the Jundong Guo family of Hui Muslims. According to family records, the ancestors of both the Baiqi Guo and Jundong Guo families came from Guo Family Village in Fuyang, Zhejiang, and were descendants of Guo Zhang. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Guo Zhang's sons, Guo Deguang and Guo Dezhao, along with Guo Dezhao's grandson Guo Mengliang, all moved to Quanzhou. The Quanzhou Prefecture Gazetteer records: 'Guo Tong, courtesy name Mengliang, art name Leqiao, was originally from Fuyang, Zhejiang.' At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, he followed his grand-uncle to Quanzhou to serve as the Salt Commissioner.
Because Guo Mengliang lived on East Street in Quanzhou, his descendants became known as the Jundong Guo family. During the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, Guo Mengliang's fifth-generation grandsons, Guo Quan and Guo Yuan, moved from East Street to Xingzhai Village, and their descendants are also called the Xingzhai Guo family.
The Xingzhai Guo family ancestral temple was first built in the mid-Ming Dynasty, rebuilt after being struck by lightning in 1670, expanded again in 1947, and has undergone many repairs since then. Today, the Xingzhai Guo Family Ancestral Hall is a large Minnan-style ancestral shrine with three rows of buildings and two courtyards. It is a protected cultural site in Quanzhou and serves as the cultural activity center for the Xingzhai Hui Muslim Seniors Association. When we visited, there were many elderly people playing mahjong in the courtyard.
Inside the Xingzhai Guo Family Ancestral Hall, there are several stone tablets. One is carved with the words, 'Sharing the same noble lineage, forever bonding the Han and Hui,' and another is inscribed with 'Site of the Islamic Mosque'. People say there was once a mosque inside the Xingzhai Guo Family Ancestral Hall, but no written records have been found to confirm this yet.
Compared to the Guo Hui Muslims of Baiqi, the history of religious changes among the Xingzhai Guo Hui Muslims is much less clear. Guo Zhongyuan, the first ancestor to move to Baiqi, was a cousin of Guo Mengliang, the first ancestor to move to Xingzhai. After moving to Baiqi in the early Ming Dynasty, he built a mosque. According to the Guo family genealogy, 'Preface to Returning to the Hui Teachings,' it states: 'Since our ancestor established the foundation in Baiqi, he kept thirty volumes of the holy scriptures, built a mosque, respected the teachings, and made recognizing Allah the foundation.' According to the book 'Quanzhou Religious Stone Carvings,' the Xingzhai Guo Family Ancestral Hall held a collection of Muslim tombstone fragments before it was renovated. There were also Muslim tomb stones dug up by the Xingzhai Guo clan in 1973 while they were reclaiming land from the sea. Unfortunately, I did not see these tomb stones when I visited the Xingzhai Guo Family Ancestral Hall this time.
The street scene near the Guo Family Ancestral Hall in Xingzhai, where local women also have the custom of wearing headscarves.
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Halal Travel Guide: Linqing, Shandong - Canal City Mosques, Food and History (Part 1)
Reposted from the web
Summary: Linqing, Shandong - Canal City Mosques, Food and History (Part 1) is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Linqing, Shandong, Canal History.
Following my last post, 'Revisiting the Big and Small Mosque Streets in Dongguan, Liaocheng,' we took an afternoon train from Liaocheng to Linqing. We went straight to Baoliang's First Shop for a meat-filled flatbread roll (bingjuanrou). Wang Baoliang opened this shop in the 1980s, so it has been around for 40 years now. I ate their meat-filled flatbread roll back in 2017, and it was truly satisfying. The price of the roll has gone up by 5 yuan since my last visit, but it still tastes great.
Last time, I ordered the braised butterfly fish head, which was delicious, but I did not choose my dishes as well this time. This time, I ordered sesame beef and pan-braised hairtail fish. The meat in the sesame beef is the same as the meat in the flatbread roll, so I ended up ordering the same thing twice. The pan-braised hairtail fish had a fishy smell. I think ordering the braised hairtail or fried hairtail would have been a better choice.
Leaving Linqing Railway Station, I passed by the First Family Three-Fresh Potstickers (diyijia sanxian guotie). I ate there when I visited Linqing 17 years ago, and it remains the best Shandong cuisine I have ever had, especially the sesame lamb which was delicious.
Linqing North Mosque
I spent the afternoon performing namaz at the Linqing North Mosque. Linqing North Mosque sits where the Huitong River and Wei River meet. It was first built in 1504 (the seventh year of the Hongzhi reign of the Ming Dynasty). It underwent major expansions in 1564 (the 43rd year of the Jiajing reign), 1779 (the 44th year of the Qianlong reign), and 1809 (the 14th year of the Jiaqing reign) to reach its current form.
The main hall of Linqing North Mosque stands on a 1-meter-high stone platform and consists of a porch, the main hall, and a rear kiln-style hall (yaodian), making it very grand. The roof of the kiln-style hall has three moon-watching towers. The middle one has an octagonal pointed roof, while the two sides have square pointed roofs, all topped with peach-shaped finials.
The mosque features a memorial archway-style mihrab decorated with floral patterns and Arabic calligraphy, and the ceiling of the kiln-style hall also displays Arabic calligraphy.
The main hall of the North Mosque preserves precious murals from the Qing Dynasty.
The North Mosque (Beidasi) features various forms of calligraphy, including palace lanterns (gongdeng), brick carvings, plaques, architectural paintings, and wood carvings.
At the far east end of the North Mosque stands a gate in the style of a memorial archway (pailou), featuring delicate bracket sets (dougong) and upturned eaves.
After entering the main gate, you reach a ceremonial gate (yimen) built in the style of a memorial archway. Two Qing Dynasty plaques hang on the ceremonial gate:
A plaque reading 'Sincerity and Rectitude' (Chengyi Zhengxin) erected in the 11th year of the Guangxu reign by Li Ying, a decorated military official.
A plaque reading 'Orderly Human Relations' (Yilun Youxu) from the 2nd year of the Qianlong reign by Yang Jing, a deputy military commander; this one appears to be a replica.
Behind the ceremonial gate is a path leading to the main prayer hall, with lecture halls (jiangtang) located on the north and south sides.
On the north and south sides of the main prayer hall are two scripture pavilions (cangjingting) with four-cornered pointed roofs and small porches (baoxia) in front of the doors. In front of the pavilion stands a 500-year-old Chinese arborvitae (cebai) planted when the mosque was built.
Behind the main hall is the back gate, which features a plaque inscribed with "Qingzhen Libaisi" (Mosque) dated to the first month of the Jiajing jiazi year. The mosque also houses several stone tablets from the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China era.
Linqing East Mosque
After leaving the Linqing North Mosque, I went across the street to the East Mosque to pay my respects at the tombs of the saints (shamu) and the Hufu cemetery (Hufutan). The Linqing East Mosque was first built in 1465 (the first year of the Chenghua reign of the Ming dynasty). It was renovated twice in 1583 (the eleventh year of the Wanli reign) and 1649 (the sixth year of the Shunzhi reign), then expanded again in 1734 (the twelfth year of the Yongzheng reign), resulting in its grand scale.
On the far west side of the Linqing East Mosque is the back gate, which features a "Libaisi" (Mosque) plaque inscribed during the renovation in the sixth year of the Shunzhi reign. Behind the back gate is the main prayer hall, which consists of a front porch (juanpeng), the main hall, and a rear vaulted hall (yaodian). The roof of the vaulted hall has four sloping sides meeting at a point, topped with a gilded gourd-shaped finial.
The main hall is nearly 30 meters deep, with 14 pillars supporting the roof beams. The mihrab is the same style as the one in the North Mosque, featuring a decorative archway design.
The East Mosque has a porch roof (juanpeng) over the main hall and traditional calligraphy preserved on the pillars inside.
The main hall of the East Mosque features detailed roof beams and ridges, along with beautiful painted ceilings inside the prayer niche (yaodian).
The partition wall between the main hall and the prayer niche (yaodian) once held beautiful paintings. On both sides of the arched door in the middle were rows of intricate openwork calligraphy wood carvings. They were very beautiful, but unfortunately, they were destroyed during a difficult period.
The East Mosque features an archway-style mihrab, traditional wooden structures, and a 700-year-old locust tree in the courtyard.
The south gate of the East Mosque is no longer in use, and a pair of damaged stone lions sit in front of it. After entering the main gate, you reach the first courtyard and the hanging flower gate (chuihuamen) on the north side. Moving further in, you find the second courtyard and the South Lecture Hall on the north side. You must pass through the South Lecture Hall to reach the main courtyard where the main hall is located.
Linqing Women's Mosque
After leaving Hufu Beach, I rode my bike from the Linqing East Mosque to the Linqing Women's Mosque to find Zainab. The Linqing Women's Mosque was first built in 1924, making it exactly one hundred years old this year. In 2009, community elder Wan Yongcai and his wife Chen Zhong'e initiated the project, and their eldest son, Wan Qiusheng, chairman of the Linqing Sanhe Textile Group, along with his wife Hei Yuzhi, funded the reconstruction of the current building. This women's mosque is likely the largest one I have ever visited.
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Summary: Linqing, Shandong - Canal City Mosques, Food and History (Part 1) is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Linqing, Shandong, Canal History.
Following my last post, 'Revisiting the Big and Small Mosque Streets in Dongguan, Liaocheng,' we took an afternoon train from Liaocheng to Linqing. We went straight to Baoliang's First Shop for a meat-filled flatbread roll (bingjuanrou). Wang Baoliang opened this shop in the 1980s, so it has been around for 40 years now. I ate their meat-filled flatbread roll back in 2017, and it was truly satisfying. The price of the roll has gone up by 5 yuan since my last visit, but it still tastes great.
Last time, I ordered the braised butterfly fish head, which was delicious, but I did not choose my dishes as well this time. This time, I ordered sesame beef and pan-braised hairtail fish. The meat in the sesame beef is the same as the meat in the flatbread roll, so I ended up ordering the same thing twice. The pan-braised hairtail fish had a fishy smell. I think ordering the braised hairtail or fried hairtail would have been a better choice.
Leaving Linqing Railway Station, I passed by the First Family Three-Fresh Potstickers (diyijia sanxian guotie). I ate there when I visited Linqing 17 years ago, and it remains the best Shandong cuisine I have ever had, especially the sesame lamb which was delicious.
Linqing North Mosque
I spent the afternoon performing namaz at the Linqing North Mosque. Linqing North Mosque sits where the Huitong River and Wei River meet. It was first built in 1504 (the seventh year of the Hongzhi reign of the Ming Dynasty). It underwent major expansions in 1564 (the 43rd year of the Jiajing reign), 1779 (the 44th year of the Qianlong reign), and 1809 (the 14th year of the Jiaqing reign) to reach its current form.
The main hall of Linqing North Mosque stands on a 1-meter-high stone platform and consists of a porch, the main hall, and a rear kiln-style hall (yaodian), making it very grand. The roof of the kiln-style hall has three moon-watching towers. The middle one has an octagonal pointed roof, while the two sides have square pointed roofs, all topped with peach-shaped finials.
The mosque features a memorial archway-style mihrab decorated with floral patterns and Arabic calligraphy, and the ceiling of the kiln-style hall also displays Arabic calligraphy.
The main hall of the North Mosque preserves precious murals from the Qing Dynasty.
The North Mosque (Beidasi) features various forms of calligraphy, including palace lanterns (gongdeng), brick carvings, plaques, architectural paintings, and wood carvings.
At the far east end of the North Mosque stands a gate in the style of a memorial archway (pailou), featuring delicate bracket sets (dougong) and upturned eaves.
After entering the main gate, you reach a ceremonial gate (yimen) built in the style of a memorial archway. Two Qing Dynasty plaques hang on the ceremonial gate:
A plaque reading 'Sincerity and Rectitude' (Chengyi Zhengxin) erected in the 11th year of the Guangxu reign by Li Ying, a decorated military official.
A plaque reading 'Orderly Human Relations' (Yilun Youxu) from the 2nd year of the Qianlong reign by Yang Jing, a deputy military commander; this one appears to be a replica.
Behind the ceremonial gate is a path leading to the main prayer hall, with lecture halls (jiangtang) located on the north and south sides.
On the north and south sides of the main prayer hall are two scripture pavilions (cangjingting) with four-cornered pointed roofs and small porches (baoxia) in front of the doors. In front of the pavilion stands a 500-year-old Chinese arborvitae (cebai) planted when the mosque was built.
Behind the main hall is the back gate, which features a plaque inscribed with "Qingzhen Libaisi" (Mosque) dated to the first month of the Jiajing jiazi year. The mosque also houses several stone tablets from the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China era.
Linqing East Mosque
After leaving the Linqing North Mosque, I went across the street to the East Mosque to pay my respects at the tombs of the saints (shamu) and the Hufu cemetery (Hufutan). The Linqing East Mosque was first built in 1465 (the first year of the Chenghua reign of the Ming dynasty). It was renovated twice in 1583 (the eleventh year of the Wanli reign) and 1649 (the sixth year of the Shunzhi reign), then expanded again in 1734 (the twelfth year of the Yongzheng reign), resulting in its grand scale.
On the far west side of the Linqing East Mosque is the back gate, which features a "Libaisi" (Mosque) plaque inscribed during the renovation in the sixth year of the Shunzhi reign. Behind the back gate is the main prayer hall, which consists of a front porch (juanpeng), the main hall, and a rear vaulted hall (yaodian). The roof of the vaulted hall has four sloping sides meeting at a point, topped with a gilded gourd-shaped finial.
The main hall is nearly 30 meters deep, with 14 pillars supporting the roof beams. The mihrab is the same style as the one in the North Mosque, featuring a decorative archway design.
The East Mosque has a porch roof (juanpeng) over the main hall and traditional calligraphy preserved on the pillars inside.
The main hall of the East Mosque features detailed roof beams and ridges, along with beautiful painted ceilings inside the prayer niche (yaodian).
The partition wall between the main hall and the prayer niche (yaodian) once held beautiful paintings. On both sides of the arched door in the middle were rows of intricate openwork calligraphy wood carvings. They were very beautiful, but unfortunately, they were destroyed during a difficult period.
The East Mosque features an archway-style mihrab, traditional wooden structures, and a 700-year-old locust tree in the courtyard.
The south gate of the East Mosque is no longer in use, and a pair of damaged stone lions sit in front of it. After entering the main gate, you reach the first courtyard and the hanging flower gate (chuihuamen) on the north side. Moving further in, you find the second courtyard and the South Lecture Hall on the north side. You must pass through the South Lecture Hall to reach the main courtyard where the main hall is located.
Linqing Women's Mosque
After leaving Hufu Beach, I rode my bike from the Linqing East Mosque to the Linqing Women's Mosque to find Zainab. The Linqing Women's Mosque was first built in 1924, making it exactly one hundred years old this year. In 2009, community elder Wan Yongcai and his wife Chen Zhong'e initiated the project, and their eldest son, Wan Qiusheng, chairman of the Linqing Sanhe Textile Group, along with his wife Hei Yuzhi, funded the reconstruction of the current building. This women's mosque is likely the largest one I have ever visited.
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Halal Travel Guide: Linqing, Shandong - Canal City Mosques, Food and History (Part 2)
Reposted from the web
Summary: Linqing, Shandong - Canal City Mosques, Food and History (Part 2) is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Linqing, Shandong, Canal History.
After the evening prayer (shamu), we ate big bowl dishes (dawan cai) at Erliang Diguo Millet Porridge, located at the intersection of Xianfeng Road and Dazhong Road in Linqing. They serve porridge and eight big bowls (ba da wan) in the morning, noodles in the afternoon, and big bowl dishes (dawan cai) at night, all of which look delicious. We ordered a serving of big bowl dishes and a cold appetizer. The big bowl dish had plenty of ingredients inside, and it felt very healthy to eat.
Zainab and I both really like the atmosphere in Linqing. There are few cars on the street at night, no delivery scooters, and it feels great to ride a shared electric bike around. There are many halal restaurants on Xianfeng Road. People sit on small stools outside the shops at night to eat and chat, which feels very relaxed.
Linqing at night is full of various halal restaurants and even a small halal night market.
We had breakfast at Kong Family Steamed Bowls (Kongjia kouwan) at the intersection of Xianfeng Road, where we ate braised pork and steamed pork tenderloin (liji kouwan) with steamed buns (mantou). Turning the traditional steamed bowls (kouwan) from North China's scripture hall banquets into a breakfast seems to be a local specialty of Linqing, allowing tourists like us to enjoy traditional banquet dishes. They keep their steamed bowls (kouwan) in a large steamer. They have many kinds like pine-flower egg (songhua), meatballs (wanzi), pork tenderloin (liji), starch jelly (menzi), and braised pork (shaorou). You pick what you want, they flip it into a bowl, pour broth over it, and it is ready to eat.
Their shop was originally the Taoyuan Street Supply and Marketing Cooperative built in the 1970s. Eating here feels very retro. Besides selling steamed bowls in the morning, they also sell cold noodles (liangmian) at noon, which is another specialty of Linqing.
After finishing the steamed bowls, I went to Xianfeng Road to eat tofu pudding (doufunao) and firm tofu (laodoufu). Breakfast shops in Linqing sell both tofu pudding and firm tofu. The difference is that tofu pudding is set with gypsum, making the texture smooth and delicate. Firm tofu is set with brine, making the texture tough and chewy. I like both kinds.
At noon, we ate Wang Family Ten-Fragrance Noodles (shixiangmian) on Xinhua Road. Ten-Fragrance Noodles are also called Assorted-Fragrance Noodles (shixiangmian). The main feature is the large variety of vegetable toppings. A deluxe bowl can have over eighteen types, and the ingredients change based on the solar terms. The toppings mainly include stir-fried minced meat with eggplant strips, mung bean sprouts, chives, minced garlic sprouts, minced green beans, and tomato with egg. You also get fresh shredded cucumber, minced carrots, and pickled vegetables like pickled melon (jianggua), salted mustard greens (xian gede), and minced chive flowers (jiuhua mo), all finished with a drizzle of sesame paste. The homemade version we ate wasn't quite as elaborate, but it still had plenty of variety.
Hongguanying Mosque
At noon, we went to the Hongguanying Mosque in Linxi County, Xingtai, Hebei. Linxi County in Xingtai is actually right on the west side of the Wei Canal in Linqing. Once you cross the Xianfeng Bridge, there is a bus that goes to Hongguanying.
Hongguanying gets its name from the Hong family of Hui Muslims. According to the Linqing Hong Family Genealogy, the ancestor of the Hong family of Hui Muslims was Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din. His sixth-generation descendant, Hong Badan, served as an official in Linqing during the Ming Dynasty. His descendants took Hong as their surname and settled in Linqing. One branch settled in the urban area of Linqing and once built the Hong Family Mosque, but unfortunately, it no longer exists. Another group settled in Hongguanying Village and built the Hongguanying Mosque. The Hongguanying Mosque was first built between the Xuande and Tianshun periods of the Ming Dynasty. It was burned down in 1854 during the Northern Expedition of the Taiping Rebellion and rebuilt into its current form in 1874.
We were warmly welcomed at the Hongguanying Mosque by Imam Lan. He is skilled at Arabic calligraphy, and his scripture paintings and stone carvings are very impressive. I was very lucky to receive a one-stroke Basmala (tasmi) as a gift from Imam Lan.
On the road heading west from Linqing to Hongguanying, we saw wheat fields, the Wei Canal, and Hui Muslim villages. The Xianfeng Bridge over the Wei Canal was built in 1959 and expanded in 1974. It was once very famous, but it stopped allowing motor vehicles in 1992 and is now a protected cultural site.
Returning from Hongguanying to downtown Linqing, we found that most restaurants here are closed between 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM. We found a place that sells deep-stir-fried meat tenderloin (ganzha liji) and bought some to eat on the train. I tried it as soon as I got on the train and it was super delicious! It was fried but not greasy at all. It even tasted great cold, just like a snack, and I couldn't stop eating it. Then we went to a shop that sells meat flatbreads (huoshao) and stuffed flatbreads (xian huoshao). There are many ways to make flatbreads here in Linqing. We bought a beef-stuffed flatbread, and it was packed with filling. I think it tasted much better than the ones I've had in Beijing.
The last photo shows two shops next to the Linqing No. 1 Kindergarten. One is a stationery shop that also serves breakfast, and the other is a sesame oil shop that provides lunch and tutoring for students. I thought that was really interesting.
After buying the stuffed flatbread, we happened to run into the imam's wife from the Linqing Women's Mosque. She told us her family runs a braised chicken and smoked pigeon shop right next door, so we went in to take a look. Once inside, we learned that their shop is a city-level intangible cultural heritage site for Linqing smoked deli techniques. We bought two of their signature smoked pigeons and some chicken gizzards to eat on the train. The smoked pigeon was really fragrant. Even though it didn't have as much meat as chicken, the smoky flavor was delicious and worth eating.
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Summary: Linqing, Shandong - Canal City Mosques, Food and History (Part 2) is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Linqing, Shandong, Canal History.
After the evening prayer (shamu), we ate big bowl dishes (dawan cai) at Erliang Diguo Millet Porridge, located at the intersection of Xianfeng Road and Dazhong Road in Linqing. They serve porridge and eight big bowls (ba da wan) in the morning, noodles in the afternoon, and big bowl dishes (dawan cai) at night, all of which look delicious. We ordered a serving of big bowl dishes and a cold appetizer. The big bowl dish had plenty of ingredients inside, and it felt very healthy to eat.
Zainab and I both really like the atmosphere in Linqing. There are few cars on the street at night, no delivery scooters, and it feels great to ride a shared electric bike around. There are many halal restaurants on Xianfeng Road. People sit on small stools outside the shops at night to eat and chat, which feels very relaxed.
Linqing at night is full of various halal restaurants and even a small halal night market.
We had breakfast at Kong Family Steamed Bowls (Kongjia kouwan) at the intersection of Xianfeng Road, where we ate braised pork and steamed pork tenderloin (liji kouwan) with steamed buns (mantou). Turning the traditional steamed bowls (kouwan) from North China's scripture hall banquets into a breakfast seems to be a local specialty of Linqing, allowing tourists like us to enjoy traditional banquet dishes. They keep their steamed bowls (kouwan) in a large steamer. They have many kinds like pine-flower egg (songhua), meatballs (wanzi), pork tenderloin (liji), starch jelly (menzi), and braised pork (shaorou). You pick what you want, they flip it into a bowl, pour broth over it, and it is ready to eat.
Their shop was originally the Taoyuan Street Supply and Marketing Cooperative built in the 1970s. Eating here feels very retro. Besides selling steamed bowls in the morning, they also sell cold noodles (liangmian) at noon, which is another specialty of Linqing.
After finishing the steamed bowls, I went to Xianfeng Road to eat tofu pudding (doufunao) and firm tofu (laodoufu). Breakfast shops in Linqing sell both tofu pudding and firm tofu. The difference is that tofu pudding is set with gypsum, making the texture smooth and delicate. Firm tofu is set with brine, making the texture tough and chewy. I like both kinds.
At noon, we ate Wang Family Ten-Fragrance Noodles (shixiangmian) on Xinhua Road. Ten-Fragrance Noodles are also called Assorted-Fragrance Noodles (shixiangmian). The main feature is the large variety of vegetable toppings. A deluxe bowl can have over eighteen types, and the ingredients change based on the solar terms. The toppings mainly include stir-fried minced meat with eggplant strips, mung bean sprouts, chives, minced garlic sprouts, minced green beans, and tomato with egg. You also get fresh shredded cucumber, minced carrots, and pickled vegetables like pickled melon (jianggua), salted mustard greens (xian gede), and minced chive flowers (jiuhua mo), all finished with a drizzle of sesame paste. The homemade version we ate wasn't quite as elaborate, but it still had plenty of variety.
Hongguanying Mosque
At noon, we went to the Hongguanying Mosque in Linxi County, Xingtai, Hebei. Linxi County in Xingtai is actually right on the west side of the Wei Canal in Linqing. Once you cross the Xianfeng Bridge, there is a bus that goes to Hongguanying.
Hongguanying gets its name from the Hong family of Hui Muslims. According to the Linqing Hong Family Genealogy, the ancestor of the Hong family of Hui Muslims was Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din. His sixth-generation descendant, Hong Badan, served as an official in Linqing during the Ming Dynasty. His descendants took Hong as their surname and settled in Linqing. One branch settled in the urban area of Linqing and once built the Hong Family Mosque, but unfortunately, it no longer exists. Another group settled in Hongguanying Village and built the Hongguanying Mosque. The Hongguanying Mosque was first built between the Xuande and Tianshun periods of the Ming Dynasty. It was burned down in 1854 during the Northern Expedition of the Taiping Rebellion and rebuilt into its current form in 1874.
We were warmly welcomed at the Hongguanying Mosque by Imam Lan. He is skilled at Arabic calligraphy, and his scripture paintings and stone carvings are very impressive. I was very lucky to receive a one-stroke Basmala (tasmi) as a gift from Imam Lan.
On the road heading west from Linqing to Hongguanying, we saw wheat fields, the Wei Canal, and Hui Muslim villages. The Xianfeng Bridge over the Wei Canal was built in 1959 and expanded in 1974. It was once very famous, but it stopped allowing motor vehicles in 1992 and is now a protected cultural site.
Returning from Hongguanying to downtown Linqing, we found that most restaurants here are closed between 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM. We found a place that sells deep-stir-fried meat tenderloin (ganzha liji) and bought some to eat on the train. I tried it as soon as I got on the train and it was super delicious! It was fried but not greasy at all. It even tasted great cold, just like a snack, and I couldn't stop eating it. Then we went to a shop that sells meat flatbreads (huoshao) and stuffed flatbreads (xian huoshao). There are many ways to make flatbreads here in Linqing. We bought a beef-stuffed flatbread, and it was packed with filling. I think it tasted much better than the ones I've had in Beijing.
The last photo shows two shops next to the Linqing No. 1 Kindergarten. One is a stationery shop that also serves breakfast, and the other is a sesame oil shop that provides lunch and tutoring for students. I thought that was really interesting.
After buying the stuffed flatbread, we happened to run into the imam's wife from the Linqing Women's Mosque. She told us her family runs a braised chicken and smoked pigeon shop right next door, so we went in to take a look. Once inside, we learned that their shop is a city-level intangible cultural heritage site for Linqing smoked deli techniques. We bought two of their signature smoked pigeons and some chicken gizzards to eat on the train. The smoked pigeon was really fragrant. Even though it didn't have as much meat as chicken, the smoky flavor was delicious and worth eating.
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Islamic History Guide: Northeast China Mosques in 1941 - Old Photos and Muslim Heritage
Reposted from the web
Summary: Northeast China Mosques in 1941 - Old Photos and Muslim Heritage is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Northeast China, Mosque Photos, Muslim Heritage.
The book "Peoples and Religions of Manchuria and Mongolia" was published in 1941 by Osakaya Shoten. It was co-authored by Japanese religious scholar Chijo Akamatsu and cultural anthropologist Takashi Akiba. You can now view it online at the National Diet Library of Japan. The book contains many old photos of mosques in Northeast China, which I am sharing with you now.
North Mosque (Beisi) in Shenyang
East Mosque (Dongsi) in Shenyang
South Mosque (Nansi) in Shenyang
Wenhua Mosque (Wenhuasi) in Shenyang
Piziwo Mosque (Piziwosi) in Dalian
Dalian Mosque (Daliansi)
Tieling Mosque
Taonan Mosque in Jilin
West Mosque in Jilin
Acheng Mosque in Harbin
Yilan Mosque in Harbin
Jiamusi Mosque
Anning Mosque in Mudanjiang
Qiqihar Mosque
halal sign
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Summary: Northeast China Mosques in 1941 - Old Photos and Muslim Heritage is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Northeast China, Mosque Photos, Muslim Heritage.
The book "Peoples and Religions of Manchuria and Mongolia" was published in 1941 by Osakaya Shoten. It was co-authored by Japanese religious scholar Chijo Akamatsu and cultural anthropologist Takashi Akiba. You can now view it online at the National Diet Library of Japan. The book contains many old photos of mosques in Northeast China, which I am sharing with you now.
North Mosque (Beisi) in Shenyang
East Mosque (Dongsi) in Shenyang
South Mosque (Nansi) in Shenyang
Wenhua Mosque (Wenhuasi) in Shenyang
Piziwo Mosque (Piziwosi) in Dalian
Dalian Mosque (Daliansi)
Tieling Mosque
Taonan Mosque in Jilin
West Mosque in Jilin
Acheng Mosque in Harbin
Yilan Mosque in Harbin
Jiamusi Mosque
Anning Mosque in Mudanjiang
Qiqihar Mosque
halal sign
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Muslim Culture Guide: Ashura Day - Fasting, Memory and Hui Muslim Traditions
Reposted from the web
Summary: Ashura Day - Fasting, Memory and Hui Muslim Traditions is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Ashura, Muslim Culture, Hui Muslims.
This Tuesday was the 10th of Muharram, the Day of Ashura. As usual, we made the Urumqi Hui Muslim version of Ashura bean rice (dou dou fan).
After work, I went to the supermarket to buy beans. This time I used seven kinds: soybeans, black beans, mung beans, red beans, chickpeas, white kidney beans, and lotus beans. First, I cooked the seven types of beans in a pressure cooker until soft. Then, I diced some Qurbani lamb and chopped green onions. I stir-fried the meat with the green onions, adding salt and Sichuan peppercorn powder. I added rice and sticky rice to the cooked beans, then mixed in the stir-fried meat. I set the pressure cooker to the rice cooking mode to finish it.
Since our pressure cooker wasn't big enough, the water boiled away a bit too much. After taking it out, we added more water to thin it out. Actually, the traditional way is to simmer it in a large pot for a long time.
Legend says that when the Great Flood receded and Prophet Nuh's ship reached land, he and his followers used the seven types of beans on the ship to make the first meal for humanity after the disaster. Across a vast region from Bosnia and Turkey in the west to China in the east, many friends (dostani) make Ashura bean porridge today to remember the landing of Noah's Ark.
You can actually find Ashura bean porridge at the Sultan Turkish Restaurant in Beijing, but the Turkish version is more like a dessert and tastes quite different from the Chinese one.
The Ottoman-style Ashure does not have a fixed recipe, as it changes based on the region and the habits of each family. Tradition says you should use at least seven ingredients, though some believe you should use ten to match the theme of the tenth day, while the Alevis always use twelve ingredients. Common ingredients include wheat, barley, rice, white kidney beans, chickpeas, grape molasses (pekmez), pomegranate molasses, beet juice, dates, raisins, currants, apricots, figs, apples, pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pine nuts, and sesame seeds. You can decorate the finished Ashure with fennel seeds, black cumin seeds, plums, pomegranate, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
Today, you can buy Ashure in dessert shops all year round in Turkey and the Balkans. However, on the Day of Ashura, people still prefer to make Ashure themselves and share it with the poor, relatives, neighbors, and friends.
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Summary: Ashura Day - Fasting, Memory and Hui Muslim Traditions is presented as a clear English travel account for readers interested in Muslim life, halal food, mosques, and local history. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Ashura, Muslim Culture, Hui Muslims.
This Tuesday was the 10th of Muharram, the Day of Ashura. As usual, we made the Urumqi Hui Muslim version of Ashura bean rice (dou dou fan).
After work, I went to the supermarket to buy beans. This time I used seven kinds: soybeans, black beans, mung beans, red beans, chickpeas, white kidney beans, and lotus beans. First, I cooked the seven types of beans in a pressure cooker until soft. Then, I diced some Qurbani lamb and chopped green onions. I stir-fried the meat with the green onions, adding salt and Sichuan peppercorn powder. I added rice and sticky rice to the cooked beans, then mixed in the stir-fried meat. I set the pressure cooker to the rice cooking mode to finish it.
Since our pressure cooker wasn't big enough, the water boiled away a bit too much. After taking it out, we added more water to thin it out. Actually, the traditional way is to simmer it in a large pot for a long time.
Legend says that when the Great Flood receded and Prophet Nuh's ship reached land, he and his followers used the seven types of beans on the ship to make the first meal for humanity after the disaster. Across a vast region from Bosnia and Turkey in the west to China in the east, many friends (dostani) make Ashura bean porridge today to remember the landing of Noah's Ark.
You can actually find Ashura bean porridge at the Sultan Turkish Restaurant in Beijing, but the Turkish version is more like a dessert and tastes quite different from the Chinese one.
The Ottoman-style Ashure does not have a fixed recipe, as it changes based on the region and the habits of each family. Tradition says you should use at least seven ingredients, though some believe you should use ten to match the theme of the tenth day, while the Alevis always use twelve ingredients. Common ingredients include wheat, barley, rice, white kidney beans, chickpeas, grape molasses (pekmez), pomegranate molasses, beet juice, dates, raisins, currants, apricots, figs, apples, pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pine nuts, and sesame seeds. You can decorate the finished Ashure with fennel seeds, black cumin seeds, plums, pomegranate, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
Today, you can buy Ashure in dessert shops all year round in Turkey and the Balkans. However, on the Day of Ashura, people still prefer to make Ashure themselves and share it with the poor, relatives, neighbors, and friends.
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Halal Travel Guide: Fengcheng and Dandong - Mosque Visit and Liaoning Food
Reposted from the web
Summary: Halal Travel Guide: Fengcheng and Dandong - Mosque Visit and Liaoning Food is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Fengcheng, Dandong, Liaoning Travel while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
On June 9 at noon, we headed east from Dalian toward Dandong. We arrived at Fengcheng East Station at 12:14 and took a taxi to the center of Fengcheng for lunch. We first went to a restaurant called Nanlaishun, but we found braised lamb blood on the menu, so we went to another place called Wenbin Snack Bar instead.
We ordered the local Dandong specialty stir-fried corn noodles (chao chazi), along with eight-treasure porridge with corn grits (dazhazi babaozhou) and a 6-yuan vegetable platter. The vegetable platter included stir-fried potato, eggplant, and pepper (di san xian), cucumber with scrambled eggs, and stir-fried dried tofu. I noticed other people just ordering one vegetable platter with rice, which is a great deal.
Stir-fried corn noodles (chao chazi) are made by fermenting corn and grinding it into a liquid, then taking the settled corn starch residue and pressing it into noodles before stir-frying. These noodles are a classic example of turning coarse grains into a refined dish. They have a smooth, delicate texture without any of the usual grittiness of corn flour, and they taste quite good.
Zainab really loved their eight-treasure porridge with corn grits (dazhazi babaozhou). She even said it was her favorite thing she ate during her entire trip to Liaoning. The eight-treasure porridge with corn grits (dazhazi babaozhou) contains almost no rice, just a wide variety of beans. They are very generous with the ingredients, making it a perfect choice for people who want a healthy meal.
After finishing our stir-fried noodles (chao chazi), we went to Fengcheng Mosque to pray. The imam at Fengcheng Mosque is also from Cangzhou.
Fengcheng Mosque was first built in 1775, during the 40th year of the Qianlong reign. It was renovated in 1862, the first year of the Tongzhi reign. In 1876, the second year of the Guangxu reign, the north lecture hall was rebuilt and side rooms were added. In 1890, the 16th year of the Guangxu reign, the Moon-Sighting Tower (Wangyue Lou) was built, giving the mosque its current size.
The most unique part of Fengcheng Mosque is the Moon-Sighting Tower, built during the Guangxu reign. It has a double-eaved, four-cornered, pointed roof with beautiful upturned eaves, brackets, and intricate openwork carvings.
The mosque features 300-year-old cypress trees and a stone tablet from the Guangxu renovations. The wood carvings on the brackets and the brick calligraphy carvings on the wall corners are also very beautiful.
Outside the mosque, there are shops selling beef, pastries, roasted chicken, and instructions on how to boil sweet rice balls (yuanxiao). We bought some old-fashioned Northeast-style plain biscuits (guangtou bing). They get tastier the more you chew, with a subtle sweetness that lingers.
We left Fengcheng East Station at 3:39 PM and arrived at Dandong Station at 3:56 PM. We then walked to Pier 2 to take a Yalu River cruise. From the boat, you can see the shipyards, amusement park, old paper mill site, General's Building, schools, and various hidden and visible guard posts in Sinuiju, North Korea, on the other side. We were surprised to see a person swimming across the Yalu River all the way to the North Korean side, and he even waved at us.
Dandong Mosque (Dandong Si) was first built in 1876, and the current building was rebuilt in 2004. The sign at the entrance of the mosque is very rare.
The storefronts of Dandong Mosque are very busy. On the first floor are two old shops, Yixiang and Yiguang, which sell various traditional pastries, mooncakes (yuebing), and sticky rice dumplings (zongzi). Upstairs is the Yixiang Nursing Home, which is open to elderly people of all ethnic groups.
In the afternoon, we had dinner at the long-established Jinlongge Restaurant in Dandong. They serve a wide variety of traditional stir-fried dishes and seafood. We ordered oyster soup (ligeng tang), braised mixed fish (jiangmen zabanyü), and Northeast-style cold noodles (dongbei da lengmian), and we also drank the local Yalu River soda. Northeast Chinese food comes in huge portions! We used our fists to compare the size of the plates, and one dish is more than enough for two people.
The food here tastes great overall; the large cold noodles (lengmian) are chewy, the fish is fragrant, and the meat quality is excellent. The oyster soup (ligeng tang) is very savory and does not have a fishy smell.
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Summary: Halal Travel Guide: Fengcheng and Dandong - Mosque Visit and Liaoning Food is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Fengcheng, Dandong, Liaoning Travel while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
On June 9 at noon, we headed east from Dalian toward Dandong. We arrived at Fengcheng East Station at 12:14 and took a taxi to the center of Fengcheng for lunch. We first went to a restaurant called Nanlaishun, but we found braised lamb blood on the menu, so we went to another place called Wenbin Snack Bar instead.
We ordered the local Dandong specialty stir-fried corn noodles (chao chazi), along with eight-treasure porridge with corn grits (dazhazi babaozhou) and a 6-yuan vegetable platter. The vegetable platter included stir-fried potato, eggplant, and pepper (di san xian), cucumber with scrambled eggs, and stir-fried dried tofu. I noticed other people just ordering one vegetable platter with rice, which is a great deal.
Stir-fried corn noodles (chao chazi) are made by fermenting corn and grinding it into a liquid, then taking the settled corn starch residue and pressing it into noodles before stir-frying. These noodles are a classic example of turning coarse grains into a refined dish. They have a smooth, delicate texture without any of the usual grittiness of corn flour, and they taste quite good.
Zainab really loved their eight-treasure porridge with corn grits (dazhazi babaozhou). She even said it was her favorite thing she ate during her entire trip to Liaoning. The eight-treasure porridge with corn grits (dazhazi babaozhou) contains almost no rice, just a wide variety of beans. They are very generous with the ingredients, making it a perfect choice for people who want a healthy meal.
After finishing our stir-fried noodles (chao chazi), we went to Fengcheng Mosque to pray. The imam at Fengcheng Mosque is also from Cangzhou.
Fengcheng Mosque was first built in 1775, during the 40th year of the Qianlong reign. It was renovated in 1862, the first year of the Tongzhi reign. In 1876, the second year of the Guangxu reign, the north lecture hall was rebuilt and side rooms were added. In 1890, the 16th year of the Guangxu reign, the Moon-Sighting Tower (Wangyue Lou) was built, giving the mosque its current size.
The most unique part of Fengcheng Mosque is the Moon-Sighting Tower, built during the Guangxu reign. It has a double-eaved, four-cornered, pointed roof with beautiful upturned eaves, brackets, and intricate openwork carvings.
The mosque features 300-year-old cypress trees and a stone tablet from the Guangxu renovations. The wood carvings on the brackets and the brick calligraphy carvings on the wall corners are also very beautiful.
Outside the mosque, there are shops selling beef, pastries, roasted chicken, and instructions on how to boil sweet rice balls (yuanxiao). We bought some old-fashioned Northeast-style plain biscuits (guangtou bing). They get tastier the more you chew, with a subtle sweetness that lingers.
We left Fengcheng East Station at 3:39 PM and arrived at Dandong Station at 3:56 PM. We then walked to Pier 2 to take a Yalu River cruise. From the boat, you can see the shipyards, amusement park, old paper mill site, General's Building, schools, and various hidden and visible guard posts in Sinuiju, North Korea, on the other side. We were surprised to see a person swimming across the Yalu River all the way to the North Korean side, and he even waved at us.
Dandong Mosque (Dandong Si) was first built in 1876, and the current building was rebuilt in 2004. The sign at the entrance of the mosque is very rare.
The storefronts of Dandong Mosque are very busy. On the first floor are two old shops, Yixiang and Yiguang, which sell various traditional pastries, mooncakes (yuebing), and sticky rice dumplings (zongzi). Upstairs is the Yixiang Nursing Home, which is open to elderly people of all ethnic groups.
In the afternoon, we had dinner at the long-established Jinlongge Restaurant in Dandong. They serve a wide variety of traditional stir-fried dishes and seafood. We ordered oyster soup (ligeng tang), braised mixed fish (jiangmen zabanyü), and Northeast-style cold noodles (dongbei da lengmian), and we also drank the local Yalu River soda. Northeast Chinese food comes in huge portions! We used our fists to compare the size of the plates, and one dish is more than enough for two people.
The food here tastes great overall; the large cold noodles (lengmian) are chewy, the fish is fragrant, and the meat quality is excellent. The oyster soup (ligeng tang) is very savory and does not have a fishy smell.
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Halal Travel Guide: Dalian, Fuzhou Ancient City and Qingdui Ancient Town
Reposted from the web
Summary: Halal Travel Guide: Dalian, Fuzhou Ancient City and Qingdui Ancient Town is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Dalian, Liaoning Travel, Ancient Towns while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
On the morning of June 8, we took a high-speed train from Shenyang Railway Station and arrived at Wafangdian West Station in Dalian in an hour and a half. After leaving the station, we shared a ride for 20 minutes to reach the ancient town of Fuzhou.
We first stopped at the Qunfangyuan Restaurant near the Fuzhou town roundabout to eat some traditional Fuzhou old-style dishes (Fuzhou laocai). Fuzhou is a thousand-year-old town established during the Liao Dynasty. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, it has been a major commercial hub in southern Liaoning, attracting many merchants. It only began to lose its importance to Wafangdian along the railway line after the South Manchuria Railway was built in modern times. Around 1641, the sixth year of the Chongde reign of the Qing Dynasty, four Hui Muslim families—the Yin, Ma, Dai, and Hui families from Cangzhou, Hebei—moved to Fuzhou. Later, they worked with the local Manchu and Han people to develop the unique Fuzhou old-style dishes.
Fuzhou old-style dishes are known for their oil-fried meat (guoyourou), twice-cooked meat (huishaorou), braised meatballs (huiwanzi), dragon and tiger fight (longhudou), and fried crispy crackers (zhabaochui). Because portions of Northeast Chinese food are so large, we just ordered the most famous oil-fried meat to try. The Fuzhou version of oil-fried meat contains only meat with no side vegetables. It is seasoned with vinegar and garlic, giving it a salty, fresh, and sour taste that goes perfectly with rice.
Fuzhou oil-fried meat is also called the dish of ethnic unity. Legend has it that during the late Qing Dynasty, a soldier named Tuoerha from the Plain Blue Banner died in battle in southern Xinjiang, leaving his wife and children helpless in Fuzhou. One day, just before the Lunar New Year, a mother and her son were walking down the street. The boy was so drawn to the aroma from a restaurant that he refused to leave. The owner knew the boy's father had died for his country, so he invited them inside. He told the kitchen staff to prepare a dish of pure meat for them and to fry it an extra time. Because of this, double-fried meat (guoyourou) became a signature New Year dish for the people of Fuzhou.
After lunch, we went to Fuzhou Mosque (Fuzhou Si) to pray. The imam at Fuzhou Mosque is from Mengcun in Cangzhou, Hebei, which is a major tradition for the faith in Liaoning.
In the early Qing Dynasty, Hui Muslims with the surnames Yin, Dai, Ma, and Hui moved to Fuzhou from Cangzhou. In 1649 (the sixth year of the Shunzhi reign), they began building Fuzhou Mosque. By 1656 (the thirteenth year of the Shunzhi reign), they had finished three thatched rooms to serve as the main prayer hall. The main hall was rebuilt in 1774 (the thirty-ninth year of the Qianlong reign) and expanded again in 1880 (the sixth year of the Guangxu reign), though it still had a thatched roof. In 1920, the front porch and rear kiln-style hall were added, and the roof was changed to blue brick tiles, creating the structure seen today.
Hanging in front of the main hall of Fuzhou Mosque is a plaque that reads "Returning to Simplicity and Truth" (Huan Pu Gui Zhen). It was presented in 1897 (the twenty-third year of the Guangxu reign) by Wang Tingxiang, a third-rank official, imperial censor, and scholar of the Hanlin Academy.
Additionally, the brick carvings on the wall ends feature traditional calligraphy of a dua.
Hui Muslim homes inside Fuzhou City. The old street features blue bricks and dark roof tiles, with Arabic calligraphy (jingzi) and dua written on the walls, keeping the look of the past. Many people have moved to Wafangdian and Dalian to live, so the old street has become quiet.
There is a legendary halal food spot in Fuzhou City, which is my friend's family business, Yin's sticky rice cake (jiangmi lianggao). The Yin family of Fuzhou originally came from Qing County in Cangzhou and settled in Fuzhou during the early Qing Dynasty. The sticky rice cake made by my friend's great-uncle, Yin Xiangzhou, was famous in Fuzhou a hundred years ago, and now my friend's mother pushes a small cart to sell it along the street every day. A loudspeaker plays, 'Sticky rice cake, fragrant and sweet.' Then everyone comes out to buy the sticky rice cake.
Sticky rice cake (jiangmi lianggao) is made by topping sticky rice with fillings like peanuts, sesame, and sugar. Traditionally, it included candied green and red fruit strips (qinghongsi), but these are now left out to suit younger tastes. Sticky rice cake is very refreshing in the summer, and it feels great on the stomach when paired with tea.
A quick tip: some people say the Yin family pushcart is hard to find. We spotted it at 2:15 p.m. at the intersection west of the Fuzhou Prefectural Office (Fuzhou Zhizhou Yashu). It then moves south along the main road, and you can hear the vendor calling out from far away.
We took the high-speed train from Wafangdian West Station at 3:30 p.m., arrived at Dalian North Station at 4:00 p.m., and then took a taxi to our accommodation to drop off our luggage.
We stayed at the No. 21 Mansion (Ershiyi Hao Gongguan) near the Russian Style Street. The hotel sits in a courtyard that is part of the Yantai Street Russian-style building complex, which includes 28 European-style villas and marks the starting point of Dalian's history. In 1898, Tsarist Russia leased Dalian Bay and began building Dalian city the following year. The first street built was called Engineer Street, which is now known as Russian Style Street. Soon after, Timov Street was built right next to Engineer Street, and it was renamed Yantai Street after 1946. Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Tsarist Russia hired German and Russian designers to build a series of European-style villas on Yantai Street, and 28 of them still stand today.
After the Russian-style building complex on Yantai Street was restored in 2011, several hotels and restaurants moved in. When we visited, several places were hosting weddings, which felt a bit like the Italian Style Street in Tianjin. Several villas in the courtyard belong to the Dalian Railway 1896 Garden Hotel, which you can stay in at any time. The No. 21 Mansion where we stayed is military property and only opens during holidays, but you can book it online.
Building No. 21 was built in 1903 and designed by the famous German architect Jan Hendel. In 1920, early labor movement leader and Manchurian Provincial Committee Secretary Wang Ligong lived here. The house we stayed in had windows on both the north and south sides, making the environment very pleasant. The courtyard was very quiet, which was a sharp contrast to the busy Russian-style street next door.
In the afternoon, we had dinner at the long-established Majia Dumpling Restaurant in front of Dalian Railway Station. We ordered sea snail and chive dumplings (haoluo jiucai jiaozi), mackerel ball soup (bayu wanzi tang), and dry-braised flatfish (gan shao piankou yu). Traditionally, Hui Muslims in North and Northeast China do not cook seafood; they focus on beef and lamb. They only started making seafood dumplings after the Reform and Opening-up, and it gradually became a local specialty. They serve dumplings with yellow mustard sauce, which is very unique and adds a great kick to the flavor. The dry-braised flatfish was also well-prepared, with a sweet and spicy taste that really whets the appetite. People who ate at their original shop say the dumplings were even better decades ago, and I can really understand that sense of nostalgia. But as travelers, we are already very happy to be able to eat these dumplings.
Ma Family Dumpling Restaurant (Ma Jia Jiaozi Guan) was the first halal dumpling shop in Dalian and one of the city's two earliest dumpling restaurants. It was opened in 1947 by Liu Yushan, Ma Baishi, and Zhao Fangchen at the Bo'ai Market in Xigang. It was originally called Ruixianghao Hui Muslim Dumpling Restaurant before changing its name to Ma Family Dumpling Restaurant. After the Reform and Opening-up, the restaurant moved to the former site of the Goubuli Steamed Bun Shop on Tianjin Street. It moved to its current location after the renovation of Tianjin Street in the early 21st century. At first, the restaurant only served beef dumplings. After the Reform and Opening-up, seafood dumplings appeared in Dalian, so the restaurant started making new varieties like mackerel dumplings (bayu jiaozi) and sea snail dumplings (hailuo jiaozi).
After dinner, we headed to the Dalian Mosque (Dalian Si) on Beijing Street. After Dalian opened as a port in 1897, Hui Muslims from places like Shandong and Hebei came here to make a living. Ma Xinglong, Wang Qifa, Jin Xiangchen, and others first rented a few small rooms on Dalong Street in Xigang to perform their prayers. In 1925, a Russian Muslim working for the South Manchuria Railway (Mantie) secured funding and land from the company to build the Dalian Mosque in a traditional Kazan Tatar style.
The original Dalian Mosque looked very similar to Tatar mosques in Kazan, Russia, featuring a neoclassical main hall and two minarets at the front and back. The minbar pulpit inside the main hall has stairs that lead directly to the minaret on the roof, which is very rare for a traditional mosque in China.
This Kazan Tatar-style Dalian Mosque stood for 64 years, was rebuilt in 1990, and finally expanded into its current structure in 2005.
I left Dalian Station at 6:20 on June 9, arrived at Qingdui Station at 8:00, and then took a taxi to the ancient town of Qingdui to visit Qingdui Mosque.
Qingdui Town is a thousand-year-old town that has served as a fishing port and commercial hub on the Liaodong Peninsula since the Tang Dynasty. Qingbu Port officially opened in 1743 (the eighth year of the Qianlong reign), making Qingdui Town an important transit point for people from Shandong and Hebei moving to Northeast China. During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China era, Qingdui Town had over three hundred businesses, with shops lining the streets and bustling with activity. Today, Qingdui Town still keeps many old houses with grey bricks and dark tiles from the late Qing and Republican periods, and Qingdui Mosque is one of them.
Qingdui Mosque was first built during the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty and started as just three thatched huts. The First Sino-Japanese War began in July 1894. Famous Hui Muslim general Zuo Baogui led his troops to Korea to fight the Japanese and passed by Qingdui Mosque (Qingdui Si). General Zuo Baogui and the imam of Qingdui Mosque, Zhang Chaozhen, got along very well. Later, the general donated money himself. Along with funds raised by his personal Hui Muslim guards and three local halal restaurants—Deshengyuan, Qingshengyuan, and Yongshengyuan—they prepared to expand the mosque. Sadly, before the expansion was finished, General Zuo Baogui died heroically while fighting the Japanese in Pyongyang.
In 1895 (the 21st year of the Guangxu reign), Hui Wanchun, the elder in charge of Qingdui Mosque, oversaw the rebuilding of the main hall into the three-room green brick and tile structure seen today. In 1920 (the 9th year of the Republic of China), the gate tower was rebuilt and the lecture hall was expanded, giving the mosque its current size.
The gate of Qingdui Mosque features a brick-carved couplet that reads: 'The pure palace spreads the teachings of the Quran and the path of Muhammad; the true sage passes down scriptures that bring the grace of the Western Regions to this place.' This is a very precious piece of brick-carved calligraphy from the Republic of China era. The main gate is usually closed, so you must enter the mosque through the south wing where the imam lives. The imam came from Gansu and warmly told us about the situation at Qingdui Mosque (Qingdui Si). It is not easy for his family to stay and serve at this small community mosque (xiaofang).
Hui Muslim homes in the ancient town of Qingdui. Because Qingbu Port silted up and closed, the ancient town of Qingdui gradually became quiet, and the town center moved to the area near the road to the north. There are a few halal restaurants in town. We ordered lamb soup at one of them, Jinhong Lamb Soup Restaurant (Jinhong Yangtang Guan), but when it arrived, we found it contained lamb blood. I had heard long ago that some halal restaurants in Shandong and Northeast China sell lamb blood, but this is the first time I have encountered it in years. We had no choice but to return the lamb soup and take a taxi to the train station to continue our trip to the next stop.
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Summary: Halal Travel Guide: Dalian, Fuzhou Ancient City and Qingdui Ancient Town is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Dalian, Liaoning Travel, Ancient Towns while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
On the morning of June 8, we took a high-speed train from Shenyang Railway Station and arrived at Wafangdian West Station in Dalian in an hour and a half. After leaving the station, we shared a ride for 20 minutes to reach the ancient town of Fuzhou.
We first stopped at the Qunfangyuan Restaurant near the Fuzhou town roundabout to eat some traditional Fuzhou old-style dishes (Fuzhou laocai). Fuzhou is a thousand-year-old town established during the Liao Dynasty. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, it has been a major commercial hub in southern Liaoning, attracting many merchants. It only began to lose its importance to Wafangdian along the railway line after the South Manchuria Railway was built in modern times. Around 1641, the sixth year of the Chongde reign of the Qing Dynasty, four Hui Muslim families—the Yin, Ma, Dai, and Hui families from Cangzhou, Hebei—moved to Fuzhou. Later, they worked with the local Manchu and Han people to develop the unique Fuzhou old-style dishes.
Fuzhou old-style dishes are known for their oil-fried meat (guoyourou), twice-cooked meat (huishaorou), braised meatballs (huiwanzi), dragon and tiger fight (longhudou), and fried crispy crackers (zhabaochui). Because portions of Northeast Chinese food are so large, we just ordered the most famous oil-fried meat to try. The Fuzhou version of oil-fried meat contains only meat with no side vegetables. It is seasoned with vinegar and garlic, giving it a salty, fresh, and sour taste that goes perfectly with rice.
Fuzhou oil-fried meat is also called the dish of ethnic unity. Legend has it that during the late Qing Dynasty, a soldier named Tuoerha from the Plain Blue Banner died in battle in southern Xinjiang, leaving his wife and children helpless in Fuzhou. One day, just before the Lunar New Year, a mother and her son were walking down the street. The boy was so drawn to the aroma from a restaurant that he refused to leave. The owner knew the boy's father had died for his country, so he invited them inside. He told the kitchen staff to prepare a dish of pure meat for them and to fry it an extra time. Because of this, double-fried meat (guoyourou) became a signature New Year dish for the people of Fuzhou.
After lunch, we went to Fuzhou Mosque (Fuzhou Si) to pray. The imam at Fuzhou Mosque is from Mengcun in Cangzhou, Hebei, which is a major tradition for the faith in Liaoning.
In the early Qing Dynasty, Hui Muslims with the surnames Yin, Dai, Ma, and Hui moved to Fuzhou from Cangzhou. In 1649 (the sixth year of the Shunzhi reign), they began building Fuzhou Mosque. By 1656 (the thirteenth year of the Shunzhi reign), they had finished three thatched rooms to serve as the main prayer hall. The main hall was rebuilt in 1774 (the thirty-ninth year of the Qianlong reign) and expanded again in 1880 (the sixth year of the Guangxu reign), though it still had a thatched roof. In 1920, the front porch and rear kiln-style hall were added, and the roof was changed to blue brick tiles, creating the structure seen today.
Hanging in front of the main hall of Fuzhou Mosque is a plaque that reads "Returning to Simplicity and Truth" (Huan Pu Gui Zhen). It was presented in 1897 (the twenty-third year of the Guangxu reign) by Wang Tingxiang, a third-rank official, imperial censor, and scholar of the Hanlin Academy.
Additionally, the brick carvings on the wall ends feature traditional calligraphy of a dua.
Hui Muslim homes inside Fuzhou City. The old street features blue bricks and dark roof tiles, with Arabic calligraphy (jingzi) and dua written on the walls, keeping the look of the past. Many people have moved to Wafangdian and Dalian to live, so the old street has become quiet.
There is a legendary halal food spot in Fuzhou City, which is my friend's family business, Yin's sticky rice cake (jiangmi lianggao). The Yin family of Fuzhou originally came from Qing County in Cangzhou and settled in Fuzhou during the early Qing Dynasty. The sticky rice cake made by my friend's great-uncle, Yin Xiangzhou, was famous in Fuzhou a hundred years ago, and now my friend's mother pushes a small cart to sell it along the street every day. A loudspeaker plays, 'Sticky rice cake, fragrant and sweet.' Then everyone comes out to buy the sticky rice cake.
Sticky rice cake (jiangmi lianggao) is made by topping sticky rice with fillings like peanuts, sesame, and sugar. Traditionally, it included candied green and red fruit strips (qinghongsi), but these are now left out to suit younger tastes. Sticky rice cake is very refreshing in the summer, and it feels great on the stomach when paired with tea.
A quick tip: some people say the Yin family pushcart is hard to find. We spotted it at 2:15 p.m. at the intersection west of the Fuzhou Prefectural Office (Fuzhou Zhizhou Yashu). It then moves south along the main road, and you can hear the vendor calling out from far away.
We took the high-speed train from Wafangdian West Station at 3:30 p.m., arrived at Dalian North Station at 4:00 p.m., and then took a taxi to our accommodation to drop off our luggage.
We stayed at the No. 21 Mansion (Ershiyi Hao Gongguan) near the Russian Style Street. The hotel sits in a courtyard that is part of the Yantai Street Russian-style building complex, which includes 28 European-style villas and marks the starting point of Dalian's history. In 1898, Tsarist Russia leased Dalian Bay and began building Dalian city the following year. The first street built was called Engineer Street, which is now known as Russian Style Street. Soon after, Timov Street was built right next to Engineer Street, and it was renamed Yantai Street after 1946. Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Tsarist Russia hired German and Russian designers to build a series of European-style villas on Yantai Street, and 28 of them still stand today.
After the Russian-style building complex on Yantai Street was restored in 2011, several hotels and restaurants moved in. When we visited, several places were hosting weddings, which felt a bit like the Italian Style Street in Tianjin. Several villas in the courtyard belong to the Dalian Railway 1896 Garden Hotel, which you can stay in at any time. The No. 21 Mansion where we stayed is military property and only opens during holidays, but you can book it online.
Building No. 21 was built in 1903 and designed by the famous German architect Jan Hendel. In 1920, early labor movement leader and Manchurian Provincial Committee Secretary Wang Ligong lived here. The house we stayed in had windows on both the north and south sides, making the environment very pleasant. The courtyard was very quiet, which was a sharp contrast to the busy Russian-style street next door.
In the afternoon, we had dinner at the long-established Majia Dumpling Restaurant in front of Dalian Railway Station. We ordered sea snail and chive dumplings (haoluo jiucai jiaozi), mackerel ball soup (bayu wanzi tang), and dry-braised flatfish (gan shao piankou yu). Traditionally, Hui Muslims in North and Northeast China do not cook seafood; they focus on beef and lamb. They only started making seafood dumplings after the Reform and Opening-up, and it gradually became a local specialty. They serve dumplings with yellow mustard sauce, which is very unique and adds a great kick to the flavor. The dry-braised flatfish was also well-prepared, with a sweet and spicy taste that really whets the appetite. People who ate at their original shop say the dumplings were even better decades ago, and I can really understand that sense of nostalgia. But as travelers, we are already very happy to be able to eat these dumplings.
Ma Family Dumpling Restaurant (Ma Jia Jiaozi Guan) was the first halal dumpling shop in Dalian and one of the city's two earliest dumpling restaurants. It was opened in 1947 by Liu Yushan, Ma Baishi, and Zhao Fangchen at the Bo'ai Market in Xigang. It was originally called Ruixianghao Hui Muslim Dumpling Restaurant before changing its name to Ma Family Dumpling Restaurant. After the Reform and Opening-up, the restaurant moved to the former site of the Goubuli Steamed Bun Shop on Tianjin Street. It moved to its current location after the renovation of Tianjin Street in the early 21st century. At first, the restaurant only served beef dumplings. After the Reform and Opening-up, seafood dumplings appeared in Dalian, so the restaurant started making new varieties like mackerel dumplings (bayu jiaozi) and sea snail dumplings (hailuo jiaozi).
After dinner, we headed to the Dalian Mosque (Dalian Si) on Beijing Street. After Dalian opened as a port in 1897, Hui Muslims from places like Shandong and Hebei came here to make a living. Ma Xinglong, Wang Qifa, Jin Xiangchen, and others first rented a few small rooms on Dalong Street in Xigang to perform their prayers. In 1925, a Russian Muslim working for the South Manchuria Railway (Mantie) secured funding and land from the company to build the Dalian Mosque in a traditional Kazan Tatar style.
The original Dalian Mosque looked very similar to Tatar mosques in Kazan, Russia, featuring a neoclassical main hall and two minarets at the front and back. The minbar pulpit inside the main hall has stairs that lead directly to the minaret on the roof, which is very rare for a traditional mosque in China.
This Kazan Tatar-style Dalian Mosque stood for 64 years, was rebuilt in 1990, and finally expanded into its current structure in 2005.
I left Dalian Station at 6:20 on June 9, arrived at Qingdui Station at 8:00, and then took a taxi to the ancient town of Qingdui to visit Qingdui Mosque.
Qingdui Town is a thousand-year-old town that has served as a fishing port and commercial hub on the Liaodong Peninsula since the Tang Dynasty. Qingbu Port officially opened in 1743 (the eighth year of the Qianlong reign), making Qingdui Town an important transit point for people from Shandong and Hebei moving to Northeast China. During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China era, Qingdui Town had over three hundred businesses, with shops lining the streets and bustling with activity. Today, Qingdui Town still keeps many old houses with grey bricks and dark tiles from the late Qing and Republican periods, and Qingdui Mosque is one of them.
Qingdui Mosque was first built during the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty and started as just three thatched huts. The First Sino-Japanese War began in July 1894. Famous Hui Muslim general Zuo Baogui led his troops to Korea to fight the Japanese and passed by Qingdui Mosque (Qingdui Si). General Zuo Baogui and the imam of Qingdui Mosque, Zhang Chaozhen, got along very well. Later, the general donated money himself. Along with funds raised by his personal Hui Muslim guards and three local halal restaurants—Deshengyuan, Qingshengyuan, and Yongshengyuan—they prepared to expand the mosque. Sadly, before the expansion was finished, General Zuo Baogui died heroically while fighting the Japanese in Pyongyang.
In 1895 (the 21st year of the Guangxu reign), Hui Wanchun, the elder in charge of Qingdui Mosque, oversaw the rebuilding of the main hall into the three-room green brick and tile structure seen today. In 1920 (the 9th year of the Republic of China), the gate tower was rebuilt and the lecture hall was expanded, giving the mosque its current size.
The gate of Qingdui Mosque features a brick-carved couplet that reads: 'The pure palace spreads the teachings of the Quran and the path of Muhammad; the true sage passes down scriptures that bring the grace of the Western Regions to this place.' This is a very precious piece of brick-carved calligraphy from the Republic of China era. The main gate is usually closed, so you must enter the mosque through the south wing where the imam lives. The imam came from Gansu and warmly told us about the situation at Qingdui Mosque (Qingdui Si). It is not easy for his family to stay and serve at this small community mosque (xiaofang).
Hui Muslim homes in the ancient town of Qingdui. Because Qingbu Port silted up and closed, the ancient town of Qingdui gradually became quiet, and the town center moved to the area near the road to the north. There are a few halal restaurants in town. We ordered lamb soup at one of them, Jinhong Lamb Soup Restaurant (Jinhong Yangtang Guan), but when it arrived, we found it contained lamb blood. I had heard long ago that some halal restaurants in Shandong and Northeast China sell lamb blood, but this is the first time I have encountered it in years. We had no choice but to return the lamb soup and take a taxi to the train station to continue our trip to the next stop.
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Islamic Art Guide: Quanzhou Maritime Museum Song-Yuan Stone Inscriptions (Part 1)
Reposted from the web
Summary: Islamic Art Guide: Quanzhou Maritime Museum Song-Yuan Stone Inscriptions (Part 1) is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Quanzhou, Islamic Art, Stone Inscriptions while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
The Quanzhou Maritime Museum was built in 1959. The Quanzhou Islamic Culture Exhibition Hall opened in 2003, and the 'Arabs and Persians in Quanzhou' exhibition launched in 2008, featuring over 200 stone carvings from the Song and Yuan dynasties. I visited the 'Arabs and Persians in Quanzhou' exhibition in 2017. Returning seven years later, the layout has not changed much, but some of the most iconic stone tablets, such as the tombstone of 'Consul Pan,' have been moved to the 'Quanzhou: World Maritime Trade Center in Song and Yuan China' exhibition, with replicas now in their place.
Tombstone
The largest category of Song and Yuan dynasty Islamic stone carvings in the museum's collection is tombstones.
The tombstone in the picture below was once used as a stone tabletop under the eaves of Yuanshan Hall (later renamed Fentuoshi) on Zhongshan Middle Road in Quanzhou. It is said to have been moved there in 1952 when building materials were purchased from the city's East Gate wall foundations for construction. Ms. Wu Yuanying donated it to the museum in 1965.
The person buried is named Husayn b. Muhammad Khalati. Khalati refers to the ancient city of Ahlat in what is now southeastern Turkey. Historically, Ahlat was part of the Armenian Kingdom, was occupied by Arabs in the mid-7th century, and developed into an important trade hub in southeastern Turkey by the 10th century. Ahlat was captured by the Seljuk Empire in 1071 and later became the capital of the Turkmen beylik known as Shah-Armens.
Because the inscription is written in a very irregular way, there are still many questions about how to read it. If we read the date as 567 in the Islamic calendar, which is 1171 in the Gregorian calendar, this stone would be the oldest Arabic inscription found in Quanzhou.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1939 when the North Gate (Chaotian Gate) of Quanzhou was torn down. The person buried there was named Nuransa Ibn Khwaja Balad-shah b. Khwaja Haji Harbk Khorazmi, who died in 1322.
In his name, Nuransa is his given name, and Balad-shah is his father's name, which means leader in Persian. Harbk is his grandfather's name, Khwaja shows his noble status, Haji means his grandfather had been on the Hajj, and Khorazmi shows his family came from the Khwarezm region of Central Asia.
The Khwarezmian Empire was destroyed by the Mongol Empire in 1221 and was later divided between the Chagatai Khanate and the Golden Horde. In the 14th century, Khwarezm was an important trade center in Central Asia until it was destroyed by the Timurid Empire in 1388.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1936 at Jintoupu Village outside the East Gate (Tonghuai Gate) of Quanzhou. The person buried there died in 1358 and was named Banan b. Ghasim Isfahani, who came from the famous Iranian city of Isfahan.
Isfahan became the capital of the Seljuk Empire in the mid-11th century and reached its peak in the late 11th century. Isfahan declined after the fall of the Seljuk Empire in the 13th century. It suffered a massacre by Timur in 1387 and did not revive until the Safavid dynasty in the 16th century.
The tombstone in the picture below was unearthed in 1931 at Jintoupu outside Tonghuai Gate in Quanzhou. The person buried there was Sihab al-dunya sa l-din b. Daghab, the son of a garrison commander from Balashaghun. He died in 1301, and the inscription includes a verse from the Quran (3:185).
Balashaghun is located on the banks of the Chu River in Kyrgyzstan. It was once the capital of the Kara-Khanid Khanate and the new capital of the Western Liao dynasty. It is the hometown of Yusuf Khass Hajib, the author of Wisdom of Royal Glory (Kutadgu Bilig). Balashaghun was captured by the Mongol Empire in 1218 and gradually became a ruin by the 14th century.
The tombstone in the picture below was unearthed in 1933 from the city wall of Renfeng Gate in Quanzhou. The person buried there was Muhammad b. Su'ud Yahya, who died in 1326.
The tombstone in the picture below was unearthed in 1939 from the city wall of Tonghuai Gate in Quanzhou. The person buried there was Khwaja Ali b. Uthman al-Jilani, who died in 1357.
Gilan is located on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea in northwestern Iran. It was ruled by locals until the 11th to 16th centuries. It was occupied by the Ilkhanate in 1307 but regained its independence in 1336.
The tombstone in the picture below.
This was unearthed in 1978 on a street in Houhai Road Village, outside Tonghuai Gate in Quanzhou, and it is carved with verses from the Quran (21:35, 28:88).
The bottom half of the tombstone in the picture below was found in 1934 on a field path outside Tonghuai Gate in Quanzhou, while the top half was found in 1942 while digging for city wall foundation stones at the East Gate of Quanzhou. The person buried here was named Shaikh Aklab Umar, who passed away in 1303, and the inscription also features verses from the Quran (55:26-27, 3:185).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1938 while digging for city foundation stones at Renfeng Gate, the East Gate of Quanzhou; the person buried here was named Granto Takin b. Sultan Husayn, who passed away in 1308. Takin is a Turkic title for a prince or noble.
The tombstone in the picture below is a replica, and the original is on display in the main hall of the Maritime Museum. It was discovered in the summer of 1934 within the city foundations at the East Gate of Quanzhou. The top is carved with scripture (28:88) and also Chinese characters: 'General Manager Pan died on the first day of the fourth lunar month.' According to the History of Song, Volume 7 on Official Positions, the position of General Manager was created during the Jianyan era of Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1130) to manage money, grain, and taxes. By the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song Dynasty, the General Manager could directly participate in military and political affairs and held great power. However, the Yuan Dianzhang records that the title of General Manager was used for minor officials in the prisons of various prefectures and counties.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in April 1958 in the city foundation near Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou. The tomb owner was named Haji Khwaja b. Hasam al-Din b. Yalaki Siraf, who passed away in 1362.
Siraf is also translated in historical records as Shiluowei, Shilafu, Sanawei, Shilafu, or Siluofu. It is located in southern Iran and was the largest trading port in the Persian Gulf between the 9th and 13th centuries. Most Persian merchants traveling to Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties set off from here.
The tombstone in the picture below was discovered in 1926 by the famous archaeologist Chen Wanli on South Street in Quanzhou (now Zhongshan Road). He asked the Quanzhou government to move it to the Construction Bureau for safekeeping, but it was lost during a flood in 1935. In 1955, residents digging at the old Construction Bureau site found a stone tablet, but the bottom part with the date was broken. The person buried there was the daughter of Sayyid Burtumi b. Sayyid Muhammad al-Hamdani.
Hamadan is located southwest of Tehran and serves as an important commercial center and transport hub in northwestern Iran. Hamadan became the capital of the Seljuk Empire in the 11th century, but it was destroyed by the Mongol army in 1220 and again during the Timurid invasion in the 14th century, only recovering during the Safavid dynasty in the 16th century.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1929 when the Renfeng Gate wall at the East Gate of Quanzhou was torn down. It broke into three pieces and was stacked into a house wall, then rediscovered in 1950 after the wall collapsed. A corner of the tombstone was lost in the late 1960s. The person buried there died in 1337, and the inscription is a verse from the Quran (21:34-35).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in September 1958 next to a field in Huazhou Village outside the South Gate of Quanzhou. Local villagers said it was a city stone dug up from the Quanzhou South Gate wall over 20 years earlier. They originally planned to use it to build a house, but after realizing it was a tombstone, they used it to pave a path in the field instead. The person buried there was named Abu Masman Ghath, and the inscription is a verse from the Quran (55:26-27).
The tombstone in the picture below was found on the road surface of West Street in Quanzhou in 1932. It was originally taken from the city wall to pave the road. The person buried there is named Khadija bint Fanshah.
The tombstone in the picture below was unearthed in 1981 at a villager's home in Jinputou, outside Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou. The person buried there is named al-Hamd Suad.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in a resident's home near the South Gate factory area in Quanzhou in 1945 and was recovered for preservation in 1953. The inscription is a verse from the Quran (29:57).
The tombstone in the picture below was excavated from the city wall at the East Gate of Quanzhou in 1930. The center features a full moon carved in Arabic script, with a swirling cloud on each side, creating a cloud and moon pattern. The top center of the tombstone features the Shahada, surrounded by dua.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1940 while digging city foundations near Jiaochangtou, close to Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou. The tombstone features a cloud and moon design, with a full moon in the center and swirling cloud patterns on both sides. The person buried here died in 1350, and the inscription is a verse from the Quran (55:26-27).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in June 1959 in Xiawei Village, outside Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou. According to local villagers, this stone was dug up from the city wall many years ago and used to pave a small path in the fields. It was dug up again during road construction and kept in an ancestral hall because the writing on it looked unusual. The inscription consists of verses from the Quran (39:4, 55:26-27).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1947 in the city foundations of Deji Gate at the South Gate of Quanzhou. That same year, it was used to build a pier for the Shunji Bridge at the South Gate, but it was later discovered and moved. The inscription is a verse from the Quran (55:26-27).
The tombstone inscription in the picture below is a verse from the Quran (55:26-27). The lower part of the tombstone is damaged, so we only know the person was a "pure servant who died on Saturday, May 2nd, in the year..."
The tombstone in the picture below was found in a field near East Lake outside the Small East Gate of Quanzhou in April 1962. Local villagers say it was dug up from the city wall years ago to pave the road. The inscription is a verse from the Quran (3:85).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in a pond outside Renfeng Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou in 1939. The tomb owner's title is Sayyid al-Ajall al-Kabir, which translates to "the first, the respected, the important." The other side is carved with Chinese characters reading "Fengxun Dafu, Darughachi of Yongchun County..."
Darughachi was a government position during the Yuan Dynasty, held only by Mongols or powerful Semu people. Yongchun County is under the jurisdiction of Quanzhou. According to the Yongchun Prefecture Records, there was once a darughachi named Tuohuanshaduoluoboer, who might be the same person as the tomb owner.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1931 when the East Gate of Quanzhou was dismantled. The tomb owner was named Khwaja Jalal al-Din b. Muhammad b. Ibrahim, who passed away in 1305. The back is carved with verses from the Quran (89:28-30).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1942 at a stone shop on Renfeng Street outside the East Gate of Quanzhou. It had been dug out from the city wall. The tomb owner was named Amir Tughasun Amir Ali b. Hasan b. Ali al-Ghazwini, who passed away in 1371 (some say 1273). Amir, also translated as Yimi, originally meant commander and was later used to refer to a lord.
In his book Religious Stone Inscriptions of Quanzhou, Wu Wenliang speculates that this Amir was the imam of the foreign quarter in Quanzhou at that time. In the early Ming Dynasty, the government briefly followed the open policies of the Yuan Dynasty, encouraged foreign trade, and established a Maritime Trade Office in Quanzhou. This policy did not last long. In 1371, the Ming Dynasty issued a maritime ban, and in 1374, it closed the Quanzhou Maritime Trade Office. The once-thriving foreign quarter in Quanzhou quickly declined.
Qazvin is located in northwestern Iran, south of the Caspian Sea. In 1220, the Mongol army massacred the population of Qazvin. Afterward, many Turkic-speaking people moved to Qazvin to settle. In 1295, Qazvin suffered heavy damage during the turmoil of Ghazan Khan's struggle for the throne of the Ilkhanate, and many people left the city.
The tombstone in the picture below was discovered in 1940 when the Renfeng Gate at the east gate of Quanzhou was demolished. The person buried there was Shams al-Din b. Nur al-Din b. Ishaqan Shahristani, who died in 1325 and came from Shahristan in Iran. The back features a verse from the Quran (3:19).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in March 1963 in the home of a farmer at Ruifengling outside the east gate of Quanzhou. The family said it was discovered when an old wall that had stood for a hundred years collapsed. Several gravestones belonging to the faith were found near Ruifeng Ridge, marking it as one of the burial sites for Muslims in Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties. The person buried there was named Fatima bint Naina, who passed away in 1306. The back of the stone is carved with verses from the Quran (55:26-27).
The gravestone in the picture below is broken into several pieces, with two parts remaining today; they were unearthed in 1953 and 1956 at Jintoupu, outside the Tonghuai Gate of Quanzhou's East Gate. The person buried there was named Abu Bakr b. Husayn Sinan, who passed away in 1319.
The gravestone in the picture below was excavated from the city wall at Quanzhou's East Gate in 1929; the person buried there was named Haji b. Agfar Beg b. Haji al-Malighi, who passed away in 1387 (though some say 1290). If the date is 1387, it is a rare gravestone from the Ming dynasty. The back is carved with a verse from the Quran (2:156) and a hadith stating, 'Whoever dies in a foreign land dies a martyr.'
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1930 when the East Gate of Quanzhou was demolished. The person buried there was named Mansur b. Haji al-Qasim al-Jajarmi, who died in 1277. The back features the Shahada and a verse from the Quran (28:88). This Mansur and the previously mentioned Qutb al-Din Ya'qub both came from Jajarm in the North Khorasan province of Iran.
In 1276, the Yuan army captured Lin'an, and Wen Tianxiang and others supported Emperor Duanzong as they fled to Quanzhou. The Song army seized 2,000 of Pu Shougeng's ships (some say over 400) and confiscated his property. This led Pu Shougeng to carry out a retaliatory massacre of the Southern Song royal family members living abroad and to hunt down Emperor Duanzong. In 1277, the Yuan army arrived in Quanzhou, and Pu Shougeng surrendered the city, marking a new chapter in Quanzhou's history.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1932 when the Renfeng Gate of the Quanzhou East Gate city wall was demolished. The person buried there was named Shirin Khatun bint Hasan Zaituni, who died in 1321. In Turkic languages, Khatun means queen or lady. The inscription also features a verse from the Quran (29:57).
Citong is another name for Quanzhou, named after the coral trees (citong) planted everywhere since the Five Dynasties period. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, Arab merchants called Quanzhou Zaitun because the name sounded like the Arabic word for olive (zaitun).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in November 1978 inside a family home at Jintoupu, outside Tonghuai Gate in Quanzhou, where it was being used as a foundation stone. Before that, it had been excavated from the city walls of Tonghuai Gate. The person buried there was named Ibn Ghawamar al-Din al-Ghar... The inscription describes him as a Khwaja, a leader of the faith, and a leader of the Mawla. The text uses Persian several times, so the person buried there likely came from a Persian cultural background.
The tombstone in the picture below was unearthed in March 1964 at the construction site of the Overseas Chinese Mansion in downtown Quanzhou. This site was once the location of the Haiqing Pavilion during the Qing Dynasty. When the Senate building was built in the early 1940s, the city walls of the east and south gates of Quanzhou were torn down for building materials, and this stone tablet was likely buried in the wall foundation at that time. One side of the tombstone is carved with the Shahada, and the other side is carved with a verse from the Quran (3:185).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in the foundation of the east gate of Quanzhou in 1944. One side is carved with the Basmala and the Shahada, and the other side is carved with a verse from the Quran (29:57).
The tombstone in the picture below was unearthed in 1973 during the cleaning of the North Canal in Quanzhou and is carved with verses from the Quran (89:28-30).
Sumeru-pedestal stone tomb.
The second largest category after tombstones is the Sumeru-pedestal stone tomb.
These are two Sumeru-pedestal style tomb stones. The upper tomb cap stone was found near Dongchan Mosque outside the east gate of Quanzhou in 1927 and was recovered and preserved in the Maritime Museum in 1958.
The person buried here was named Qutb al-Din Ya'qub. He came from Jajarm in the North Khorasan province of Iran and passed away in 1309. The inscription begins by saying, 'He is eternal and never dies; he has moved from the world of destruction to the world of eternity.'
Jajarm sits on the edge of the central Iranian desert and holds many historical and archaeological sites. This city was an important trade hub in Khorasan during the 10th and 11th centuries, but it slowly declined after the Persian Safavid dynasty in the 16th century.
The lower half has five layers. The fourth layer is carved with scripture (2:255). In 1958, the Quanzhou Cultural Relics Management Committee temporarily stored it in the main hall of the Qingjing Mosque, later moved it to the Lingshan Islamic Cemetery area, and finally placed it in the Maritime Museum.
The patterns on this Sumeru-style stone tomb are very unique. The bottom and second layers are destroyed. The third layer features overlapping lotus petal reliefs, the fourth layer has continuous swastika pattern reliefs, and the fifth layer shows a cloud and moon relief on the front with a square cloth relief in the middle. This tombstone was found in 1959 by the seaside in Meishan, Fashi Township, 5 kilometers outside the Tonghuai Gate of Quanzhou. It was later moved to the Maritime Museum for preservation.
Several other Sumeru-style stone tombs.
The tombstone base of a pedestal-style altar tomb.
A corner of the Maritime Museum (Haijiaoguan) is piled with many tombstones. There are no labels, and many are hard to see because they are stacked on top of each other. They were arranged this way when I visited in 2017, and nothing has changed after seven years.
Found in 1937 at Jintoupu Village outside Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou, the inscription reads, 'Everyone (shall taste death).'
Found in 1943 inside the city wall foundation at the East Gate of Quanzhou, the inscription contains Quranic verses (9:21-22).
The tombstone base above was found in 1939 inside the city wall at Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou, and it contains Quranic verses (29:57).
Found in 1943 near the East Drill Ground (Dongjiaochang) in Quanzhou, the inscription reads, 'Your Lord of Might.'
The tombstone base in the picture below was found in 1959 in a pile of rubble at the Qingjing Mosque. This pile of rubble was dug up from the city wall foundation near Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou, and it was moved to the Maritime Museum (Haijiaoguan) for preservation in 1964. The inscription states the tomb owner's name is Toghan-shah b. Umar b. Sayyid Ajall. Toghan means eagle in Turkic, and Shah means king in Persian, which is how Central Asians addressed nobles. Sayyid Ajall means honorable gentleman in Arabic, and it is a respectful title for descendants of the Prophet.
Coincidentally, a tombstone unearthed in 1952 at the foundation of the Southeast Drill Ground in Quanzhou likely belongs to the same person as the Toghan-shah tombstone mentioned above. Unfortunately, this tombstone was moved to the National Museum of China in 1959 and is not currently on display, so the Maritime Museum only shows a replica. This tombstone states the owner's name is Amir Sayyid Ajall Tohgan-shah b. Sayyid Ajall Umar b. Sayyid Ajall Amiran b. Amir Isfahasalar Darnakrani al-Buhari, who passed away in 1302. The term Isfahasalar is made up of the Persian word Isfahah and the Turkic word Salar, meaning military general.
Both tombstones mention that Toghan-shah's father was named Umar Sayyid Ajall. The second son of Nasulading, who was the son of the famous Yuan Dynasty politician Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din, was named Umar Sayyid Ajjal. Umar once served as the administrator of the Fujian Branch Secretariat in Quanzhou. According to Rashid al-Din's History of the Mongols, Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din was from Bukhara, which matches the records on the tombstone.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1987. One side is carved with the testimony of faith, and the other side, translated by Imam Wang Yaodong from Ningxia, says the person buried there was named Haji Abdullah.
The tombstone base stone above was found in the foundation of the East Gate of Quanzhou in 1944 and is carved with a verse from the Quran (21:35). The bottom left of Figure 1 shows a tombstone base stone from a pedestal-style altar. It was found near the South Gate of Quanzhou in 1959, and local residents say it was recovered when the South Gate was torn down between 1946 and 1948. The inscription on the stone features a verse from the Quran (24:35).
The tombstone base stone above was found in the foundation of the East Gate of Quanzhou in 1944 and is carved with a verse from the Quran (28:88).
The tombstone marker in the middle of the picture below was found in 1960 among a pile of rubble at the entrance of Chongfu Mosque at the East Gate of Quanzhou. It reads, 'Everything will perish except Him.'
The shape of this stone carving is quite unique and different from any other tombstones or tombstone markers seen so far. It was found in 1948 in Jintoupu Village outside the Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou. Villagers said it was dug up from the foundation of the city wall.
The tombstone marker in the picture below was built into the east wall of a vegetable market near the South Drill Ground in Quanzhou in the autumn of 1953. It is said to have been bought when the market purchased stones from the city wall foundation for construction. It was removed in the 1990s when the market was rebuilt. The inscription is a verse from the Quran (28:88).
It was found in 1954 in Jintoupu Village outside the Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou.
It was found in 1957 in a field between the Small East Gate and Jintoupu Village in Quanzhou. The content is a verse from the Quran (39:74).
It was purchased in 1949 from a stonemason's shop at the East Gate of Quanzhou.
The tombstone base in the picture below was found in 1948 at Jintoupu Village outside the Tonghuai Gate of Quanzhou's East Gate. In 1973, Liu Wanru, the widow of Mr. Wu Wenliang, donated it to the Quanzhou Cultural Relics Management Committee. It features Quranic verses (55:26-27).
The tombstone base in the picture below was found in 1948 in Tingdian Village, 3 kilometers outside Quanzhou's South Gate. It features Quranic verses (89:29-30).
The tombstone base in the picture below was found in 1938 inside the city wall of Quanzhou's East Gate. It features a Quranic verse (30:11).
Lintel stone of a gongbei
Besides tombstones, Sumeru-pedestal style stone tombs, and Sumeru-pedestal altar-style stone tombs, the Maritime Museum also houses another type of religious stone carving: the lintel stone of a gongbei (a domed tomb for a Sufi saint). Unfortunately, only the lintel stone has been found so far, so we do not know what the original gongbei looked like.
The item in the picture below was dug up in 1946 from the foundation of Quanzhou's South Gate. The front is inscribed with Quranic verses (9:21-22), and the beginning mentions 'minbar,' which is the pulpit inside a mosque, though its specific meaning here is unclear.
The item in the picture below was found in 1958 in a villager's home not far from the South Gate of Quanzhou. The villager said he found it deep in the city wall foundation while helping dig at the South Gate between 1946 and 1948. I originally wanted to take them home to build a wall, but I left them behind because their shapes made them hard to stack. The text reads, "(Every living thing) will die, (He is the Everlasting) who does not die."
The image below shows the pivot stone from a gongbei lintel. It was found in a resident's home near the south gate city wall of Quanzhou in 1959, and it is said to have been taken when the south city gate was torn down between 1946 and 1948. The left square of the stone carving features a relief of a camellia branch, the right square features a relief of a peony branch, and the back features a relief of a melon-petal-shaped door pivot. The text reads, "If anyone in this world could live forever, the Messenger of Allah would be the one to live forever in this world." No one can escape death, for the Prophet Muhammad faced the decree of death."
The image below shows a lintel stone from a gongbei tomb, with a relief of a peony branch on the right side. The stone carving was originally laid on a grain-drying ground on the south side of the street in Jintoupu Village, outside Tonghuai Gate at the east gate of Quanzhou. It was moved to the Maritime Museum for preservation in 1978.
The altar-style stone tomb with a pedestal base (xumizuo) restored by Mr. Wu Wenliang. Quanzhou has found many tomb wall stones and some tomb roof stones, but so far, no complete altar-style stone tomb with a pedestal base (xumizuo) from the faith has been discovered. Collapse Read »
Summary: Islamic Art Guide: Quanzhou Maritime Museum Song-Yuan Stone Inscriptions (Part 1) is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Quanzhou, Islamic Art, Stone Inscriptions while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
The Quanzhou Maritime Museum was built in 1959. The Quanzhou Islamic Culture Exhibition Hall opened in 2003, and the 'Arabs and Persians in Quanzhou' exhibition launched in 2008, featuring over 200 stone carvings from the Song and Yuan dynasties. I visited the 'Arabs and Persians in Quanzhou' exhibition in 2017. Returning seven years later, the layout has not changed much, but some of the most iconic stone tablets, such as the tombstone of 'Consul Pan,' have been moved to the 'Quanzhou: World Maritime Trade Center in Song and Yuan China' exhibition, with replicas now in their place.
Tombstone
The largest category of Song and Yuan dynasty Islamic stone carvings in the museum's collection is tombstones.
The tombstone in the picture below was once used as a stone tabletop under the eaves of Yuanshan Hall (later renamed Fentuoshi) on Zhongshan Middle Road in Quanzhou. It is said to have been moved there in 1952 when building materials were purchased from the city's East Gate wall foundations for construction. Ms. Wu Yuanying donated it to the museum in 1965.
The person buried is named Husayn b. Muhammad Khalati. Khalati refers to the ancient city of Ahlat in what is now southeastern Turkey. Historically, Ahlat was part of the Armenian Kingdom, was occupied by Arabs in the mid-7th century, and developed into an important trade hub in southeastern Turkey by the 10th century. Ahlat was captured by the Seljuk Empire in 1071 and later became the capital of the Turkmen beylik known as Shah-Armens.
Because the inscription is written in a very irregular way, there are still many questions about how to read it. If we read the date as 567 in the Islamic calendar, which is 1171 in the Gregorian calendar, this stone would be the oldest Arabic inscription found in Quanzhou.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1939 when the North Gate (Chaotian Gate) of Quanzhou was torn down. The person buried there was named Nuransa Ibn Khwaja Balad-shah b. Khwaja Haji Harbk Khorazmi, who died in 1322.
In his name, Nuransa is his given name, and Balad-shah is his father's name, which means leader in Persian. Harbk is his grandfather's name, Khwaja shows his noble status, Haji means his grandfather had been on the Hajj, and Khorazmi shows his family came from the Khwarezm region of Central Asia.
The Khwarezmian Empire was destroyed by the Mongol Empire in 1221 and was later divided between the Chagatai Khanate and the Golden Horde. In the 14th century, Khwarezm was an important trade center in Central Asia until it was destroyed by the Timurid Empire in 1388.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1936 at Jintoupu Village outside the East Gate (Tonghuai Gate) of Quanzhou. The person buried there died in 1358 and was named Banan b. Ghasim Isfahani, who came from the famous Iranian city of Isfahan.
Isfahan became the capital of the Seljuk Empire in the mid-11th century and reached its peak in the late 11th century. Isfahan declined after the fall of the Seljuk Empire in the 13th century. It suffered a massacre by Timur in 1387 and did not revive until the Safavid dynasty in the 16th century.
The tombstone in the picture below was unearthed in 1931 at Jintoupu outside Tonghuai Gate in Quanzhou. The person buried there was Sihab al-dunya sa l-din b. Daghab, the son of a garrison commander from Balashaghun. He died in 1301, and the inscription includes a verse from the Quran (3:185).
Balashaghun is located on the banks of the Chu River in Kyrgyzstan. It was once the capital of the Kara-Khanid Khanate and the new capital of the Western Liao dynasty. It is the hometown of Yusuf Khass Hajib, the author of Wisdom of Royal Glory (Kutadgu Bilig). Balashaghun was captured by the Mongol Empire in 1218 and gradually became a ruin by the 14th century.
The tombstone in the picture below was unearthed in 1933 from the city wall of Renfeng Gate in Quanzhou. The person buried there was Muhammad b. Su'ud Yahya, who died in 1326.
The tombstone in the picture below was unearthed in 1939 from the city wall of Tonghuai Gate in Quanzhou. The person buried there was Khwaja Ali b. Uthman al-Jilani, who died in 1357.
Gilan is located on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea in northwestern Iran. It was ruled by locals until the 11th to 16th centuries. It was occupied by the Ilkhanate in 1307 but regained its independence in 1336.
The tombstone in the picture below.
This was unearthed in 1978 on a street in Houhai Road Village, outside Tonghuai Gate in Quanzhou, and it is carved with verses from the Quran (21:35, 28:88).
The bottom half of the tombstone in the picture below was found in 1934 on a field path outside Tonghuai Gate in Quanzhou, while the top half was found in 1942 while digging for city wall foundation stones at the East Gate of Quanzhou. The person buried here was named Shaikh Aklab Umar, who passed away in 1303, and the inscription also features verses from the Quran (55:26-27, 3:185).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1938 while digging for city foundation stones at Renfeng Gate, the East Gate of Quanzhou; the person buried here was named Granto Takin b. Sultan Husayn, who passed away in 1308. Takin is a Turkic title for a prince or noble.
The tombstone in the picture below is a replica, and the original is on display in the main hall of the Maritime Museum. It was discovered in the summer of 1934 within the city foundations at the East Gate of Quanzhou. The top is carved with scripture (28:88) and also Chinese characters: 'General Manager Pan died on the first day of the fourth lunar month.' According to the History of Song, Volume 7 on Official Positions, the position of General Manager was created during the Jianyan era of Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1130) to manage money, grain, and taxes. By the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song Dynasty, the General Manager could directly participate in military and political affairs and held great power. However, the Yuan Dianzhang records that the title of General Manager was used for minor officials in the prisons of various prefectures and counties.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in April 1958 in the city foundation near Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou. The tomb owner was named Haji Khwaja b. Hasam al-Din b. Yalaki Siraf, who passed away in 1362.
Siraf is also translated in historical records as Shiluowei, Shilafu, Sanawei, Shilafu, or Siluofu. It is located in southern Iran and was the largest trading port in the Persian Gulf between the 9th and 13th centuries. Most Persian merchants traveling to Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties set off from here.
The tombstone in the picture below was discovered in 1926 by the famous archaeologist Chen Wanli on South Street in Quanzhou (now Zhongshan Road). He asked the Quanzhou government to move it to the Construction Bureau for safekeeping, but it was lost during a flood in 1935. In 1955, residents digging at the old Construction Bureau site found a stone tablet, but the bottom part with the date was broken. The person buried there was the daughter of Sayyid Burtumi b. Sayyid Muhammad al-Hamdani.
Hamadan is located southwest of Tehran and serves as an important commercial center and transport hub in northwestern Iran. Hamadan became the capital of the Seljuk Empire in the 11th century, but it was destroyed by the Mongol army in 1220 and again during the Timurid invasion in the 14th century, only recovering during the Safavid dynasty in the 16th century.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1929 when the Renfeng Gate wall at the East Gate of Quanzhou was torn down. It broke into three pieces and was stacked into a house wall, then rediscovered in 1950 after the wall collapsed. A corner of the tombstone was lost in the late 1960s. The person buried there died in 1337, and the inscription is a verse from the Quran (21:34-35).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in September 1958 next to a field in Huazhou Village outside the South Gate of Quanzhou. Local villagers said it was a city stone dug up from the Quanzhou South Gate wall over 20 years earlier. They originally planned to use it to build a house, but after realizing it was a tombstone, they used it to pave a path in the field instead. The person buried there was named Abu Masman Ghath, and the inscription is a verse from the Quran (55:26-27).
The tombstone in the picture below was found on the road surface of West Street in Quanzhou in 1932. It was originally taken from the city wall to pave the road. The person buried there is named Khadija bint Fanshah.
The tombstone in the picture below was unearthed in 1981 at a villager's home in Jinputou, outside Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou. The person buried there is named al-Hamd Suad.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in a resident's home near the South Gate factory area in Quanzhou in 1945 and was recovered for preservation in 1953. The inscription is a verse from the Quran (29:57).
The tombstone in the picture below was excavated from the city wall at the East Gate of Quanzhou in 1930. The center features a full moon carved in Arabic script, with a swirling cloud on each side, creating a cloud and moon pattern. The top center of the tombstone features the Shahada, surrounded by dua.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1940 while digging city foundations near Jiaochangtou, close to Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou. The tombstone features a cloud and moon design, with a full moon in the center and swirling cloud patterns on both sides. The person buried here died in 1350, and the inscription is a verse from the Quran (55:26-27).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in June 1959 in Xiawei Village, outside Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou. According to local villagers, this stone was dug up from the city wall many years ago and used to pave a small path in the fields. It was dug up again during road construction and kept in an ancestral hall because the writing on it looked unusual. The inscription consists of verses from the Quran (39:4, 55:26-27).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1947 in the city foundations of Deji Gate at the South Gate of Quanzhou. That same year, it was used to build a pier for the Shunji Bridge at the South Gate, but it was later discovered and moved. The inscription is a verse from the Quran (55:26-27).
The tombstone inscription in the picture below is a verse from the Quran (55:26-27). The lower part of the tombstone is damaged, so we only know the person was a "pure servant who died on Saturday, May 2nd, in the year..."
The tombstone in the picture below was found in a field near East Lake outside the Small East Gate of Quanzhou in April 1962. Local villagers say it was dug up from the city wall years ago to pave the road. The inscription is a verse from the Quran (3:85).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in a pond outside Renfeng Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou in 1939. The tomb owner's title is Sayyid al-Ajall al-Kabir, which translates to "the first, the respected, the important." The other side is carved with Chinese characters reading "Fengxun Dafu, Darughachi of Yongchun County..."
Darughachi was a government position during the Yuan Dynasty, held only by Mongols or powerful Semu people. Yongchun County is under the jurisdiction of Quanzhou. According to the Yongchun Prefecture Records, there was once a darughachi named Tuohuanshaduoluoboer, who might be the same person as the tomb owner.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1931 when the East Gate of Quanzhou was dismantled. The tomb owner was named Khwaja Jalal al-Din b. Muhammad b. Ibrahim, who passed away in 1305. The back is carved with verses from the Quran (89:28-30).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1942 at a stone shop on Renfeng Street outside the East Gate of Quanzhou. It had been dug out from the city wall. The tomb owner was named Amir Tughasun Amir Ali b. Hasan b. Ali al-Ghazwini, who passed away in 1371 (some say 1273). Amir, also translated as Yimi, originally meant commander and was later used to refer to a lord.
In his book Religious Stone Inscriptions of Quanzhou, Wu Wenliang speculates that this Amir was the imam of the foreign quarter in Quanzhou at that time. In the early Ming Dynasty, the government briefly followed the open policies of the Yuan Dynasty, encouraged foreign trade, and established a Maritime Trade Office in Quanzhou. This policy did not last long. In 1371, the Ming Dynasty issued a maritime ban, and in 1374, it closed the Quanzhou Maritime Trade Office. The once-thriving foreign quarter in Quanzhou quickly declined.
Qazvin is located in northwestern Iran, south of the Caspian Sea. In 1220, the Mongol army massacred the population of Qazvin. Afterward, many Turkic-speaking people moved to Qazvin to settle. In 1295, Qazvin suffered heavy damage during the turmoil of Ghazan Khan's struggle for the throne of the Ilkhanate, and many people left the city.
The tombstone in the picture below was discovered in 1940 when the Renfeng Gate at the east gate of Quanzhou was demolished. The person buried there was Shams al-Din b. Nur al-Din b. Ishaqan Shahristani, who died in 1325 and came from Shahristan in Iran. The back features a verse from the Quran (3:19).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in March 1963 in the home of a farmer at Ruifengling outside the east gate of Quanzhou. The family said it was discovered when an old wall that had stood for a hundred years collapsed. Several gravestones belonging to the faith were found near Ruifeng Ridge, marking it as one of the burial sites for Muslims in Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties. The person buried there was named Fatima bint Naina, who passed away in 1306. The back of the stone is carved with verses from the Quran (55:26-27).
The gravestone in the picture below is broken into several pieces, with two parts remaining today; they were unearthed in 1953 and 1956 at Jintoupu, outside the Tonghuai Gate of Quanzhou's East Gate. The person buried there was named Abu Bakr b. Husayn Sinan, who passed away in 1319.
The gravestone in the picture below was excavated from the city wall at Quanzhou's East Gate in 1929; the person buried there was named Haji b. Agfar Beg b. Haji al-Malighi, who passed away in 1387 (though some say 1290). If the date is 1387, it is a rare gravestone from the Ming dynasty. The back is carved with a verse from the Quran (2:156) and a hadith stating, 'Whoever dies in a foreign land dies a martyr.'
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1930 when the East Gate of Quanzhou was demolished. The person buried there was named Mansur b. Haji al-Qasim al-Jajarmi, who died in 1277. The back features the Shahada and a verse from the Quran (28:88). This Mansur and the previously mentioned Qutb al-Din Ya'qub both came from Jajarm in the North Khorasan province of Iran.
In 1276, the Yuan army captured Lin'an, and Wen Tianxiang and others supported Emperor Duanzong as they fled to Quanzhou. The Song army seized 2,000 of Pu Shougeng's ships (some say over 400) and confiscated his property. This led Pu Shougeng to carry out a retaliatory massacre of the Southern Song royal family members living abroad and to hunt down Emperor Duanzong. In 1277, the Yuan army arrived in Quanzhou, and Pu Shougeng surrendered the city, marking a new chapter in Quanzhou's history.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1932 when the Renfeng Gate of the Quanzhou East Gate city wall was demolished. The person buried there was named Shirin Khatun bint Hasan Zaituni, who died in 1321. In Turkic languages, Khatun means queen or lady. The inscription also features a verse from the Quran (29:57).
Citong is another name for Quanzhou, named after the coral trees (citong) planted everywhere since the Five Dynasties period. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, Arab merchants called Quanzhou Zaitun because the name sounded like the Arabic word for olive (zaitun).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in November 1978 inside a family home at Jintoupu, outside Tonghuai Gate in Quanzhou, where it was being used as a foundation stone. Before that, it had been excavated from the city walls of Tonghuai Gate. The person buried there was named Ibn Ghawamar al-Din al-Ghar... The inscription describes him as a Khwaja, a leader of the faith, and a leader of the Mawla. The text uses Persian several times, so the person buried there likely came from a Persian cultural background.
The tombstone in the picture below was unearthed in March 1964 at the construction site of the Overseas Chinese Mansion in downtown Quanzhou. This site was once the location of the Haiqing Pavilion during the Qing Dynasty. When the Senate building was built in the early 1940s, the city walls of the east and south gates of Quanzhou were torn down for building materials, and this stone tablet was likely buried in the wall foundation at that time. One side of the tombstone is carved with the Shahada, and the other side is carved with a verse from the Quran (3:185).
The tombstone in the picture below was found in the foundation of the east gate of Quanzhou in 1944. One side is carved with the Basmala and the Shahada, and the other side is carved with a verse from the Quran (29:57).
The tombstone in the picture below was unearthed in 1973 during the cleaning of the North Canal in Quanzhou and is carved with verses from the Quran (89:28-30).
Sumeru-pedestal stone tomb.
The second largest category after tombstones is the Sumeru-pedestal stone tomb.
These are two Sumeru-pedestal style tomb stones. The upper tomb cap stone was found near Dongchan Mosque outside the east gate of Quanzhou in 1927 and was recovered and preserved in the Maritime Museum in 1958.
The person buried here was named Qutb al-Din Ya'qub. He came from Jajarm in the North Khorasan province of Iran and passed away in 1309. The inscription begins by saying, 'He is eternal and never dies; he has moved from the world of destruction to the world of eternity.'
Jajarm sits on the edge of the central Iranian desert and holds many historical and archaeological sites. This city was an important trade hub in Khorasan during the 10th and 11th centuries, but it slowly declined after the Persian Safavid dynasty in the 16th century.
The lower half has five layers. The fourth layer is carved with scripture (2:255). In 1958, the Quanzhou Cultural Relics Management Committee temporarily stored it in the main hall of the Qingjing Mosque, later moved it to the Lingshan Islamic Cemetery area, and finally placed it in the Maritime Museum.
The patterns on this Sumeru-style stone tomb are very unique. The bottom and second layers are destroyed. The third layer features overlapping lotus petal reliefs, the fourth layer has continuous swastika pattern reliefs, and the fifth layer shows a cloud and moon relief on the front with a square cloth relief in the middle. This tombstone was found in 1959 by the seaside in Meishan, Fashi Township, 5 kilometers outside the Tonghuai Gate of Quanzhou. It was later moved to the Maritime Museum for preservation.
Several other Sumeru-style stone tombs.
The tombstone base of a pedestal-style altar tomb.
A corner of the Maritime Museum (Haijiaoguan) is piled with many tombstones. There are no labels, and many are hard to see because they are stacked on top of each other. They were arranged this way when I visited in 2017, and nothing has changed after seven years.
Found in 1937 at Jintoupu Village outside Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou, the inscription reads, 'Everyone (shall taste death).'
Found in 1943 inside the city wall foundation at the East Gate of Quanzhou, the inscription contains Quranic verses (9:21-22).
The tombstone base above was found in 1939 inside the city wall at Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou, and it contains Quranic verses (29:57).
Found in 1943 near the East Drill Ground (Dongjiaochang) in Quanzhou, the inscription reads, 'Your Lord of Might.'
The tombstone base in the picture below was found in 1959 in a pile of rubble at the Qingjing Mosque. This pile of rubble was dug up from the city wall foundation near Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou, and it was moved to the Maritime Museum (Haijiaoguan) for preservation in 1964. The inscription states the tomb owner's name is Toghan-shah b. Umar b. Sayyid Ajall. Toghan means eagle in Turkic, and Shah means king in Persian, which is how Central Asians addressed nobles. Sayyid Ajall means honorable gentleman in Arabic, and it is a respectful title for descendants of the Prophet.
Coincidentally, a tombstone unearthed in 1952 at the foundation of the Southeast Drill Ground in Quanzhou likely belongs to the same person as the Toghan-shah tombstone mentioned above. Unfortunately, this tombstone was moved to the National Museum of China in 1959 and is not currently on display, so the Maritime Museum only shows a replica. This tombstone states the owner's name is Amir Sayyid Ajall Tohgan-shah b. Sayyid Ajall Umar b. Sayyid Ajall Amiran b. Amir Isfahasalar Darnakrani al-Buhari, who passed away in 1302. The term Isfahasalar is made up of the Persian word Isfahah and the Turkic word Salar, meaning military general.
Both tombstones mention that Toghan-shah's father was named Umar Sayyid Ajall. The second son of Nasulading, who was the son of the famous Yuan Dynasty politician Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din, was named Umar Sayyid Ajjal. Umar once served as the administrator of the Fujian Branch Secretariat in Quanzhou. According to Rashid al-Din's History of the Mongols, Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din was from Bukhara, which matches the records on the tombstone.
The tombstone in the picture below was found in 1987. One side is carved with the testimony of faith, and the other side, translated by Imam Wang Yaodong from Ningxia, says the person buried there was named Haji Abdullah.
The tombstone base stone above was found in the foundation of the East Gate of Quanzhou in 1944 and is carved with a verse from the Quran (21:35). The bottom left of Figure 1 shows a tombstone base stone from a pedestal-style altar. It was found near the South Gate of Quanzhou in 1959, and local residents say it was recovered when the South Gate was torn down between 1946 and 1948. The inscription on the stone features a verse from the Quran (24:35).
The tombstone base stone above was found in the foundation of the East Gate of Quanzhou in 1944 and is carved with a verse from the Quran (28:88).
The tombstone marker in the middle of the picture below was found in 1960 among a pile of rubble at the entrance of Chongfu Mosque at the East Gate of Quanzhou. It reads, 'Everything will perish except Him.'
The shape of this stone carving is quite unique and different from any other tombstones or tombstone markers seen so far. It was found in 1948 in Jintoupu Village outside the Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou. Villagers said it was dug up from the foundation of the city wall.
The tombstone marker in the picture below was built into the east wall of a vegetable market near the South Drill Ground in Quanzhou in the autumn of 1953. It is said to have been bought when the market purchased stones from the city wall foundation for construction. It was removed in the 1990s when the market was rebuilt. The inscription is a verse from the Quran (28:88).
It was found in 1954 in Jintoupu Village outside the Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou.
It was found in 1957 in a field between the Small East Gate and Jintoupu Village in Quanzhou. The content is a verse from the Quran (39:74).
It was purchased in 1949 from a stonemason's shop at the East Gate of Quanzhou.
The tombstone base in the picture below was found in 1948 at Jintoupu Village outside the Tonghuai Gate of Quanzhou's East Gate. In 1973, Liu Wanru, the widow of Mr. Wu Wenliang, donated it to the Quanzhou Cultural Relics Management Committee. It features Quranic verses (55:26-27).
The tombstone base in the picture below was found in 1948 in Tingdian Village, 3 kilometers outside Quanzhou's South Gate. It features Quranic verses (89:29-30).
The tombstone base in the picture below was found in 1938 inside the city wall of Quanzhou's East Gate. It features a Quranic verse (30:11).
Lintel stone of a gongbei
Besides tombstones, Sumeru-pedestal style stone tombs, and Sumeru-pedestal altar-style stone tombs, the Maritime Museum also houses another type of religious stone carving: the lintel stone of a gongbei (a domed tomb for a Sufi saint). Unfortunately, only the lintel stone has been found so far, so we do not know what the original gongbei looked like.
The item in the picture below was dug up in 1946 from the foundation of Quanzhou's South Gate. The front is inscribed with Quranic verses (9:21-22), and the beginning mentions 'minbar,' which is the pulpit inside a mosque, though its specific meaning here is unclear.
The item in the picture below was found in 1958 in a villager's home not far from the South Gate of Quanzhou. The villager said he found it deep in the city wall foundation while helping dig at the South Gate between 1946 and 1948. I originally wanted to take them home to build a wall, but I left them behind because their shapes made them hard to stack. The text reads, "(Every living thing) will die, (He is the Everlasting) who does not die."
The image below shows the pivot stone from a gongbei lintel. It was found in a resident's home near the south gate city wall of Quanzhou in 1959, and it is said to have been taken when the south city gate was torn down between 1946 and 1948. The left square of the stone carving features a relief of a camellia branch, the right square features a relief of a peony branch, and the back features a relief of a melon-petal-shaped door pivot. The text reads, "If anyone in this world could live forever, the Messenger of Allah would be the one to live forever in this world." No one can escape death, for the Prophet Muhammad faced the decree of death."
The image below shows a lintel stone from a gongbei tomb, with a relief of a peony branch on the right side. The stone carving was originally laid on a grain-drying ground on the south side of the street in Jintoupu Village, outside Tonghuai Gate at the east gate of Quanzhou. It was moved to the Maritime Museum for preservation in 1978.
The altar-style stone tomb with a pedestal base (xumizuo) restored by Mr. Wu Wenliang. Quanzhou has found many tomb wall stones and some tomb roof stones, but so far, no complete altar-style stone tomb with a pedestal base (xumizuo) from the faith has been discovered. Collapse Read »
Islamic History Guide: Quanzhou Qingjing Mosque - A Thousand Years of Muslim Heritage
Reposted from the web
Summary: Islamic History Guide: Quanzhou Qingjing Mosque - A Thousand Years of Muslim Heritage is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Quanzhou, Qingjing Mosque, Islamic History while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
I arrived in Quanzhou at night and went straight to the Qingjing Mosque to pray. Imam Ma at the Qingjing Mosque is from Hualong, Qinghai. During the day, he leads namaz in the main hall donated by Oman, but after the tourist area closes, he leads prayers in the smaller Mingshan Hall.
Mingshan Hall was first built in 1567 (the first year of the Longqing reign of the Ming Dynasty). After the roof of the main hall of the Qingjing Mosque collapsed in the early Qing Dynasty, Mingshan Hall became the place for worship. In 1818 (the 23rd year of the Jiaqing reign), Ma Jianji, a military commander from Sichuan stationed in Quanzhou, rebuilt Mingshan Hall in the traditional architectural style of southern Fujian. In 1871 (the 10th year of the Tongzhi reign), Jiang Changgui, the military commander for Fujian Province, rebuilt Mingshan Hall again.
During the Tongzhi reign, Jiang Changgui collected many stone tablets with Arabic inscriptions from the Yuan Dynasty in Quanzhou and embedded them into the walls of Mingshan Hall. These stone tablets were not removed until the major renovation of Mingshan Hall in the spring of 1983. Many of these tablets are Yuan Dynasty tombstones. The people buried there came from places like Tabriz and Tehran in Iran, Adana in Turkey, Nablus in Palestine, and Khwarezm in Uzbekistan.
Mingshan Hall sits just north of Bagua Ditch, which served as the city moat for Quanzhou during the Five Dynasties and Northern Song periods. A granite stone bridge from the Song Dynasty originally crossed the ditch, but it was rebuilt in 1998 when Bagua Ditch was widened.
Night view of Qingjing Mosque.
The next morning, I continued exploring Qingjing Mosque.
The gate tower of Qingjing Mosque is built from diabase and white granite, with Quranic verses (3:18-19) carved into the front.
The moon-sighting platform at the top of the gate is where people used to look for the new moon during Ramadan. When the local Muslim community was still active in Quanzhou, they hung three large lanterns on the gate every Ramadan. A large palace lantern hung in the center of the pointed arch, inscribed with the words 'Islam' in both Chinese and Arabic. Two long, oval-shaped government-style lanterns hung on either side, with the left one reading 'Ancient Faith of the Hui Muslims' and the right one reading 'Ancient Qingzhen Qilin Mosque'. Every night, the names of household heads are listed on a round plaque inside the mosque, and each family takes turns lighting the lamps.
The inside of the main gate is made of three layers of arches. The outer layer is a pointed arch. At the top, there is an open hanging lotus flower carved from diabase. Below it are sixteen layers of curved stone blocks that get higher and narrower until they meet at the lotus. The middle arch is made of five fan-shaped white granite blocks with turtle-back patterns. There are foundation stones underneath, and the inner layer is a dome. On the stone walls on both sides of each layer, there is a pair of pointed-arch niches (yaokan).
Above the back of the main gate, there are two lines of Arabic inscriptions carved into white granite. They record that the Qingjing Mosque was first built in 1009 and rebuilt by Ahmad in 1310. This is also where the mosque's original name, Ashab Mosque, or "Mosque of the Holy Companions," is mentioned. Professor Ma Jian translated it in 1956 as follows:
"This mosque is the first holy mosque for the followers of Islam residing in this country." It is the oldest and most authentic, revered by all, and thus named the Mosque of the Holy Friend (Shengyou zhi Si), built in the year 400 of the Hijri calendar. Three hundred years later, in the year 710 of the Hijri calendar, a pilgrim from Jerusalem named Muhammad, also known as Shiraz (Shelashi), had a son named Ahmad who funded the renovation of this holy mosque. The dome above the main gate, the roof, the golden gate corridor, and the doors and windows were all made brand new to honor Allah. They offer dua to Allah and the Prophet Muhammad and his family, asking for their forgiveness in the future.
The inscription mentions two place names, one being al-Quds, which is the Arabic name for Jerusalem. The other is Shiraz, an ancient city in southern Iran.
The east side of the main gate originally held a minaret (bangke ta), but it was blown down by a strong wind in 1687 (the 26th year of the Kangxi reign) and has not been repaired since.
To the west of the main gate is the south wall of the main prayer hall, where eight square windows were added during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. The upper part is carved with 19 meters of scripture, containing the entire 76th chapter of the Quran.
Inside the main gate of the Qingjing Mosque, on the east side, stand two stone tablets from the Ming Dynasty. The first one, the Stele for the Re-establishment of Qingjing Mosque (Chongli Qingjing Si Bei), was originally written by Wu Jian in 1350 (the tenth year of the Zhizheng era of the Yuan Dynasty) and kept in the Qingjing Mosque, which was built in 1131 (the first year of the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song Dynasty) in the south of Quanzhou city. The Qingjing Mosque was destroyed at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and the stone tablet was moved to the Shengyou Mosque in the east of the city. When the Shengyou Mosque was renovated in 1507 (the second year of the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty), the inscription was re-carved. Over time, the Shengyou Mosque was renamed the Qingjing Mosque.
The second tablet is the Record of the Renovation of Qingjing Mosque (Chongxiu Qingjing Si Beiji), written by Li Guangjin in 1609 (the 37th year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty).
Rubbings of these two stone tablets are also on display at the Quanzhou Maritime Museum. The Stele for the Re-establishment of Qingjing Mosque mentions the construction process of the Song and Yuan Dynasty Qingjing Mosque, which no longer exists: In the first year of the Shaoxing era of the Song Dynasty, a man named Nazhibu Muzhiluding came to Quanzhou from Sanawi on a merchant ship and founded this mosque in the south of Quanzhou city. It mentions that 'Sanawi' is the ancient Iranian port of Siraf on the north shore of the Persian Gulf.
Turn left after entering the main gate to reach the entrance of the prayer hall. Above the entrance, inside a pointed arch, are three lines of white granite carvings featuring verses from the Quran (2:125, 127).
Inside the prayer hall, the qibla wall has seven pointed-arch niches. The middle one, the mihrab known as the 'Altar of Heaven' (Fengtiantan), is the largest. Above the niches is a 13.2-meter-long stone carving entirely covered in Quranic verses. In the old days, Hui Muslims in Quanzhou called the 27th night of Ramadan, the 'Night of Power' (Laylat al-Qadr), the 'Night of Twenty-Eight.' On this day, every Hui Muslim family would prepare food. That evening, they would light a pair of large red candles on both sides of the mihrab Altar of Heaven to symbolize that the revelation of the scripture is brilliant and glorious.
Archaeological excavations of the prayer hall foundation in 1987 uncovered Yuan dynasty floor tiles, drainage ditches, and wall foundations 1.6 meters below the surface in the southwest corner. A row of Southern Song dynasty floor tiles was also found in the northwest corner.
Since the roof of the prayer hall collapsed in the early Qing dynasty, it is now impossible to know what its original shape was. According to the Ming dynasty Wanli era 'Stele Record of the Renovation of Qingjing Mosque,' it states: 'There are twelve pillars, representing the twelve months.' Based on the stone pillars and column bases remaining in the hall today, it seems they could not have supported an overly massive dome.
Mingshan Hall is full of tourists during the day.
Inside the Mingshan Hall courtyard sits an exquisite Song Dynasty incense burner featuring a lotus flower rising from the water (chushui lianhua). The incense burner was originally inside the main hall of the Qingjing Mosque. It was moved to Mingshan Hall after the main hall's roof collapsed in the early Qing Dynasty.
The Qingjing Mosque also preserves a thousand-year-old stone well from the Song Dynasty.
Tonghuai Street, where the Qingjing Mosque is located, was the site of Quanzhou's foreign quarter (fanfang) during the Song and Yuan dynasties, and many people were buried nearby after they passed away. In the 1950s, three stone tombs with Sumeru-style pedestals (xumizuo) were discovered under a house at the intersection of Tonghuai Street and Jiangwu Lane. Many more of these stone tombs were unearthed between 1995 and 1998 when Tonghuai Street was widened. Haji Huang Runqiu, an imam at the Qingjing Mosque, collected some of these tombs and their components to keep inside the mosque. This is how the Sumeru-style stone tombs currently kept at the Qingjing Mosque came to be there.
The Sumeru-style stone tombs at the Qingjing Mosque range from two to five layers high. All the top stones are missing, and the bottom layers all feature six ruyi-shaped feet.
In the spring of 1983, the Qingjing Mosque underwent major renovations. Twelve Hui Muslim families who had lived inside the mosque since the Kangxi era moved out, and a collection of stone tablets was discovered in the walls and underground of the Mingshan Hall. When I visited in 2017, most of these stone carvings were displayed on the west side of the main hall. When I returned in 2024, most of them had been moved elsewhere for preservation.
The only tombstone currently kept inside the Qingjing Mosque was dug up from a garden belonging to a family named Pu in the late Qing Dynasty. It was moved to the mosque and built into the south side of the west wall of the Mingshan Hall. The tombstone is similar to the Yuan Dynasty Arabic tombstones at the Puhaddin Cemetery in Yangzhou and is considered one of the most exquisite ancient Arabic tombstones in Quanzhou. The person buried there was named Ahmed, who passed away in 1362.
The Pu family in Quanzhou are descendants of Pu Shougeng. After the Ming Dynasty, most of them left the faith or changed their surnames, and only one branch still lives on the former site of Pu Shougeng's residence. According to the Genealogy of the Pu Family in the South Gate of Quanzhou, Pu Shougeng had two sons, Shiwen and Shisi. Shisi was promoted to an official in the Hanlin Academy in 1284 and built the Baiguo Garden inside the south gate of Quanzhou city for his own enjoyment. Huayuantou has always been an old place name in the south of Quanzhou city.
Three plaques hang inside Mingshan Hall.
In the 23rd year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty, Ma Jianji, the commander of the Fujian provincial land forces and general of Zhangzhou, dedicated the plaque reading "Ten Thousand Differences, One Origin" (Wanshu Yiben).
Ma Jianji was a Hui Muslim from Sichuan. While serving in Fujian during the Qing Jiaqing period, he renovated the Qingjing Mosque and the Lingshan Sacred Tomb, and he also carved an inscription on the Wind-Moving Rock at Lingshan.
In the 11th year of the Republic of China, Xiamen Superintendent Tang Kesan wrote the plaque reading "Recognize the Oneness of Allah" (Renzhu Duyi).
In the 13th year of the Republic of China, Tang Kesan, a recipient of the Second Class Order of the Golden Grain and former Xiamen Customs Superintendent, dedicated the plaque reading "Three Fears and Four Admonitions" (Sanwei Sizhen). The original plaques were destroyed between the 1960s and 1970s, and the ones currently on display are replicas.
Tang Kesan was a Hui Muslim from Shandong. He graduated from the Imperial University of Peking in the late Qing dynasty and became a social activist and educator during the Republican era. He served as the principal of Chengda Normal School and made significant contributions to the faith. In 1919, Tang Kesan became the Xiamen Customs Superintendent and donated funds to renovate the Qingjing Mosque during his tenure. In 1936, Tang Kesan appointed Imam Zhang Yuguang to lead the Qingjing Mosque. He started a religious study class and an adult literacy night school inside the mosque. In 1940, the Qingjing Mosque opened the Chengda Normal School Affiliated Primary School, later renamed the Qingzhen National School. It sent three groups of local Hui Muslim youth from Quanzhou to study at the Chengda Normal School in Guangxi.
The Qingjing Mosque keeps a white granite stele of the Ming Dynasty Yongle Imperial Edict. It is a copy of the edict issued by the Yongle Emperor, Zhu Di, to Mir Haji in 1407, the fifth year of the Yongle reign. The word 'Mir' refers to 'Amir,' meaning leader, and 'Haji' refers to someone who has made the pilgrimage to the Hejaz. Because of this, the actual name of the person who received the edict does not appear.
The original edict was found in 1956 at the home of Lan Xiaoyang, the hereditary imam of the Puhading Tomb in Yangzhou, and is now kept at the Cultural Palace of Nationalities in Beijing. This edict provided great protection for the faith, so the mosque in Fuzhou also made a copy of it, just like the one in Quanzhou.
I bought some magnets at the Quanzhou Liwu shop featuring the Qingjing Mosque and the Lingshan Sacred Tomb. I think the designs are beautiful and worth collecting.
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Summary: Islamic History Guide: Quanzhou Qingjing Mosque - A Thousand Years of Muslim Heritage is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Quanzhou, Qingjing Mosque, Islamic History while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
I arrived in Quanzhou at night and went straight to the Qingjing Mosque to pray. Imam Ma at the Qingjing Mosque is from Hualong, Qinghai. During the day, he leads namaz in the main hall donated by Oman, but after the tourist area closes, he leads prayers in the smaller Mingshan Hall.
Mingshan Hall was first built in 1567 (the first year of the Longqing reign of the Ming Dynasty). After the roof of the main hall of the Qingjing Mosque collapsed in the early Qing Dynasty, Mingshan Hall became the place for worship. In 1818 (the 23rd year of the Jiaqing reign), Ma Jianji, a military commander from Sichuan stationed in Quanzhou, rebuilt Mingshan Hall in the traditional architectural style of southern Fujian. In 1871 (the 10th year of the Tongzhi reign), Jiang Changgui, the military commander for Fujian Province, rebuilt Mingshan Hall again.
During the Tongzhi reign, Jiang Changgui collected many stone tablets with Arabic inscriptions from the Yuan Dynasty in Quanzhou and embedded them into the walls of Mingshan Hall. These stone tablets were not removed until the major renovation of Mingshan Hall in the spring of 1983. Many of these tablets are Yuan Dynasty tombstones. The people buried there came from places like Tabriz and Tehran in Iran, Adana in Turkey, Nablus in Palestine, and Khwarezm in Uzbekistan.
Mingshan Hall sits just north of Bagua Ditch, which served as the city moat for Quanzhou during the Five Dynasties and Northern Song periods. A granite stone bridge from the Song Dynasty originally crossed the ditch, but it was rebuilt in 1998 when Bagua Ditch was widened.
Night view of Qingjing Mosque.
The next morning, I continued exploring Qingjing Mosque.
The gate tower of Qingjing Mosque is built from diabase and white granite, with Quranic verses (3:18-19) carved into the front.
The moon-sighting platform at the top of the gate is where people used to look for the new moon during Ramadan. When the local Muslim community was still active in Quanzhou, they hung three large lanterns on the gate every Ramadan. A large palace lantern hung in the center of the pointed arch, inscribed with the words 'Islam' in both Chinese and Arabic. Two long, oval-shaped government-style lanterns hung on either side, with the left one reading 'Ancient Faith of the Hui Muslims' and the right one reading 'Ancient Qingzhen Qilin Mosque'. Every night, the names of household heads are listed on a round plaque inside the mosque, and each family takes turns lighting the lamps.
The inside of the main gate is made of three layers of arches. The outer layer is a pointed arch. At the top, there is an open hanging lotus flower carved from diabase. Below it are sixteen layers of curved stone blocks that get higher and narrower until they meet at the lotus. The middle arch is made of five fan-shaped white granite blocks with turtle-back patterns. There are foundation stones underneath, and the inner layer is a dome. On the stone walls on both sides of each layer, there is a pair of pointed-arch niches (yaokan).
Above the back of the main gate, there are two lines of Arabic inscriptions carved into white granite. They record that the Qingjing Mosque was first built in 1009 and rebuilt by Ahmad in 1310. This is also where the mosque's original name, Ashab Mosque, or "Mosque of the Holy Companions," is mentioned. Professor Ma Jian translated it in 1956 as follows:
"This mosque is the first holy mosque for the followers of Islam residing in this country." It is the oldest and most authentic, revered by all, and thus named the Mosque of the Holy Friend (Shengyou zhi Si), built in the year 400 of the Hijri calendar. Three hundred years later, in the year 710 of the Hijri calendar, a pilgrim from Jerusalem named Muhammad, also known as Shiraz (Shelashi), had a son named Ahmad who funded the renovation of this holy mosque. The dome above the main gate, the roof, the golden gate corridor, and the doors and windows were all made brand new to honor Allah. They offer dua to Allah and the Prophet Muhammad and his family, asking for their forgiveness in the future.
The inscription mentions two place names, one being al-Quds, which is the Arabic name for Jerusalem. The other is Shiraz, an ancient city in southern Iran.
The east side of the main gate originally held a minaret (bangke ta), but it was blown down by a strong wind in 1687 (the 26th year of the Kangxi reign) and has not been repaired since.
To the west of the main gate is the south wall of the main prayer hall, where eight square windows were added during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. The upper part is carved with 19 meters of scripture, containing the entire 76th chapter of the Quran.
Inside the main gate of the Qingjing Mosque, on the east side, stand two stone tablets from the Ming Dynasty. The first one, the Stele for the Re-establishment of Qingjing Mosque (Chongli Qingjing Si Bei), was originally written by Wu Jian in 1350 (the tenth year of the Zhizheng era of the Yuan Dynasty) and kept in the Qingjing Mosque, which was built in 1131 (the first year of the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song Dynasty) in the south of Quanzhou city. The Qingjing Mosque was destroyed at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and the stone tablet was moved to the Shengyou Mosque in the east of the city. When the Shengyou Mosque was renovated in 1507 (the second year of the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty), the inscription was re-carved. Over time, the Shengyou Mosque was renamed the Qingjing Mosque.
The second tablet is the Record of the Renovation of Qingjing Mosque (Chongxiu Qingjing Si Beiji), written by Li Guangjin in 1609 (the 37th year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty).
Rubbings of these two stone tablets are also on display at the Quanzhou Maritime Museum. The Stele for the Re-establishment of Qingjing Mosque mentions the construction process of the Song and Yuan Dynasty Qingjing Mosque, which no longer exists: In the first year of the Shaoxing era of the Song Dynasty, a man named Nazhibu Muzhiluding came to Quanzhou from Sanawi on a merchant ship and founded this mosque in the south of Quanzhou city. It mentions that 'Sanawi' is the ancient Iranian port of Siraf on the north shore of the Persian Gulf.
Turn left after entering the main gate to reach the entrance of the prayer hall. Above the entrance, inside a pointed arch, are three lines of white granite carvings featuring verses from the Quran (2:125, 127).
Inside the prayer hall, the qibla wall has seven pointed-arch niches. The middle one, the mihrab known as the 'Altar of Heaven' (Fengtiantan), is the largest. Above the niches is a 13.2-meter-long stone carving entirely covered in Quranic verses. In the old days, Hui Muslims in Quanzhou called the 27th night of Ramadan, the 'Night of Power' (Laylat al-Qadr), the 'Night of Twenty-Eight.' On this day, every Hui Muslim family would prepare food. That evening, they would light a pair of large red candles on both sides of the mihrab Altar of Heaven to symbolize that the revelation of the scripture is brilliant and glorious.
Archaeological excavations of the prayer hall foundation in 1987 uncovered Yuan dynasty floor tiles, drainage ditches, and wall foundations 1.6 meters below the surface in the southwest corner. A row of Southern Song dynasty floor tiles was also found in the northwest corner.
Since the roof of the prayer hall collapsed in the early Qing dynasty, it is now impossible to know what its original shape was. According to the Ming dynasty Wanli era 'Stele Record of the Renovation of Qingjing Mosque,' it states: 'There are twelve pillars, representing the twelve months.' Based on the stone pillars and column bases remaining in the hall today, it seems they could not have supported an overly massive dome.
Mingshan Hall is full of tourists during the day.
Inside the Mingshan Hall courtyard sits an exquisite Song Dynasty incense burner featuring a lotus flower rising from the water (chushui lianhua). The incense burner was originally inside the main hall of the Qingjing Mosque. It was moved to Mingshan Hall after the main hall's roof collapsed in the early Qing Dynasty.
The Qingjing Mosque also preserves a thousand-year-old stone well from the Song Dynasty.
Tonghuai Street, where the Qingjing Mosque is located, was the site of Quanzhou's foreign quarter (fanfang) during the Song and Yuan dynasties, and many people were buried nearby after they passed away. In the 1950s, three stone tombs with Sumeru-style pedestals (xumizuo) were discovered under a house at the intersection of Tonghuai Street and Jiangwu Lane. Many more of these stone tombs were unearthed between 1995 and 1998 when Tonghuai Street was widened. Haji Huang Runqiu, an imam at the Qingjing Mosque, collected some of these tombs and their components to keep inside the mosque. This is how the Sumeru-style stone tombs currently kept at the Qingjing Mosque came to be there.
The Sumeru-style stone tombs at the Qingjing Mosque range from two to five layers high. All the top stones are missing, and the bottom layers all feature six ruyi-shaped feet.
In the spring of 1983, the Qingjing Mosque underwent major renovations. Twelve Hui Muslim families who had lived inside the mosque since the Kangxi era moved out, and a collection of stone tablets was discovered in the walls and underground of the Mingshan Hall. When I visited in 2017, most of these stone carvings were displayed on the west side of the main hall. When I returned in 2024, most of them had been moved elsewhere for preservation.
The only tombstone currently kept inside the Qingjing Mosque was dug up from a garden belonging to a family named Pu in the late Qing Dynasty. It was moved to the mosque and built into the south side of the west wall of the Mingshan Hall. The tombstone is similar to the Yuan Dynasty Arabic tombstones at the Puhaddin Cemetery in Yangzhou and is considered one of the most exquisite ancient Arabic tombstones in Quanzhou. The person buried there was named Ahmed, who passed away in 1362.
The Pu family in Quanzhou are descendants of Pu Shougeng. After the Ming Dynasty, most of them left the faith or changed their surnames, and only one branch still lives on the former site of Pu Shougeng's residence. According to the Genealogy of the Pu Family in the South Gate of Quanzhou, Pu Shougeng had two sons, Shiwen and Shisi. Shisi was promoted to an official in the Hanlin Academy in 1284 and built the Baiguo Garden inside the south gate of Quanzhou city for his own enjoyment. Huayuantou has always been an old place name in the south of Quanzhou city.
Three plaques hang inside Mingshan Hall.
In the 23rd year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty, Ma Jianji, the commander of the Fujian provincial land forces and general of Zhangzhou, dedicated the plaque reading "Ten Thousand Differences, One Origin" (Wanshu Yiben).
Ma Jianji was a Hui Muslim from Sichuan. While serving in Fujian during the Qing Jiaqing period, he renovated the Qingjing Mosque and the Lingshan Sacred Tomb, and he also carved an inscription on the Wind-Moving Rock at Lingshan.
In the 11th year of the Republic of China, Xiamen Superintendent Tang Kesan wrote the plaque reading "Recognize the Oneness of Allah" (Renzhu Duyi).
In the 13th year of the Republic of China, Tang Kesan, a recipient of the Second Class Order of the Golden Grain and former Xiamen Customs Superintendent, dedicated the plaque reading "Three Fears and Four Admonitions" (Sanwei Sizhen). The original plaques were destroyed between the 1960s and 1970s, and the ones currently on display are replicas.
Tang Kesan was a Hui Muslim from Shandong. He graduated from the Imperial University of Peking in the late Qing dynasty and became a social activist and educator during the Republican era. He served as the principal of Chengda Normal School and made significant contributions to the faith. In 1919, Tang Kesan became the Xiamen Customs Superintendent and donated funds to renovate the Qingjing Mosque during his tenure. In 1936, Tang Kesan appointed Imam Zhang Yuguang to lead the Qingjing Mosque. He started a religious study class and an adult literacy night school inside the mosque. In 1940, the Qingjing Mosque opened the Chengda Normal School Affiliated Primary School, later renamed the Qingzhen National School. It sent three groups of local Hui Muslim youth from Quanzhou to study at the Chengda Normal School in Guangxi.
The Qingjing Mosque keeps a white granite stele of the Ming Dynasty Yongle Imperial Edict. It is a copy of the edict issued by the Yongle Emperor, Zhu Di, to Mir Haji in 1407, the fifth year of the Yongle reign. The word 'Mir' refers to 'Amir,' meaning leader, and 'Haji' refers to someone who has made the pilgrimage to the Hejaz. Because of this, the actual name of the person who received the edict does not appear.
The original edict was found in 1956 at the home of Lan Xiaoyang, the hereditary imam of the Puhading Tomb in Yangzhou, and is now kept at the Cultural Palace of Nationalities in Beijing. This edict provided great protection for the faith, so the mosque in Fuzhou also made a copy of it, just like the one in Quanzhou.
I bought some magnets at the Quanzhou Liwu shop featuring the Qingjing Mosque and the Lingshan Sacred Tomb. I think the designs are beautiful and worth collecting.
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Islamic History Guide: Old Cairo - Bayn al-Qasrayn and a Thousand Years of Heritage
Reposted from the web
Summary: Islamic History Guide: Old Cairo - Bayn al-Qasrayn and a Thousand Years of Heritage is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Old Cairo, Islamic History, Bayn al-Qasrayn while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
In our first article, 'Experiencing the Thousand-Year History of Old Cairo (Inside the North Gate)', we started at the North Gate of Cairo, built in the 11th century during the Fatimid dynasty, to enter the thousand-year-old historic city. We then traveled from north to south to visit 13 historic buildings, including:
The 11th-century Al-Hakim Mosque and the 12th-century Al-Aqmar Mosque from the Fatimid dynasty.
From the 14th-century Mamluk dynasty, we saw the gate of the Qawsun Caravanserai, the Khanqah of Baybars II, and the Beshtak Palace. From the 15th century, we visited the Qaitbay Caravanserai, the Madrasa of Amir Jamal al-Din al-Ustadar, and the Maq'ad of Mamay al-Sayfi.
From the 17th-century Ottoman dynasty, we saw the Al-Suhaymi House, the Sabil-Kuttab of Qitas Bey, and the Sabil-Kuttab of Dhu al-Fiqar. We also visited the 18th-century Sabil-Kuttab of Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda and the 19th-century Mosque-Sabil of Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar.
In this article, we will continue south to visit eight magnificent building complexes from the Ayyubid and Mamluk dynasties in Old Cairo.
Bayn al-Qasrayn is located in the heart of Old Cairo, and its name literally means 'between the two palaces'. This was originally a square between two grand palaces built by the Fatimid dynasty in the 10th century. Later, the Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman dynasties built many structures here, and many of them are still standing today.
Al-Kamil Madrasa: 1225
Barquq Madrasa: 1386
An-Nasir Muhammad Madrasa: 1303
Qalawun Complex: 1285
As-Salih Ayyub Mausoleum: 1250
As-Salihia Madrasa: 1243
Al-Ashraf Complex: 1424
Al-Kamil Madrasa: 1225
The Al-Kamil Madrasa was built in 1225 by the Ayyubid Sultan Al-Kamil, who reigned from 1218 to 1238. During the 13th and 14th centuries, this place was a center for the study of Hadith in Egypt. A great famine hit Egypt between 1400 and 1404, causing the population to drop sharply and leading to the decline of the Al-Kamil Madrasa.
Al-Kamil was the nephew of Sultan Saladin and a key leader for Egypt during the Fifth and Sixth Crusades. During the Fifth Crusade, he opened the Nile dams to trade for eight years of peace. During the Sixth Crusade, he handed Jerusalem over to the Crusaders to trade for ten years of peace, which was the only Crusade resolved through diplomacy.
Today, the only part of the Ayyubid-era building left is the Iwan arch on the west side. The arch once featured plaster decorations in Kufic calligraphy, which are now kept at the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo. The main hall at the entrance was built in 1752 by the Ottoman official Prince Hassan Sharawi.
Barquq Madrasa: 1386
South of the Kamil Madrasa stands the Barquq Madrasa, built in 1386 by Barquq, the first sultan of the Mamluk Burji dynasty (reigned 1382–1389 and 1390–1399). This was the first building of the Mamluk Burji dynasty (1382–1517) and holds great historical significance.
The architect of the madrasa was Ahmad al-Tuluni. Ahmad came from a family of carpenters and stonemasons. He was one of the few master architects to achieve great success in the late 14th century and was highly valued by the sultan.
The project supervisor for the madrasa was Emir Jarkas al-Khalili. He built the famous Khan el-Khalili market in Cairo, which is named after him.
The entire madrasa complex consists of a prayer hall, classrooms, a mausoleum, and a dervish lodge. It taught knowledge from the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali. The main gate of the madrasa features a monumental arched entrance (Pishtaq), decorated with beautiful honeycomb-like carvings (Muqarnas) and calligraphy.
After entering the gate, a passageway leads to the courtyard (Sahn). In the middle of the courtyard is a fountain (Sabil), which was rebuilt in the late 19th century by the Committee for the Preservation of the Monuments of Arab Art (Comité). The courtyard has an arched hall (iwan) on each of its four sides. The prayer hall on the east side is covered by a massive wooden roof, while the other three sides have stone domes.
The prayer hall ceiling features intricate painted designs, and the floor is decorated with colorful marble mosaics and panels. The pulpit (minbar) inside the prayer hall was a gift from the Mamluk Sultan Sayf al-Din Jaqmaq (reigned 1438–1453) in 1440. It is made of Aleppo pine and inlaid with ebony and ivory. Sadly, the pulpit was stolen twice in 2012 and 2013, and most of its decorative pieces are now missing.
Beneath the dome of the Barquq Madrasa is a tomb chamber, but Sultan Barquq himself is not buried here. His daughter Fatima is buried in this space instead.
The following photos show the wood carvings and copper work on the main gate of the madrasa.
Barquq was born into a Circassian family living under the rule of the Golden Horde. After a battle, he was captured as a slave and sold to a bathhouse in Crimea. Later, he was sold again and moved to Egypt, where he became a Mamluk slave soldier. In 1377, civil unrest broke out in the Mamluk Sultanate. The young sultan who had just taken the throne held no real power. Barquq used this chance to strengthen his own position. In 1382, he seized the throne, ending the 132-year rule of the Kipchak Turkic Bahri dynasty and establishing the Circassian Caucasian Burji dynasty.
During his reign, Barquq joined forces with the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I to fight against the Timurid Empire and executed Timur's envoy. In 1394, Barquq and Timur fought a war near the Euphrates River, which ended with Timur leading his army in retreat.
The days and nights at the Madrasa of Barquq are busy, as the lively Al-Mu'izz Street in Old Cairo sits right in front of the gate. This street is known as the main artery of Old Cairo. It connects the north gate to the south gate and serves as the main axis of the old city.
An-Nasir Muhammad Madrasa: 1303
To the south of the Madrasa of Barquq stands the Madrasa of Al-Nasir Muhammad, which was built between 1295 and 1303 by the Mamluk Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad (who reigned from 1293-1294, 1299-1309, and 1310-1341).
Al-Nasir Muhammad was the youngest son of Sultan Qalawun. He took the throne at age 9, but he did not hold real power until his third period of rule at age 24. Under his rule, the Mamluk Sultanate reached its peak. The economy thrived at home, there were no major threats from abroad, and envoys from the Pope and the King of France visited his court with gifts. The reign of Nasir Muhammad is known as a high point for Egyptian culture, the greatest since the Ptolemaic Hellenistic period. He reopened the canal connecting Alexandria to the Nile, built many public buildings in Cairo, and renovated over thirty mosques.
The madrasa has a very unique Gothic gate. It was taken from a church in Acre after the Mamluk Sultanate completely defeated the Crusaders in 1291. The 1291 Siege of Acre is called the last battle of the Crusades, marking the end of the nearly 200-year-long Crusades. When the Siege of Acre ended, the Sultan ordered his army to tear down the city walls and churches, and this gate was transported back to Cairo.
The minaret of the madrasa has very complex stucco decorations. It is the only remaining all-stucco minaret in the old city of Cairo. The medallions and arched decorations follow the styles of the Fatimid and Ayyubid dynasties, while the floral patterns are a signature feature of the Mamluk period. The plaster decorations feature both Kufic and Thuluth calligraphy, and they are carved beautifully. Some historians believe that craftsmen from the Maghreb or Andalusia likely helped create these high-quality plaster carvings.
Like the Barquq Madrasa to the north, the Madrasa of an-Nasir Muhammad taught the four major schools of Islamic law: Hanafi, Hanbali, Shafi'i, and Maliki. The main hall contains the last plaster mihrab in Egypt, which features a unique egg-shaped protrusion similar to plaster carvings from Tabriz, Iran, during the Ilkhanate period. Because of this, historians suggest that this mihrab was likely made by craftsmen from Iran.
Qalawun Complex: 1285
Further south is the most magnificent part of the Bayn al-Qasrayn area, the Qalawun complex. This complex includes a hospital, a madrasa, and a mausoleum. It was built in 1285 by the Mamluk Sultan Qalawun, who reigned from 1279 to 1290, and it is considered a masterpiece of Mamluk architecture.
Standing at the entrance of the building complex, the most eye-catching feature is the towering three-story minaret (bangke ta). The top of the minaret features a unique decoration called a papyrus cornice, which is how the Mamluk dynasty showed its legitimacy by looking back to the era of the pharaohs.
The facade of the entire complex is 67 meters long, similar in style to Gothic Crusader churches of the same period, with windows surrounded by pointed arch panels of different sizes and exquisite stucco calligraphy carvings underneath.
The Mausoleum of Sultan Qalawun is known as a symbol of the power of the Mamluk dynasty and held great significance in 13th to 16th-century Egypt. This is one of the most magnificent imperial mausoleums I have ever visited, with an incredible wealth of stucco carvings, marble mosaics, and gilded woodwork. The tomb hall is supported by four towering stone columns decorated with Corinthian capitals. Above the capitals is an architrave decorated with vine patterns and stucco carvings in Thuluth calligraphy.
Sultan Qalawun was known as the King of Victory. In 1281, he led the Mamluk army to defeat the Mongol Ilkhanate forces commanded by Mongke Temur, the son of Hulagu Khan, in Homs, Syria. Mongke Temur was wounded and fled. The following year, the Ilkhan Tekuder converted to Islam and formed an alliance with the Mamluk Sultanate. The Battle of Homs is known as a major turning point in the Mongol westward expansion, marking the first time Mongol cavalry suffered a defeat in the Middle East.
After the threat from the Ilkhanate faded, Sultan Qalawun launched a series of wars against the Crusaders starting in 1285, eventually recapturing Tripoli, the largest city in northern Lebanon, in 1289.
The mihrab in the mausoleum of Sultan Qalawun is considered the most exquisite mihrab of the Mamluk period. The design of the mihrab was inspired by Syria and was created using colorful marble mosaics.
The madrasa of Sultan Qalawun consists of two iwan vaulted structures, with classrooms and a prayer hall on either side of the courtyard. The mihrab in the center of the prayer hall does not use the marble mosaics common in the Mamluk period, but instead features glass and mother-of-pearl mosaics. This is a throwback to the decorative art of the Umayyad Caliphate in Syria, showing how the Mamluks claimed to inherit the orthodoxy of the faith.
As-Salih Ayyub Mausoleum: 1250
Across from the Qalawun complex stands the tomb built in 1250 by Shajar al-Durr, the widow of the Ayyubid Sultan As-Salih Ayyub (reigned 1240–49), for her husband.
Sultan As-Salih was the last major ruler of the Ayyubid dynasty, and he saw the rise of the Mamluk dynasty. Because he did not trust the local Egyptian emirs, he began buying large numbers of Kipchak Turks who had been enslaved after the Mongol invasion of Central Asia. These slaves soon became the core of the Ayyubid army and were known as Mamluks.
Sultan As-Salih also made great progress in the wars against the Crusaders. In 1244, he invited 10,000 Khwarazmian mercenary cavalrymen to sack and retake Jerusalem, which caused great panic among the surrounding regimes. A Christian army made up of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Teutonic Knights, the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller, and the Order of Saint Lazarus formed an alliance with a Muslim army led by the emirs of Homs, Damascus, and Kerak to fight against as-Salih. The two armies met in a small village northeast of Gaza, where as-Salih's army and Khwarazmian mercenaries fought hard and eventually won. More than 5,000 Crusaders died in this battle, including the Grand Master and Marshal of the Knights Templar, as well as bishops from several cities.
After this battle, Christian power in the Holy Land collapsed, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem was never again able to organize an effective military campaign. In 1245, the Pope called for a new Crusade. In 1249, the Seventh Crusade, led by King Louis IX of France, officially began. When as-Salih heard the news, he quickly returned to Egypt to set up camp, but he died of illness shortly after. After as-Salih died, his widow Shajar al-Durr decided to hide the news of the Sultan's death and ordered the Mamluk army to successfully defeat the Crusader attack.
As-Salihia Madrasa: 1243
On the south side of the Sultan Salih Ayyub tomb stands the Salihiyya madrasa, which Salih built in 1242. Known as the 'Castle of Scholars,' the Salihiyya madrasa was the first in Cairo to teach the four major schools of Islamic law: Hanafi, Hanbali, Shafi'i, and Maliki. The north building of the school taught Shafi'i and Maliki law, while the south building taught Hanafi and Hanbali law.
The Salihiyya madrasa was abandoned after the Ottoman Empire conquered Egypt in the early 16th century. Today, most of it is a market, but the main gate and the minaret remain. The Salihiyya madrasa broke the Ayyubid tradition of only building minarets at Friday mosques by adding one to the gate of the school.
Al-Ashraf Complex: 1424
Continuing south, you will find the Al-Ashraf complex, built in 1424 by the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Barsbay, who reigned from 1422 to 1438. The entire complex includes a main hall, a school, a tomb, and a prayer hall (daotang), featuring a dome with geometric carvings, which is an early example of decorative dome carving.
Barsbay was once a Mamluk slave of the Mamluk Sultan Barquq, and he later became the tutor for the young Sultan Muhammad. With the support of the governor of Damascus and other emirs, Barsbay deposed the young sultan in 1422 and took the throne as the new sultan.
The 16 years of Barsbay's rule were a time of relative safety and stability for the Mamluk Sultanate, with almost no war. He was very generous to the poor and to Sufis, and he carried out a series of administrative reforms.
Barsbay was known as the "Merchant Sultan" and placed great importance on the role of trade. He took a series of measures to strengthen control over the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, diverted Indian Ocean trade routes through Jeddah, and established state monopolies on sugar and pepper. He attracted merchants by lowering tariffs and monopolized most of the trade from the East, which angered many European powers.
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Summary: Islamic History Guide: Old Cairo - Bayn al-Qasrayn and a Thousand Years of Heritage is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Old Cairo, Islamic History, Bayn al-Qasrayn while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
In our first article, 'Experiencing the Thousand-Year History of Old Cairo (Inside the North Gate)', we started at the North Gate of Cairo, built in the 11th century during the Fatimid dynasty, to enter the thousand-year-old historic city. We then traveled from north to south to visit 13 historic buildings, including:
The 11th-century Al-Hakim Mosque and the 12th-century Al-Aqmar Mosque from the Fatimid dynasty.
From the 14th-century Mamluk dynasty, we saw the gate of the Qawsun Caravanserai, the Khanqah of Baybars II, and the Beshtak Palace. From the 15th century, we visited the Qaitbay Caravanserai, the Madrasa of Amir Jamal al-Din al-Ustadar, and the Maq'ad of Mamay al-Sayfi.
From the 17th-century Ottoman dynasty, we saw the Al-Suhaymi House, the Sabil-Kuttab of Qitas Bey, and the Sabil-Kuttab of Dhu al-Fiqar. We also visited the 18th-century Sabil-Kuttab of Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda and the 19th-century Mosque-Sabil of Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar.
In this article, we will continue south to visit eight magnificent building complexes from the Ayyubid and Mamluk dynasties in Old Cairo.
Bayn al-Qasrayn is located in the heart of Old Cairo, and its name literally means 'between the two palaces'. This was originally a square between two grand palaces built by the Fatimid dynasty in the 10th century. Later, the Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman dynasties built many structures here, and many of them are still standing today.
Al-Kamil Madrasa: 1225
Barquq Madrasa: 1386
An-Nasir Muhammad Madrasa: 1303
Qalawun Complex: 1285
As-Salih Ayyub Mausoleum: 1250
As-Salihia Madrasa: 1243
Al-Ashraf Complex: 1424
Al-Kamil Madrasa: 1225
The Al-Kamil Madrasa was built in 1225 by the Ayyubid Sultan Al-Kamil, who reigned from 1218 to 1238. During the 13th and 14th centuries, this place was a center for the study of Hadith in Egypt. A great famine hit Egypt between 1400 and 1404, causing the population to drop sharply and leading to the decline of the Al-Kamil Madrasa.
Al-Kamil was the nephew of Sultan Saladin and a key leader for Egypt during the Fifth and Sixth Crusades. During the Fifth Crusade, he opened the Nile dams to trade for eight years of peace. During the Sixth Crusade, he handed Jerusalem over to the Crusaders to trade for ten years of peace, which was the only Crusade resolved through diplomacy.
Today, the only part of the Ayyubid-era building left is the Iwan arch on the west side. The arch once featured plaster decorations in Kufic calligraphy, which are now kept at the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo. The main hall at the entrance was built in 1752 by the Ottoman official Prince Hassan Sharawi.
Barquq Madrasa: 1386
South of the Kamil Madrasa stands the Barquq Madrasa, built in 1386 by Barquq, the first sultan of the Mamluk Burji dynasty (reigned 1382–1389 and 1390–1399). This was the first building of the Mamluk Burji dynasty (1382–1517) and holds great historical significance.
The architect of the madrasa was Ahmad al-Tuluni. Ahmad came from a family of carpenters and stonemasons. He was one of the few master architects to achieve great success in the late 14th century and was highly valued by the sultan.
The project supervisor for the madrasa was Emir Jarkas al-Khalili. He built the famous Khan el-Khalili market in Cairo, which is named after him.
The entire madrasa complex consists of a prayer hall, classrooms, a mausoleum, and a dervish lodge. It taught knowledge from the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali. The main gate of the madrasa features a monumental arched entrance (Pishtaq), decorated with beautiful honeycomb-like carvings (Muqarnas) and calligraphy.
After entering the gate, a passageway leads to the courtyard (Sahn). In the middle of the courtyard is a fountain (Sabil), which was rebuilt in the late 19th century by the Committee for the Preservation of the Monuments of Arab Art (Comité). The courtyard has an arched hall (iwan) on each of its four sides. The prayer hall on the east side is covered by a massive wooden roof, while the other three sides have stone domes.
The prayer hall ceiling features intricate painted designs, and the floor is decorated with colorful marble mosaics and panels. The pulpit (minbar) inside the prayer hall was a gift from the Mamluk Sultan Sayf al-Din Jaqmaq (reigned 1438–1453) in 1440. It is made of Aleppo pine and inlaid with ebony and ivory. Sadly, the pulpit was stolen twice in 2012 and 2013, and most of its decorative pieces are now missing.
Beneath the dome of the Barquq Madrasa is a tomb chamber, but Sultan Barquq himself is not buried here. His daughter Fatima is buried in this space instead.
The following photos show the wood carvings and copper work on the main gate of the madrasa.
Barquq was born into a Circassian family living under the rule of the Golden Horde. After a battle, he was captured as a slave and sold to a bathhouse in Crimea. Later, he was sold again and moved to Egypt, where he became a Mamluk slave soldier. In 1377, civil unrest broke out in the Mamluk Sultanate. The young sultan who had just taken the throne held no real power. Barquq used this chance to strengthen his own position. In 1382, he seized the throne, ending the 132-year rule of the Kipchak Turkic Bahri dynasty and establishing the Circassian Caucasian Burji dynasty.
During his reign, Barquq joined forces with the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I to fight against the Timurid Empire and executed Timur's envoy. In 1394, Barquq and Timur fought a war near the Euphrates River, which ended with Timur leading his army in retreat.
The days and nights at the Madrasa of Barquq are busy, as the lively Al-Mu'izz Street in Old Cairo sits right in front of the gate. This street is known as the main artery of Old Cairo. It connects the north gate to the south gate and serves as the main axis of the old city.
An-Nasir Muhammad Madrasa: 1303
To the south of the Madrasa of Barquq stands the Madrasa of Al-Nasir Muhammad, which was built between 1295 and 1303 by the Mamluk Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad (who reigned from 1293-1294, 1299-1309, and 1310-1341).
Al-Nasir Muhammad was the youngest son of Sultan Qalawun. He took the throne at age 9, but he did not hold real power until his third period of rule at age 24. Under his rule, the Mamluk Sultanate reached its peak. The economy thrived at home, there were no major threats from abroad, and envoys from the Pope and the King of France visited his court with gifts. The reign of Nasir Muhammad is known as a high point for Egyptian culture, the greatest since the Ptolemaic Hellenistic period. He reopened the canal connecting Alexandria to the Nile, built many public buildings in Cairo, and renovated over thirty mosques.
The madrasa has a very unique Gothic gate. It was taken from a church in Acre after the Mamluk Sultanate completely defeated the Crusaders in 1291. The 1291 Siege of Acre is called the last battle of the Crusades, marking the end of the nearly 200-year-long Crusades. When the Siege of Acre ended, the Sultan ordered his army to tear down the city walls and churches, and this gate was transported back to Cairo.
The minaret of the madrasa has very complex stucco decorations. It is the only remaining all-stucco minaret in the old city of Cairo. The medallions and arched decorations follow the styles of the Fatimid and Ayyubid dynasties, while the floral patterns are a signature feature of the Mamluk period. The plaster decorations feature both Kufic and Thuluth calligraphy, and they are carved beautifully. Some historians believe that craftsmen from the Maghreb or Andalusia likely helped create these high-quality plaster carvings.
Like the Barquq Madrasa to the north, the Madrasa of an-Nasir Muhammad taught the four major schools of Islamic law: Hanafi, Hanbali, Shafi'i, and Maliki. The main hall contains the last plaster mihrab in Egypt, which features a unique egg-shaped protrusion similar to plaster carvings from Tabriz, Iran, during the Ilkhanate period. Because of this, historians suggest that this mihrab was likely made by craftsmen from Iran.
Qalawun Complex: 1285
Further south is the most magnificent part of the Bayn al-Qasrayn area, the Qalawun complex. This complex includes a hospital, a madrasa, and a mausoleum. It was built in 1285 by the Mamluk Sultan Qalawun, who reigned from 1279 to 1290, and it is considered a masterpiece of Mamluk architecture.
Standing at the entrance of the building complex, the most eye-catching feature is the towering three-story minaret (bangke ta). The top of the minaret features a unique decoration called a papyrus cornice, which is how the Mamluk dynasty showed its legitimacy by looking back to the era of the pharaohs.
The facade of the entire complex is 67 meters long, similar in style to Gothic Crusader churches of the same period, with windows surrounded by pointed arch panels of different sizes and exquisite stucco calligraphy carvings underneath.
The Mausoleum of Sultan Qalawun is known as a symbol of the power of the Mamluk dynasty and held great significance in 13th to 16th-century Egypt. This is one of the most magnificent imperial mausoleums I have ever visited, with an incredible wealth of stucco carvings, marble mosaics, and gilded woodwork. The tomb hall is supported by four towering stone columns decorated with Corinthian capitals. Above the capitals is an architrave decorated with vine patterns and stucco carvings in Thuluth calligraphy.
Sultan Qalawun was known as the King of Victory. In 1281, he led the Mamluk army to defeat the Mongol Ilkhanate forces commanded by Mongke Temur, the son of Hulagu Khan, in Homs, Syria. Mongke Temur was wounded and fled. The following year, the Ilkhan Tekuder converted to Islam and formed an alliance with the Mamluk Sultanate. The Battle of Homs is known as a major turning point in the Mongol westward expansion, marking the first time Mongol cavalry suffered a defeat in the Middle East.
After the threat from the Ilkhanate faded, Sultan Qalawun launched a series of wars against the Crusaders starting in 1285, eventually recapturing Tripoli, the largest city in northern Lebanon, in 1289.
The mihrab in the mausoleum of Sultan Qalawun is considered the most exquisite mihrab of the Mamluk period. The design of the mihrab was inspired by Syria and was created using colorful marble mosaics.
The madrasa of Sultan Qalawun consists of two iwan vaulted structures, with classrooms and a prayer hall on either side of the courtyard. The mihrab in the center of the prayer hall does not use the marble mosaics common in the Mamluk period, but instead features glass and mother-of-pearl mosaics. This is a throwback to the decorative art of the Umayyad Caliphate in Syria, showing how the Mamluks claimed to inherit the orthodoxy of the faith.
As-Salih Ayyub Mausoleum: 1250
Across from the Qalawun complex stands the tomb built in 1250 by Shajar al-Durr, the widow of the Ayyubid Sultan As-Salih Ayyub (reigned 1240–49), for her husband.
Sultan As-Salih was the last major ruler of the Ayyubid dynasty, and he saw the rise of the Mamluk dynasty. Because he did not trust the local Egyptian emirs, he began buying large numbers of Kipchak Turks who had been enslaved after the Mongol invasion of Central Asia. These slaves soon became the core of the Ayyubid army and were known as Mamluks.
Sultan As-Salih also made great progress in the wars against the Crusaders. In 1244, he invited 10,000 Khwarazmian mercenary cavalrymen to sack and retake Jerusalem, which caused great panic among the surrounding regimes. A Christian army made up of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Teutonic Knights, the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller, and the Order of Saint Lazarus formed an alliance with a Muslim army led by the emirs of Homs, Damascus, and Kerak to fight against as-Salih. The two armies met in a small village northeast of Gaza, where as-Salih's army and Khwarazmian mercenaries fought hard and eventually won. More than 5,000 Crusaders died in this battle, including the Grand Master and Marshal of the Knights Templar, as well as bishops from several cities.
After this battle, Christian power in the Holy Land collapsed, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem was never again able to organize an effective military campaign. In 1245, the Pope called for a new Crusade. In 1249, the Seventh Crusade, led by King Louis IX of France, officially began. When as-Salih heard the news, he quickly returned to Egypt to set up camp, but he died of illness shortly after. After as-Salih died, his widow Shajar al-Durr decided to hide the news of the Sultan's death and ordered the Mamluk army to successfully defeat the Crusader attack.
As-Salihia Madrasa: 1243
On the south side of the Sultan Salih Ayyub tomb stands the Salihiyya madrasa, which Salih built in 1242. Known as the 'Castle of Scholars,' the Salihiyya madrasa was the first in Cairo to teach the four major schools of Islamic law: Hanafi, Hanbali, Shafi'i, and Maliki. The north building of the school taught Shafi'i and Maliki law, while the south building taught Hanafi and Hanbali law.
The Salihiyya madrasa was abandoned after the Ottoman Empire conquered Egypt in the early 16th century. Today, most of it is a market, but the main gate and the minaret remain. The Salihiyya madrasa broke the Ayyubid tradition of only building minarets at Friday mosques by adding one to the gate of the school.
Al-Ashraf Complex: 1424
Continuing south, you will find the Al-Ashraf complex, built in 1424 by the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Barsbay, who reigned from 1422 to 1438. The entire complex includes a main hall, a school, a tomb, and a prayer hall (daotang), featuring a dome with geometric carvings, which is an early example of decorative dome carving.
Barsbay was once a Mamluk slave of the Mamluk Sultan Barquq, and he later became the tutor for the young Sultan Muhammad. With the support of the governor of Damascus and other emirs, Barsbay deposed the young sultan in 1422 and took the throne as the new sultan.
The 16 years of Barsbay's rule were a time of relative safety and stability for the Mamluk Sultanate, with almost no war. He was very generous to the poor and to Sufis, and he carried out a series of administrative reforms.
Barsbay was known as the "Merchant Sultan" and placed great importance on the role of trade. He took a series of measures to strengthen control over the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, diverted Indian Ocean trade routes through Jeddah, and established state monopolies on sugar and pepper. He attracted merchants by lowering tariffs and monopolized most of the trade from the East, which angered many European powers.
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Halal Travel Guide: Lebanon - 15 Mosques in Beirut, Tripoli, Baalbek and Sidon
Reposted from the web
Summary: Halal Travel Guide: Lebanon - 15 Mosques in Beirut, Tripoli, Baalbek and Sidon is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Lebanon, Mosques, Muslim Heritage while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
1. Beirut
Emir Assaf Mosque: late 16th century
Great Omari Mosque: renovated in 1291
2. Tripoli
Taynal Mosque: 1336
Mu'allaq Hanging Mosque: 1561
Mansouri Great Mosque: 1294
Al-Uwaysiyat Mosque: 1461
Attar Mosque: 1350s
Tawba Mosque: Mamluk period
Burtasi Mosque: late 13th century to early 14th century
3. Baalbek
Umayyad Great Mosque of Baalbek: 715
4. Sidon
El Kikhia Mosque: 1625
El Qtaishieh Mosque: 16th century
Great Omari Mosque: renovated in 1291
El-Bahr Mosque: 1373.
El Barrane Mosque: late 16th to 17th century.
1. Beirut
Emir Assaf Mosque: late 16th century
The Emir Assaf Mosque was built in the late 16th century by the Emir rulers of the local Lebanese Assaf dynasty (1306-1591). The Emir's palace and gardens used to be next to the mosque.
The Assaf dynasty was a Sunni Turkmen dynasty. In 1306, the Mamluk governor of Damascus sent the Turkmen tribes led by the Assaf family to suppress a rebellion north of Beirut. Later, the Mamluk dynasty appointed them to guard the coastal area north of Beirut and manage the local Shia residents. In 1516, the Ottoman Empire took the Levant region from the Mamluk Sultanate and appointed the Assaf family as their main agents for the Beirut and Tripoli areas.
The Assaf dynasty lowered taxes and housing prices to attract Maronite Christians to settle in northern Beirut, using them to balance the local Sunni and Shia populations. In 1579, the Ottoman Empire established the Tripoli Eyalet to keep the Assaf dynasty in check. In 1591, the Ottoman governor of Tripoli ordered the execution of the last Assaf emir by gunfire, which brought the Assaf dynasty to an end.
We joined the praise of the Prophet (zansheng) at the mosque, which is part of the Mawlid celebrations. Twelve men in formal wear sat on the east side of the main hall, chanting praises to the Prophet in unison, sometimes accompanied by the beat of a drum. Their voices were deep, loud, and very powerful.
Great Omari Mosque: renovated in 1291
The Great Mosque of Al-Omari is said to have been founded in 635 during the reign of Caliph Umar, and in 1150 the Crusaders built a Romanesque Saint John's Church here. After the Mamluk dynasty captured Tripoli in 1291, they converted it back into a mosque, and in 1350 they added a Mamluk-style gate and minaret. During the French Mandate for Lebanon from 1923 to 1946, the street-facing facade of the Great Mosque of Al-Omari was redesigned to match the architectural style of downtown Beirut, and a porch was added. The Great Mosque of Al-Omari was severely damaged during the Lebanese Civil War, and renovations were completed in 2004.
2. Tripoli
Taynal Mosque: 1336
The Taynal Mosque was built in 1336 by order of the Mamluk governor (Na'ib) of Tripoli, Emir Taynal. In the mid-14th century, Taynal served three terms as governor of Tripoli and one term as governor of Gaza. The famous 14th-century traveler Ibn Battuta wrote in his travelogue: 'About forty Turkic princes and nobles live in the city.' The city governor was an emir named Taynal, who was known as the 'King of Chiefs'. His residence was commonly called the 'House of Blessings' (Dar al-Sa'ada). He usually went out riding every Monday and Thursday, accompanied by various chiefs and a large group of guards, and only returned to the city when he was satisfied. Amir Taynal passed away in Damascus in 1343. Although a tomb was built for him at the Taynal Mosque, he was ultimately buried in Damascus.
The main hall of the Taynal Mosque consists of two connected halls. The most magnificent part is the entrance to the second hall, which features a gate with a honeycomb-like muqarnas cornice and uses the ablaq technique of alternating black and white marble. Inside the main hall are some ancient Corinthian columns, which are thought to have come from a Crusader-era church or an even older Roman temple. The original pulpit (minbar) in the mosque dated back to its construction in 1336, but it had already been replaced with a new one by the time I visited.
Mu'allaq Hanging Mosque: 1561
The Hanging Mosque (Muallaq Mosque) was commissioned in 1561 by Mahmud Lutfi al-Za'im, the governor of Tripoli under the Ottoman Empire, during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. The ground floor of the Hanging Mosque is a culvert on the street, so you must climb the stairs to the side to reach the main prayer hall on the second floor. The octagonal minaret next to the main prayer hall is very eye-catching and features two levels of balconies.
Mansouri Great Mosque: 1294
The Mansouri Great Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Tripoli, was ordered to be built in 1294 by the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil and was the first building constructed by the Mamluk dynasty in Tripoli.
In 1109, the French Crusaders captured Tripoli, and for the next 180 years, the city was ruled by European Christian nobles. In 1260, the Mongol army captured Damascus and took the last Ayyubid sultan prisoner, ending the Ayyubid dynasty. From then on, the center of Islamic power on the eastern Mediterranean coast shifted to the Mamluk dynasty in Egypt. In 1289, the Mamluk army arrived at the gates of Tripoli with large catapults. Under the attack of the catapults, two towers in Tripoli soon collapsed. The Mamluk army entered the city and leveled it to the ground.
Soon after, the Mamluk dynasty began building a new city at the foot of the castle on Pilgrim's Mountain in Tripoli. This included building the Great Mansouri Mosque on the ruins of a Crusader church at the foot of the mountain. The minaret inside the mosque today is likely part of the Crusader Church of St. Mary, and the main gate may also contain parts of the original Crusader church gate. The main hall was built by the Mamluk dynasty in 1294, and the courtyard colonnade was built in 1314 by the Mamluk Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad.
Al-Uwaysiyat Mosque: 1461
The Al-Uwaysiyat Mosque was first built in 1461 during the Mamluk period and was renovated in 1534 during the time of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
Attar Mosque: 1350s
The Attar Mosque was built in the 1350s by a local Tripoli perfume merchant named Badr al-Din al-Attar on the ruins of a Crusader church. It was also the first mosque in Tripoli not built by the Mamluks. Attar Mosque is known as one of the most beautiful ancient mosques in Tripoli, but it has been closed for several years for renovations.
Tawba Mosque: Mamluk period
The exact age of Tawba Mosque is unknown, but it is believed to have been built during the Mamluk period. Because it sits right next to the riverbank, the mosque's foundation stone was likely washed away during a flood. The inscription at the mosque entrance now says it was rebuilt after a flood in 1612. Many mosques in Lebanon lock their doors outside of prayer times, so I could not go inside and only saw the octagonal minaret.
Burtasi Mosque: late 13th century to early 14th century
Isa ibn Umar al-Burtasi built Burtasi Mosque during the Mamluk period. Since Isa passed away in 1324, we can guess the mosque was built between the late 13th century and 1324. A flood in 1955 washed away all the houses around Burtasi Mosque, and today it is the only building left standing on the riverbank. The minaret (bangke ta) above the main gate is known as the most beautiful one in Tripoli. Above the three-story stalactite-style cornice (muqarnas) sits a square balcony featuring Moorish-style double-arched windows. This type of double arch is a classic feature of Muslim architecture from Andalusia in southern Spain.
3. Baalbek
Umayyad Great Mosque of Baalbek: 715
The Umayyad Mosque of Baalbek was built in 715 by the Umayyad Caliph al-Walid I, the same year as the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, and both stand together as the oldest surviving mosque (masjid) buildings in the world.
Compared to the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, the Umayyad Mosque of Baalbek is simpler, but their overall styles are still very similar. Some stone parts inside the main hall may have come from the nearby Roman-era Baalbek Castle, and the column capitals show a strong Roman-Byzantine style. A flood hit Baalbek in 1318 and caused serious damage to the Umayyad Mosque, washing away walls and the pulpit (minbar). The Mamluk prince ruling Baalbek at the time, Najm al-Din Hassan, later repaired it.
The Umayyad Mosque was badly damaged in a 1996 earthquake in Baalbek. A team led by Dr. Saleh Lamei Mustafa, the former dean of the Faculty of Architecture at Beirut Arab University, later carried out the repairs. The repair work lasted for two years and was finished in 1998.
Today, many ancient stone pieces are still scattered around the courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque in Baalbek, giving it a rich sense of history.
4. Sidon
El Kikhia Mosque: 1625
El Kikhia Mosque was built in 1625 by Mahmoud Kitkhuda and is one of the representative works of Ottoman-era architecture in Lebanon. The mosque is famous for its six domes, and inside the main hall, there is a white marble pulpit (minbar).
El Qtaishieh Mosque: 16th century
Sheikh Ali Ibn Mohammad Qtaish built the El Qtaishieh mosque in the 16th century, and it still holds beautiful Ottoman tiles.
Great Omari Mosque: renovated in 1291
The El-Omari Grand Mosque is the main mosque in the old city of Sidon, and it is where the Eid prayers are held. The Great Mosque of El-Omari sits on a hillside on the west side of the old city of Saida and is built from massive sandstone blocks over a meter thick.
The building dates back to the Crusader era, when the Knights Hospitaller turned it into a military fortress in the 13th century, complete with a dining hall, a church, and stables. In 1291, the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil (who reigned from 1290 to 1293) conquered the Crusader castles, including Saida, ending the Crusader states that had lasted for nearly two hundred years. The Mamluk dynasty then built the Great Mosque of El-Omari on the foundation of the Knights Hospitaller fortress.
The main hall of the Great Mosque of El-Omari keeps the Byzantine style of the Crusader church, with a ten-meter-high ceiling supported by five sturdy buttresses. The Mamluk dynasty changed the orientation of the main hall from east-west to north-south. They added a mihrab niche and a minbar pulpit on the south side, and built a water room and school in the outer courtyard to the north. In the late 19th century, the Ottoman dynasty renovated the Great Mosque of Omar and built the current minaret (bangkelou).
During the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the Great Mosque of Omar was hit by artillery fire many times and suffered serious damage. The Hariri Foundation led the restoration of the site in 1986, and it won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1989.
El-Bahr Mosque: 1373.
Hassan bin Sawah donated the money to build the El-Bahr mosque in 1373. It features Mamluk-era architecture, including thick walls and cross-vaulted ceilings, and uses granite columns from the ancient Roman period.
El Barrane Mosque: late 16th to 17th century.
El Barrane Mosque was built between the late 16th and early 17th centuries during the reign of the Druze Emir Fakhr al-Din II. Barrani means "outside" because the mosque was located outside the Beirut Gate, the north gate of the ancient city, at that time.
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Summary: Halal Travel Guide: Lebanon - 15 Mosques in Beirut, Tripoli, Baalbek and Sidon is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Lebanon, Mosques, Muslim Heritage while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
1. Beirut
Emir Assaf Mosque: late 16th century
Great Omari Mosque: renovated in 1291
2. Tripoli
Taynal Mosque: 1336
Mu'allaq Hanging Mosque: 1561
Mansouri Great Mosque: 1294
Al-Uwaysiyat Mosque: 1461
Attar Mosque: 1350s
Tawba Mosque: Mamluk period
Burtasi Mosque: late 13th century to early 14th century
3. Baalbek
Umayyad Great Mosque of Baalbek: 715
4. Sidon
El Kikhia Mosque: 1625
El Qtaishieh Mosque: 16th century
Great Omari Mosque: renovated in 1291
El-Bahr Mosque: 1373.
El Barrane Mosque: late 16th to 17th century.
1. Beirut
Emir Assaf Mosque: late 16th century
The Emir Assaf Mosque was built in the late 16th century by the Emir rulers of the local Lebanese Assaf dynasty (1306-1591). The Emir's palace and gardens used to be next to the mosque.
The Assaf dynasty was a Sunni Turkmen dynasty. In 1306, the Mamluk governor of Damascus sent the Turkmen tribes led by the Assaf family to suppress a rebellion north of Beirut. Later, the Mamluk dynasty appointed them to guard the coastal area north of Beirut and manage the local Shia residents. In 1516, the Ottoman Empire took the Levant region from the Mamluk Sultanate and appointed the Assaf family as their main agents for the Beirut and Tripoli areas.
The Assaf dynasty lowered taxes and housing prices to attract Maronite Christians to settle in northern Beirut, using them to balance the local Sunni and Shia populations. In 1579, the Ottoman Empire established the Tripoli Eyalet to keep the Assaf dynasty in check. In 1591, the Ottoman governor of Tripoli ordered the execution of the last Assaf emir by gunfire, which brought the Assaf dynasty to an end.
We joined the praise of the Prophet (zansheng) at the mosque, which is part of the Mawlid celebrations. Twelve men in formal wear sat on the east side of the main hall, chanting praises to the Prophet in unison, sometimes accompanied by the beat of a drum. Their voices were deep, loud, and very powerful.
Great Omari Mosque: renovated in 1291
The Great Mosque of Al-Omari is said to have been founded in 635 during the reign of Caliph Umar, and in 1150 the Crusaders built a Romanesque Saint John's Church here. After the Mamluk dynasty captured Tripoli in 1291, they converted it back into a mosque, and in 1350 they added a Mamluk-style gate and minaret. During the French Mandate for Lebanon from 1923 to 1946, the street-facing facade of the Great Mosque of Al-Omari was redesigned to match the architectural style of downtown Beirut, and a porch was added. The Great Mosque of Al-Omari was severely damaged during the Lebanese Civil War, and renovations were completed in 2004.
2. Tripoli
Taynal Mosque: 1336
The Taynal Mosque was built in 1336 by order of the Mamluk governor (Na'ib) of Tripoli, Emir Taynal. In the mid-14th century, Taynal served three terms as governor of Tripoli and one term as governor of Gaza. The famous 14th-century traveler Ibn Battuta wrote in his travelogue: 'About forty Turkic princes and nobles live in the city.' The city governor was an emir named Taynal, who was known as the 'King of Chiefs'. His residence was commonly called the 'House of Blessings' (Dar al-Sa'ada). He usually went out riding every Monday and Thursday, accompanied by various chiefs and a large group of guards, and only returned to the city when he was satisfied. Amir Taynal passed away in Damascus in 1343. Although a tomb was built for him at the Taynal Mosque, he was ultimately buried in Damascus.
The main hall of the Taynal Mosque consists of two connected halls. The most magnificent part is the entrance to the second hall, which features a gate with a honeycomb-like muqarnas cornice and uses the ablaq technique of alternating black and white marble. Inside the main hall are some ancient Corinthian columns, which are thought to have come from a Crusader-era church or an even older Roman temple. The original pulpit (minbar) in the mosque dated back to its construction in 1336, but it had already been replaced with a new one by the time I visited.
Mu'allaq Hanging Mosque: 1561
The Hanging Mosque (Muallaq Mosque) was commissioned in 1561 by Mahmud Lutfi al-Za'im, the governor of Tripoli under the Ottoman Empire, during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. The ground floor of the Hanging Mosque is a culvert on the street, so you must climb the stairs to the side to reach the main prayer hall on the second floor. The octagonal minaret next to the main prayer hall is very eye-catching and features two levels of balconies.
Mansouri Great Mosque: 1294
The Mansouri Great Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Tripoli, was ordered to be built in 1294 by the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil and was the first building constructed by the Mamluk dynasty in Tripoli.
In 1109, the French Crusaders captured Tripoli, and for the next 180 years, the city was ruled by European Christian nobles. In 1260, the Mongol army captured Damascus and took the last Ayyubid sultan prisoner, ending the Ayyubid dynasty. From then on, the center of Islamic power on the eastern Mediterranean coast shifted to the Mamluk dynasty in Egypt. In 1289, the Mamluk army arrived at the gates of Tripoli with large catapults. Under the attack of the catapults, two towers in Tripoli soon collapsed. The Mamluk army entered the city and leveled it to the ground.
Soon after, the Mamluk dynasty began building a new city at the foot of the castle on Pilgrim's Mountain in Tripoli. This included building the Great Mansouri Mosque on the ruins of a Crusader church at the foot of the mountain. The minaret inside the mosque today is likely part of the Crusader Church of St. Mary, and the main gate may also contain parts of the original Crusader church gate. The main hall was built by the Mamluk dynasty in 1294, and the courtyard colonnade was built in 1314 by the Mamluk Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad.
Al-Uwaysiyat Mosque: 1461
The Al-Uwaysiyat Mosque was first built in 1461 during the Mamluk period and was renovated in 1534 during the time of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
Attar Mosque: 1350s
The Attar Mosque was built in the 1350s by a local Tripoli perfume merchant named Badr al-Din al-Attar on the ruins of a Crusader church. It was also the first mosque in Tripoli not built by the Mamluks. Attar Mosque is known as one of the most beautiful ancient mosques in Tripoli, but it has been closed for several years for renovations.
Tawba Mosque: Mamluk period
The exact age of Tawba Mosque is unknown, but it is believed to have been built during the Mamluk period. Because it sits right next to the riverbank, the mosque's foundation stone was likely washed away during a flood. The inscription at the mosque entrance now says it was rebuilt after a flood in 1612. Many mosques in Lebanon lock their doors outside of prayer times, so I could not go inside and only saw the octagonal minaret.
Burtasi Mosque: late 13th century to early 14th century
Isa ibn Umar al-Burtasi built Burtasi Mosque during the Mamluk period. Since Isa passed away in 1324, we can guess the mosque was built between the late 13th century and 1324. A flood in 1955 washed away all the houses around Burtasi Mosque, and today it is the only building left standing on the riverbank. The minaret (bangke ta) above the main gate is known as the most beautiful one in Tripoli. Above the three-story stalactite-style cornice (muqarnas) sits a square balcony featuring Moorish-style double-arched windows. This type of double arch is a classic feature of Muslim architecture from Andalusia in southern Spain.
3. Baalbek
Umayyad Great Mosque of Baalbek: 715
The Umayyad Mosque of Baalbek was built in 715 by the Umayyad Caliph al-Walid I, the same year as the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, and both stand together as the oldest surviving mosque (masjid) buildings in the world.
Compared to the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, the Umayyad Mosque of Baalbek is simpler, but their overall styles are still very similar. Some stone parts inside the main hall may have come from the nearby Roman-era Baalbek Castle, and the column capitals show a strong Roman-Byzantine style. A flood hit Baalbek in 1318 and caused serious damage to the Umayyad Mosque, washing away walls and the pulpit (minbar). The Mamluk prince ruling Baalbek at the time, Najm al-Din Hassan, later repaired it.
The Umayyad Mosque was badly damaged in a 1996 earthquake in Baalbek. A team led by Dr. Saleh Lamei Mustafa, the former dean of the Faculty of Architecture at Beirut Arab University, later carried out the repairs. The repair work lasted for two years and was finished in 1998.
Today, many ancient stone pieces are still scattered around the courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque in Baalbek, giving it a rich sense of history.
4. Sidon
El Kikhia Mosque: 1625
El Kikhia Mosque was built in 1625 by Mahmoud Kitkhuda and is one of the representative works of Ottoman-era architecture in Lebanon. The mosque is famous for its six domes, and inside the main hall, there is a white marble pulpit (minbar).
El Qtaishieh Mosque: 16th century
Sheikh Ali Ibn Mohammad Qtaish built the El Qtaishieh mosque in the 16th century, and it still holds beautiful Ottoman tiles.
Great Omari Mosque: renovated in 1291
The El-Omari Grand Mosque is the main mosque in the old city of Sidon, and it is where the Eid prayers are held. The Great Mosque of El-Omari sits on a hillside on the west side of the old city of Saida and is built from massive sandstone blocks over a meter thick.
The building dates back to the Crusader era, when the Knights Hospitaller turned it into a military fortress in the 13th century, complete with a dining hall, a church, and stables. In 1291, the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil (who reigned from 1290 to 1293) conquered the Crusader castles, including Saida, ending the Crusader states that had lasted for nearly two hundred years. The Mamluk dynasty then built the Great Mosque of El-Omari on the foundation of the Knights Hospitaller fortress.
The main hall of the Great Mosque of El-Omari keeps the Byzantine style of the Crusader church, with a ten-meter-high ceiling supported by five sturdy buttresses. The Mamluk dynasty changed the orientation of the main hall from east-west to north-south. They added a mihrab niche and a minbar pulpit on the south side, and built a water room and school in the outer courtyard to the north. In the late 19th century, the Ottoman dynasty renovated the Great Mosque of Omar and built the current minaret (bangkelou).
During the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the Great Mosque of Omar was hit by artillery fire many times and suffered serious damage. The Hariri Foundation led the restoration of the site in 1986, and it won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1989.
El-Bahr Mosque: 1373.
Hassan bin Sawah donated the money to build the El-Bahr mosque in 1373. It features Mamluk-era architecture, including thick walls and cross-vaulted ceilings, and uses granite columns from the ancient Roman period.
El Barrane Mosque: late 16th to 17th century.
El Barrane Mosque was built between the late 16th and early 17th centuries during the reign of the Druze Emir Fakhr al-Din II. Barrani means "outside" because the mosque was located outside the Beirut Gate, the north gate of the ancient city, at that time.
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Halal Travel Guide: Sidon, Lebanon - Old City, Sea Fort and Mosques (Part 1)
Reposted from the web
Summary: Halal Travel Guide: Sidon, Lebanon - Old City, Sea Fort and Mosques (Part 1) is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Sidon, Lebanon, Mosques while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
We took a minibus from the southern suburbs of Beirut and traveled 40 kilometers south to reach Saida, the third-largest city in Lebanon. Saida has a history of over 6,000 years. It is one of the oldest cities in the world and played a major role in Mediterranean trade.
The landmark of the old city of Saida is the Sea Castle (Qalaat al-Bahr) located on a small island to the north. The Crusaders built it in 1228, and it connects to the mainland by an 80-meter-long bridge. The Sea Castle was destroyed many times, then repaired and expanded during the Mamluk and Ottoman dynasties. Today, the Sea Castle consists of two towers. You can see many Roman-era stone pillars on the outer walls, and there is a small domed mosque built during the Ottoman period on the roof.
Next to the Sea Castle on the shore is a very famous restaurant called Saida Rest House. The restaurant preserves an Ottoman-era inn (khan) with beautiful inlaid marble and colorful carvings, and the lighting inside is excellent.
At the seaside seats of Saida Rest House, we ordered the Lebanese specialties of tomato sausage and fish salad with tajen sauce. Tajen is a spicy sesame paste that goes perfectly with pita bread.
The ancient city of Sidon is a well-preserved Sunni Muslim old town on the eastern Mediterranean coast. Enter the maze of streets from the north gate. Many houses are built over the streets, creating tunnels. People set up stalls inside these tunnels, selling all kinds of goods. It feels very lively and full of daily life.
In the market inside the ancient city of Sidon, you can buy fresh dates (yezao). They have a soft, powdery texture and taste great. You can also buy traditional clothing here. It feels very unique.
Entering the ancient city of Sidon from the north side, the first attraction is the underground Khan Sacy Archaeological Museum. Khan Sacy is made up of several arched rooms. They date back to stables and warehouses from the Crusader period (1099-1291). Since 2010, archaeological excavations at Khan Sacy have uncovered two bathrooms from the Mamluk dynasty (1201-1517), three water wells with different architectural styles, and a multi-purpose oven from the Ottoman period (1517-1918).
Follow the main road of the ancient city of Sidon south to see the largest Turkish bath in the old city, Hammam Al Jadeed. Hammam Al Jadeed was built in 1720 by the Moroccan merchant Mustafa Hammoud. It is a representative example of a Turkish bath in Lebanon from the Ottoman dynasty. The bathhouse consists of 10 rooms, including bathing, massage, and sauna areas. Corridors connect each area, which features unique marble floors and skylights.
This bathhouse stayed in use until 1948, when it closed because tap water pipes became common. The bathhouse was later used as a carpentry workshop and storage room, and it suffered damage during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-90). During the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, one of the bathhouse domes was hit by shelling and remains unrepaired today.
In 2018, Said Bacho, the founder and president of the Sharqy Foundation for Cultural Development and Innovation, purchased the Hammam Al Jadeed bathhouse. In 2019, the bathhouse reopened as a historical site after being closed for 71 years.
In 2019, Said Bacho invited the famous British artist Tom Young to create art for the bathhouse. Tom Young interviewed elderly people who had bathed in the bathhouse over 70 years ago. He listened to their memories and gained valuable inspiration.
In 2020, the Revival exhibition officially opened inside the bathhouse. The 10 rooms of the bathhouse displayed 60 oil paintings by Tom Young, featuring not only the past and present of the bathhouse but also many other historical sites in the old city of Sidon. Tom Young also painted a portrait of the bathhouse's former owner, Zahia Al Zarif, based on archival photos from the 1940s.
Day and night in the old city of Sidon.
Heading west from the Hammam Al Jadeed bathhouse and through the winding alleys, you reach the massive Ottoman caravanserai, Khan al-Franj. Khan al-Franj was built in the late 16th century by order of the Ottoman Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, who served from 1565 to 1579. The inn has a large courtyard, with the ground floor used for storing goods and the second floor for travelers to stay, which is the typical structure of an Ottoman caravanserai.
The inn served as the residence for the French consul in the early 17th century, which is how it got the name French Inn. The inn is currently owned by France, and the French Institute of the Near East (Institut français du Proche-Orient) is located here. The Hariri Foundation leased the space for 35 years. They restored the historical site and opened it as a cultural center, where they host various cultural events from time to time.
You can buy handicrafts made by local Lebanese women at the inn, and we bought a hand-woven hat. This is part of the Hariri Foundation's effort to create jobs for local women and promote tourism and handicrafts in Sidon.
We had a mint lemonade at Bab Al Saray Cafe, located in a small square in the center of the old city of Sidon. It is one of the oldest cafes in Sidon, and people say their brunch is very authentic.
After resting, we visited the El Kikhia Mosque. Built in 1625 by Mahmoud Kitkhuda, the El Kikhia Mosque is a representative example of an Ottoman-era mosque in Lebanon. The mosque is famous for its six domes, and inside the main hall, there is a white marble pulpit (minbar).
Across from the El Kikhia mosque is the Al-Qtaishieh mosque, where we performed our afternoon namaz. Sheikh Ali Ibn Mohammad Qtaish built the Al-Qtaishieh mosque in the 16th century, and it still holds beautiful Ottoman tiles.
Next, we visited the Great Mosque of El-Omari, the main mosque in the old city of Saida, where the Eid prayers are held. The Great Mosque of El-Omari sits on a hillside on the west side of the old city of Saida and is built from massive sandstone blocks over a meter thick.
The building dates back to the Crusader era, when the Knights Hospitaller turned it into a military fortress in the 13th century, complete with a dining hall, a church, and stables. In 1291, the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil (who reigned from 1290 to 1293) conquered the Crusader castles, including Saida, ending the Crusader states that had lasted for nearly two hundred years. The Mamluk dynasty then built the Great Mosque of El-Omari on the foundation of the Knights Hospitaller fortress.
The main hall of the Great Mosque of El-Omari keeps the Byzantine style of the Crusader church, with a ten-meter-high ceiling supported by five sturdy buttresses. The Mamluk dynasty changed the orientation of the main hall from east-west to north-south. They added a mihrab niche and a minbar pulpit on the south side, and built a water room and school in the outer courtyard to the north. In the late 19th century, the Ottoman dynasty renovated the Great Mosque of Omar and built the current minaret (bangkelou).
During the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the Great Mosque of Omar was hit by artillery fire many times and suffered serious damage. The Hariri Foundation led the restoration of the site in 1986, and it won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1989.
After leaving the Great Mosque of Omar, we visited the Soap Museum in Sidon. The soap workshop where the museum is located was built by Hammoud in the 17th century. The Audi family took it over in the 1880s and added a residence on the upper floor. The Audi family left Sidon for Beirut in the 1950s, and the building became a school. During the Lebanese Civil War in the 1980s, the building was abandoned and refugees lived on the ground floor. The Audi Foundation began restoring the workshop in 1996 and opened it as a soap museum in 2000.
At the soap museum, you can learn how traditional olive oil soap is made and see the remains of the workshop's plumbing from the 17th to 19th centuries. The museum's gift shop is worth a visit. You can buy traditional olive oil soap there, as well as a variety of creative scented soaps.
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Summary: Halal Travel Guide: Sidon, Lebanon - Old City, Sea Fort and Mosques (Part 1) is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Sidon, Lebanon, Mosques while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
We took a minibus from the southern suburbs of Beirut and traveled 40 kilometers south to reach Saida, the third-largest city in Lebanon. Saida has a history of over 6,000 years. It is one of the oldest cities in the world and played a major role in Mediterranean trade.
The landmark of the old city of Saida is the Sea Castle (Qalaat al-Bahr) located on a small island to the north. The Crusaders built it in 1228, and it connects to the mainland by an 80-meter-long bridge. The Sea Castle was destroyed many times, then repaired and expanded during the Mamluk and Ottoman dynasties. Today, the Sea Castle consists of two towers. You can see many Roman-era stone pillars on the outer walls, and there is a small domed mosque built during the Ottoman period on the roof.
Next to the Sea Castle on the shore is a very famous restaurant called Saida Rest House. The restaurant preserves an Ottoman-era inn (khan) with beautiful inlaid marble and colorful carvings, and the lighting inside is excellent.
At the seaside seats of Saida Rest House, we ordered the Lebanese specialties of tomato sausage and fish salad with tajen sauce. Tajen is a spicy sesame paste that goes perfectly with pita bread.
The ancient city of Sidon is a well-preserved Sunni Muslim old town on the eastern Mediterranean coast. Enter the maze of streets from the north gate. Many houses are built over the streets, creating tunnels. People set up stalls inside these tunnels, selling all kinds of goods. It feels very lively and full of daily life.
In the market inside the ancient city of Sidon, you can buy fresh dates (yezao). They have a soft, powdery texture and taste great. You can also buy traditional clothing here. It feels very unique.
Entering the ancient city of Sidon from the north side, the first attraction is the underground Khan Sacy Archaeological Museum. Khan Sacy is made up of several arched rooms. They date back to stables and warehouses from the Crusader period (1099-1291). Since 2010, archaeological excavations at Khan Sacy have uncovered two bathrooms from the Mamluk dynasty (1201-1517), three water wells with different architectural styles, and a multi-purpose oven from the Ottoman period (1517-1918).
Follow the main road of the ancient city of Sidon south to see the largest Turkish bath in the old city, Hammam Al Jadeed. Hammam Al Jadeed was built in 1720 by the Moroccan merchant Mustafa Hammoud. It is a representative example of a Turkish bath in Lebanon from the Ottoman dynasty. The bathhouse consists of 10 rooms, including bathing, massage, and sauna areas. Corridors connect each area, which features unique marble floors and skylights.
This bathhouse stayed in use until 1948, when it closed because tap water pipes became common. The bathhouse was later used as a carpentry workshop and storage room, and it suffered damage during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-90). During the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, one of the bathhouse domes was hit by shelling and remains unrepaired today.
In 2018, Said Bacho, the founder and president of the Sharqy Foundation for Cultural Development and Innovation, purchased the Hammam Al Jadeed bathhouse. In 2019, the bathhouse reopened as a historical site after being closed for 71 years.
In 2019, Said Bacho invited the famous British artist Tom Young to create art for the bathhouse. Tom Young interviewed elderly people who had bathed in the bathhouse over 70 years ago. He listened to their memories and gained valuable inspiration.
In 2020, the Revival exhibition officially opened inside the bathhouse. The 10 rooms of the bathhouse displayed 60 oil paintings by Tom Young, featuring not only the past and present of the bathhouse but also many other historical sites in the old city of Sidon. Tom Young also painted a portrait of the bathhouse's former owner, Zahia Al Zarif, based on archival photos from the 1940s.
Day and night in the old city of Sidon.
Heading west from the Hammam Al Jadeed bathhouse and through the winding alleys, you reach the massive Ottoman caravanserai, Khan al-Franj. Khan al-Franj was built in the late 16th century by order of the Ottoman Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, who served from 1565 to 1579. The inn has a large courtyard, with the ground floor used for storing goods and the second floor for travelers to stay, which is the typical structure of an Ottoman caravanserai.
The inn served as the residence for the French consul in the early 17th century, which is how it got the name French Inn. The inn is currently owned by France, and the French Institute of the Near East (Institut français du Proche-Orient) is located here. The Hariri Foundation leased the space for 35 years. They restored the historical site and opened it as a cultural center, where they host various cultural events from time to time.
You can buy handicrafts made by local Lebanese women at the inn, and we bought a hand-woven hat. This is part of the Hariri Foundation's effort to create jobs for local women and promote tourism and handicrafts in Sidon.
We had a mint lemonade at Bab Al Saray Cafe, located in a small square in the center of the old city of Sidon. It is one of the oldest cafes in Sidon, and people say their brunch is very authentic.
After resting, we visited the El Kikhia Mosque. Built in 1625 by Mahmoud Kitkhuda, the El Kikhia Mosque is a representative example of an Ottoman-era mosque in Lebanon. The mosque is famous for its six domes, and inside the main hall, there is a white marble pulpit (minbar).
Across from the El Kikhia mosque is the Al-Qtaishieh mosque, where we performed our afternoon namaz. Sheikh Ali Ibn Mohammad Qtaish built the Al-Qtaishieh mosque in the 16th century, and it still holds beautiful Ottoman tiles.
Next, we visited the Great Mosque of El-Omari, the main mosque in the old city of Saida, where the Eid prayers are held. The Great Mosque of El-Omari sits on a hillside on the west side of the old city of Saida and is built from massive sandstone blocks over a meter thick.
The building dates back to the Crusader era, when the Knights Hospitaller turned it into a military fortress in the 13th century, complete with a dining hall, a church, and stables. In 1291, the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil (who reigned from 1290 to 1293) conquered the Crusader castles, including Saida, ending the Crusader states that had lasted for nearly two hundred years. The Mamluk dynasty then built the Great Mosque of El-Omari on the foundation of the Knights Hospitaller fortress.
The main hall of the Great Mosque of El-Omari keeps the Byzantine style of the Crusader church, with a ten-meter-high ceiling supported by five sturdy buttresses. The Mamluk dynasty changed the orientation of the main hall from east-west to north-south. They added a mihrab niche and a minbar pulpit on the south side, and built a water room and school in the outer courtyard to the north. In the late 19th century, the Ottoman dynasty renovated the Great Mosque of Omar and built the current minaret (bangkelou).
During the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the Great Mosque of Omar was hit by artillery fire many times and suffered serious damage. The Hariri Foundation led the restoration of the site in 1986, and it won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1989.
After leaving the Great Mosque of Omar, we visited the Soap Museum in Sidon. The soap workshop where the museum is located was built by Hammoud in the 17th century. The Audi family took it over in the 1880s and added a residence on the upper floor. The Audi family left Sidon for Beirut in the 1950s, and the building became a school. During the Lebanese Civil War in the 1980s, the building was abandoned and refugees lived on the ground floor. The Audi Foundation began restoring the workshop in 1996 and opened it as a soap museum in 2000.
At the soap museum, you can learn how traditional olive oil soap is made and see the remains of the workshop's plumbing from the 17th to 19th centuries. The museum's gift shop is worth a visit. You can buy traditional olive oil soap there, as well as a variety of creative scented soaps.
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Halal Travel Guide: Sidon, Lebanon - Old City, Sea Fort and Mosques (Part 2)
Reposted from the web
Summary: Halal Travel Guide: Sidon, Lebanon - Old City, Sea Fort and Mosques (Part 2) is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Sidon, Lebanon, Mosques while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
Across from the Sea Castle, another fortress sits on a hill in the south of the old city of Sidon. Together, they guard the old city from both ends.
The Land Castle is also called the Castle of Mu'izz or the Castle of Saint Louis. The fourth caliph of the Fatimid dynasty, al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (reigned 953–975), ordered it built in the late 10th century and named it the Castle of Mu'izz.
In 1253, King Louis IX of France, known as Saint Louis and a leader of the Seventh Crusade, ordered the walls of Sidon to be rebuilt. The Land Castle was also rebuilt during this time, and it has been called the Castle of Saint Louis ever since. Fakhr al-Din II, the Druze emir who ruled Lebanon in the 17th century, rebuilt the castle again. It later fell into ruin, and parts of the walls collapsed during the late Ottoman era.
After Israel expelled large numbers of Palestinians in 1948, the Land Castle served as a shelter for Palestinian refugees. To persecute the Palestinian refugees, Israel ruthlessly shelled the Land Castle, causing further damage. These scars now stand as a witness to the suffering of the Palestinian people.
Before it became a Fatimid fortress, the hill where the Land Castle stands held an important place as far back as the Phoenician era, more than 1,000 years before the common era. On the hillside next to the castle, you can see many crushed murex shells. These are the waste left behind by the Phoenicians more than 3,000 years ago when they used the shells to make purple dye. Tyrian purple is also called Phoenician purple or royal purple, because only Roman emperors could wear clothes dyed with it during the Roman Empire.
Roman Emperor Elagabalus (reigned 218-222) established a colony in Sidon, and archaeological excavations of the land castle revealed ruins of Roman-era buildings. These ruins might include a Roman theater, so researchers suggest this was the site of the Roman-era acropolis of Sidon.
After visiting the castle, we went to the famous falafel shop in the old city, Falafel Abou Rami. They opened in 1988 and are very famous in Lebanon. Their falafel is made from a mix of chickpeas and fava beans, and they fry it fresh to order. You can add pickled cucumbers, pickled tomatoes, and yogurt to make a salad, or wrap it in flatbread. We bought one wrap and it was enough for two people; the portion is huge!
In the afternoon, we prayed the Maghrib namaz at Al-Bahr Mosque by the sea in the ancient city of Sidon. Hassan bin Sawah donated the funds to build Al-Bahr Mosque in 1373. It features Mamluk-era architecture, including thick walls and cross-vaulted ceilings, and uses granite columns from the ancient Roman period.
Afterward, we went to El Barrane Mosque at the entrance of the market on the north side of the ancient city. Many mosques in Lebanon only open for the five daily prayers and stay locked at other times. This mosque was built between the late 16th and early 17th centuries during the reign of the Druze Emir Fakhr al-Din II. Barrani means "outside" because the mosque was located outside the Beirut Gate, the north gate of the ancient city, at that time.
Street view of the ancient city.
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Summary: Halal Travel Guide: Sidon, Lebanon - Old City, Sea Fort and Mosques (Part 2) is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Sidon, Lebanon, Mosques while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
Across from the Sea Castle, another fortress sits on a hill in the south of the old city of Sidon. Together, they guard the old city from both ends.
The Land Castle is also called the Castle of Mu'izz or the Castle of Saint Louis. The fourth caliph of the Fatimid dynasty, al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (reigned 953–975), ordered it built in the late 10th century and named it the Castle of Mu'izz.
In 1253, King Louis IX of France, known as Saint Louis and a leader of the Seventh Crusade, ordered the walls of Sidon to be rebuilt. The Land Castle was also rebuilt during this time, and it has been called the Castle of Saint Louis ever since. Fakhr al-Din II, the Druze emir who ruled Lebanon in the 17th century, rebuilt the castle again. It later fell into ruin, and parts of the walls collapsed during the late Ottoman era.
After Israel expelled large numbers of Palestinians in 1948, the Land Castle served as a shelter for Palestinian refugees. To persecute the Palestinian refugees, Israel ruthlessly shelled the Land Castle, causing further damage. These scars now stand as a witness to the suffering of the Palestinian people.
Before it became a Fatimid fortress, the hill where the Land Castle stands held an important place as far back as the Phoenician era, more than 1,000 years before the common era. On the hillside next to the castle, you can see many crushed murex shells. These are the waste left behind by the Phoenicians more than 3,000 years ago when they used the shells to make purple dye. Tyrian purple is also called Phoenician purple or royal purple, because only Roman emperors could wear clothes dyed with it during the Roman Empire.
Roman Emperor Elagabalus (reigned 218-222) established a colony in Sidon, and archaeological excavations of the land castle revealed ruins of Roman-era buildings. These ruins might include a Roman theater, so researchers suggest this was the site of the Roman-era acropolis of Sidon.
After visiting the castle, we went to the famous falafel shop in the old city, Falafel Abou Rami. They opened in 1988 and are very famous in Lebanon. Their falafel is made from a mix of chickpeas and fava beans, and they fry it fresh to order. You can add pickled cucumbers, pickled tomatoes, and yogurt to make a salad, or wrap it in flatbread. We bought one wrap and it was enough for two people; the portion is huge!
In the afternoon, we prayed the Maghrib namaz at Al-Bahr Mosque by the sea in the ancient city of Sidon. Hassan bin Sawah donated the funds to build Al-Bahr Mosque in 1373. It features Mamluk-era architecture, including thick walls and cross-vaulted ceilings, and uses granite columns from the ancient Roman period.
Afterward, we went to El Barrane Mosque at the entrance of the market on the north side of the ancient city. Many mosques in Lebanon only open for the five daily prayers and stay locked at other times. This mosque was built between the late 16th and early 17th centuries during the reign of the Druze Emir Fakhr al-Din II. Barrani means "outside" because the mosque was located outside the Beirut Gate, the north gate of the ancient city, at that time.
Street view of the ancient city.
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Halal Food Guide: Huairou - Ya'er Li Ji Courtyard in the Mountains
Reposted from the web
Summary: Halal Food Guide: Huairou - Ya'er Li Ji Courtyard in the Mountains is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Huairou, Halal Food, Beijing Travel while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
Last weekend, our family of three went to the Yarliji courtyard by the Shayukou Reservoir in Huairou. The courtyard is a little over an hour from the city by highway. If you take the bus, take the 924 express from outside Dongzhimen to the final stop, Chawu Railway Station, then transfer to the H27. The H27 runs very rarely, but we caught the 11:50 bus on our way back.
The courtyard has two rooms with large beds and two rooms with large heated brick beds (kang). It gets busy on Saturday nights, so you need to book in advance. The courtyard provides breakfast, which consists of corn, fried steamed bun slices (mantou), porridge, eggs, and pickled vegetables. For lunch and dinner, they serve stewed pots, hot pot meat (shuanrou), and barbecue, but there are very few stir-fried dishes.
The courtyard is right next to the Shanba Resort. Inside, there is all kinds of fitness equipment, small slides, and swings, which Suleiman loved playing on. Behind the resort, you can climb up to the Shayukou Reservoir dam to see the view. The stone path was a bit slippery on the way down, and Suleiman took a tumble. I guess that counts as his first memorable fall while hiking.
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Summary: Halal Food Guide: Huairou - Ya'er Li Ji Courtyard in the Mountains is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Huairou, Halal Food, Beijing Travel while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
Last weekend, our family of three went to the Yarliji courtyard by the Shayukou Reservoir in Huairou. The courtyard is a little over an hour from the city by highway. If you take the bus, take the 924 express from outside Dongzhimen to the final stop, Chawu Railway Station, then transfer to the H27. The H27 runs very rarely, but we caught the 11:50 bus on our way back.
The courtyard has two rooms with large beds and two rooms with large heated brick beds (kang). It gets busy on Saturday nights, so you need to book in advance. The courtyard provides breakfast, which consists of corn, fried steamed bun slices (mantou), porridge, eggs, and pickled vegetables. For lunch and dinner, they serve stewed pots, hot pot meat (shuanrou), and barbecue, but there are very few stir-fried dishes.
The courtyard is right next to the Shanba Resort. Inside, there is all kinds of fitness equipment, small slides, and swings, which Suleiman loved playing on. Behind the resort, you can climb up to the Shayukou Reservoir dam to see the view. The stone path was a bit slippery on the way down, and Suleiman took a tumble. I guess that counts as his first memorable fall while hiking.
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Halal Travel Guide: Heritage Hotels - History, Architecture and Muslim Travel
Reposted from the web
Summary: Halal Travel Guide: Heritage Hotels - History, Architecture and Muslim Travel is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Heritage Hotels, Muslim Travel, Architecture while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
I am sharing 12 heritage hotels where I have stayed.
No. 21 Mansion (Ershiyi Hao Gongguan) in Dalian, Liaoning.
Xianting Boutique Resort (Xianting Jingpin Dujia Minsu) in Jianshui, Yunnan.
Xiulu Yuan branch of Xiushan Inn (Xiushan Kezhan Xiulu Yuan Dian) in Tonghai, Yunnan.
Sarang Paloh Heritage Stay & Event Hall in Ipoh, Malaysia.
23 Love Lane in Penang, Malaysia.
Hotel Puri in Malacca, Malaysia.
Omah Sinten Heritage Hotel & Resto in Solo, Indonesia.
Maristan Tarihi Konak in Mardin, Turkey.
Gamaleya Boutique Hotel in Cairo, Egypt.
Komil Hotel in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
Bahitgul Boutique-Hotel in Bakhchysarai, Crimea (Russian-occupied).
Tatarskaya Usadba in Kazan, Russia.
No. 21 Mansion (Ershiyi Hao Gongguan) in Dalian, Liaoning.
In Dalian, we stayed at Number 21 Mansion (Ershiyi Hao Gongguan) on Russian Style Street. The hotel sits in a courtyard that is part of the Yantai Street Russian-style building complex, which includes 28 European-style villas and marks the starting point of Dalian's history. In 1898, Tsarist Russia leased Dalian Bay and began building Dalian city the following year. The first street built was called Engineer Street, which is now known as Russian Style Street. Soon after, Timov Street was built right next to Engineer Street, and it was renamed Yantai Street after 1946. Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Tsarist Russia hired German and Russian designers to build a series of European-style villas on Yantai Street, and 28 of them still stand today.
After the Russian-style building complex on Yantai Street was restored in 2011, several hotels and restaurants moved in. When we visited, several places were hosting weddings, which felt a bit like the Italian Style Street in Tianjin. Several villas in the courtyard belong to the Dalian Railway 1896 Garden Hotel, which you can stay in at any time. The No. 21 Mansion where we stayed is military property and only opens during holidays, but you can book it online.
Building No. 21 was built in 1903 and designed by the famous German architect Jan Hendel. In 1920, early labor movement leader and Manchurian Provincial Committee Secretary Wang Ligong lived here. The house we stayed in had windows on both the north and south sides, making the environment very pleasant. The courtyard was very quiet, which was a sharp contrast to the busy Russian-style street next door.
Xianting Boutique Resort (Xianting Jingpin Dujia Minsu) in Jianshui, Yunnan.
Jianshui is a famous historical and cultural city in Yunnan, known as the Zou and Lu of Southern Yunnan for its thriving Confucian studies. The Jianshui Xianting Boutique Homestay where we stayed is a typical three-courtyard house with one large central courtyard and four smaller ones. The main hall, courtyards, and side rooms are all connected, creating a very peaceful atmosphere. It is rare to find such elegant furnishings in the courtyard; walking through the door feels like stepping back into ancient times. Our room had traditional door bolts and wooden beds, which really satisfied our modern imagination of ancient times.
Xiulu Yuan branch of Xiushan Inn (Xiushan Kezhan Xiulu Yuan Dian) in Tonghai, Yunnan.
Tonghai Ancient City in Yuxi, Yunnan, is also a national historical and cultural city, and it preserves many ancient buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties. We stayed at the Tonghai Xiushan Inn Xiulu Branch, which was converted from the old county committee compound. The compound itself is one of the first historical buildings in Tonghai County. After the renovation, it looks brand new, and the courtyard is filled with many lush potted plants.
Sarang Paloh Heritage Stay & Event Hall in Ipoh, Malaysia.
Ipoh is a historical and cultural city in Malaysia, known as the City of Tin. A fire broke out in Ipoh in 1892, destroying more than half of the original wooden shophouses. Later, a local Datuk led the reconstruction into arcade streets typical of the Straits region, which is now Ipoh Old Town. In 1907, Chinese community leader Yao Desheng funded the construction of a new street across the river from the Old Town. It is 1 kilometer long and consists of 216 arcade shophouses, which is now Ipoh New Town. Today, Ipoh has a large area of old streets with covered walkways (qilou) made up of the historic New Town and Old Town districts. Many of these buildings are decades or even centuries old and are well worth a visit.
We stayed at the Sarang Paloh Heritage Stay & Event Hall, a heritage hotel in the Old Town located inside the Yik Foong gold shop built in the 1930s. The hotel was converted from two buildings with covered walkways. The facade on the left is in the Art Deco style, while the right side is Neoclassical. Inside, it features traditional Malaysian Chinese decor.
Our room was on the second floor of the Yik Foong gold shop building. It had very high ceilings and looked out over the main road of Ipoh Old Town. Brewing two cups of the complimentary Ipoh white coffee felt like stepping back into the Nanyang of a hundred years ago.
23 Love Lane in Penang, Malaysia.
Penang is an island in northwestern Malaysia. In 1786, the Sultanate of Kedah ceded it to the British East India Company. George Town, which was established on the island shortly after, became the first British base in Southeast Asia. After George Town was built, the British East India Company kept encouraging people to move there. After the 19th century, the Chinese, Malay, Indian, Peranakan (local-born Chinese), Eurasian, and Siamese people living in Penang each formed their own communities.
Penang has many heritage hotels converted from grand mansions, and the one we stayed at, 23 Love Lane (Le Lin), is a very interesting example. The 23 Love Lane mansion was first built in the 1790s. British, Indian, and Chinese people have all been its owners, so the architecture is a mix of Eastern and Western styles, serving as a miniature reflection of Penang's cultural melting pot over the last century.
In the 1860s, it was an Anglo-Indian bungalow. A Straits Eclectic style building was added in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and a Jack Roof Annex villa was built in the 1920s. Around the 1930s, an Indian shop house was built inside the courtyard. After the 1990s, the mansion became the budget Oasis Hotel, until it became the current 23 Love Lane heritage hotel in 2011.
We stayed in an Anglo-Indian shop house built before the war. This place used to be a shop and home for a Tamil merchant. Now it is a two-story vintage suite with a bathroom on each floor, making it perfect for trips with family and friends.
Hotel Puri in Malacca, Malaysia.
We stayed at the famous Hotel Puri in the old town of Malaysia, which is where the TV show The Little Nyonya was filmed.
Hotel Puri is a century-old mansion once owned by overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. It is a classic three-section, two-story Baba Nyonya house. Malacca became quiet in the 20th century as many people moved to larger cities like Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. This old house sat abandoned for a long time until it was carefully renovated into the hotel it is today.
During the time it was abandoned, bats and swifts moved in. After the house became a hotel, the swifts in the third section refused to leave, so the hotel let them stay. They now build their nests right next to the old plaques.
Omah Sinten Heritage Hotel & Resto in Solo, Indonesia.
Solo is a historic cultural city in Central Java, Indonesia, and was the final capital of the once-powerful Mataram Sultanate on Java island. In 1755, at the direction of the Dutch East India Company, the Mataram Sultanate was split into the Yogyakarta Sultanate and the Surakarta Sunanate, with Surakarta city becoming the capital of the Surakarta Sunanate.
During the Dutch East Indies era, the Surakarta Sunanate held autonomous status just like the Yogyakarta Sultanate and was considered a vassal state of the Dutch Empire. The Republic of Indonesia was declared in 1945, and in 1946 the Surakarta Sunanate lost its ruling power and was incorporated into Central Java Province. Although it has no real power, the Surakarta Sunanate still holds royal authority and a special status for maintaining traditional Javanese culture.
In Surakarta, I stayed at the Omah Sinten Heritage Hotel & Resto across from the royal palace. The hotel uses traditional Javanese architectural style, and the breakfast area is a teak wood pavilion built in the 1930s, surrounded by many trees, making it very cool.
Maristan Tarihi Konak in Mardin, Turkey.
The ancient city of Mardin is located in southeastern Turkey, bordering Syria and Iraq, and sits in the Upper Mesopotamia region at the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The entire ancient city is built on the southern slope of a ridge. At the very top of the cliff sits a thousand-year-old castle, with a terraced stone city built below it. Because of this, you can look out over the Mesopotamian plains from any terrace in the city, and the view is spectacular.
Our hotel, Maristan Tarihi Konak, is located in a 700-year-old building. It was originally built by Jewish people and is now run by Kurds. Five hundred years ago, many Armenians and Jews lived in the ancient city of Mardin. Today, it is mainly home to Kurds and Arabs, along with a significant number of Assyrian Christians.
The taxi drove into the maze-like alleys of the old city, weaving left and right up very steep slopes, which made us feel quite nervous. The car finally stopped on a slope. Idris, a young Kurdish man from the hotel, greeted us warmly by the side of the road. It was a coincidence that my name is also Idris, which is the name of a prophet.
Idris led us up the small stone steps until we finally reached the Maristan Tarihi Konak hotel. Before I went, I checked online and found that most hotels in the old city of Mardin feature stone houses. This one is relatively good value because it is not on the main road. The reviews also specifically mentioned that the staff are very friendly, and that turned out to be true.
The walls of our stone house are very thick. Even when it is 30 degrees outside in the summer, you do not need air conditioning inside. The only downside is that it does not get as much light as a wooden house because the windows are very small. It is very interesting that our room door is also very traditional. You have to insert the large key and turn it several times in the opposite direction, which feels especially ancient.
The breakfast we had on the hotel terrace was very rich. It included four types of cheese, yogurt, two kinds of olives, honey, fig jam, pomegranate jam, and grape jam. The main staple was not the bread common in Turkey, but Kurdish flatbread (nan).
The hotel manager is a Kurdish friend named Zahit. He took us for a walk through the old city bazaar and then pointed out the general direction of various historical sites on the main road, which was very thoughtful.
Gamaleya Boutique Hotel in Cairo, Egypt.
As a cultural metropolis with a history of over a thousand years and hundreds of historical sites, the ancient city of Cairo was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site as early as 1979. However, due to the noisy environment, traffic congestion, and worrying sanitary conditions, it seems that not many Chinese tourists are willing to explore it deeply, except for the Khan el-Khalili market which specializes in tourist souvenirs. I stayed in the old city of Cairo for four days this time and basically visited all the various mosques, shrines (gongbei), religious halls (daotang), mansions, inns, and madrasas in the city.
To make it easier to walk around the old city, I started looking for suitable accommodation online. Most tourists visiting Cairo choose to stay in the embassy district where the environment is a bit better, as there are almost no places suitable for tourists to stay inside the old city. However, I still managed to find the Gamaleya Heritage Hotel, which only opened in 2021.
The owner of Gamaleya, Ibrahim Kassissia, has had his family living here since the 1930s. He moved to Canada 40 years ago, but during a trip to China, he got the idea to return to his hometown to open a heritage hotel. He later bought back the long-abandoned old house and turned it into the hotel it is today.
The first floor of the hotel is a cultural workshop where master craftsmen in silver, copper, wood, and leather work and teach apprentices. Every morning when we head out, we see a group of students learning diligently from the masters. The second floor is where breakfast is served. It is a semi-buffet style where food is made fresh to order every morning based on what guests want. The third floor and above are the guest rooms. While the accommodations aren't as fancy as a big hotel, they are definitely a great choice for visiting Cairo's old city.
Komil Hotel in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
In the ancient city of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, I stayed at the Komil Hotel, which is recommended by Lonely Planet. The hotel is in an alley in the center of the old city. It is a wealthy merchant's house built in the 19th century. Komil's grandfather bought it 50 years ago, and it opened as a hotel in 2000. The owner, Komil Kadirov, speaks fluent English and is very welcoming to guests.
The hotel still keeps the wood carvings and paintings of traditional 19th-century Bukhara architecture. My room was partially renovated, but the dining room where we ate breakfast is perfectly preserved. It feels like traveling back to 19th-century Bukhara. Their breakfast is very generous. Even for one person, they fill the whole table, which made me feel a bit embarrassed. Breakfast was a real highlight of my trip to Uzbekistan. Almost every hotel prepares more than ten dishes. They always ask if you want boiled or fried eggs, and black or green tea. The service is truly excellent.
Bahitgul Boutique-Hotel in Bakhchysarai, Crimea (Russian-occupied).
Bakhchisaray is an ancient mountain city on the Crimean Peninsula. It was the capital of the Crimean Khanate from 1532 to 1783 and is the cultural center of the Crimean Tatars. In May 1944, Stalin deported all 240,000 Crimean Tatars from the Crimean Peninsula to Uzbekistan and other remote regions. For nearly half a century after that, there were almost no Tatars on the Crimean Peninsula.
After 45 years of struggle by the Crimean Tatars, the Soviet Union finally declared the deportation illegal in 1989, and the Crimean Tatars finally gained the right to return to their homeland. Today, 250,000 Crimean Tatars have returned to the Crimean Peninsula, working hard to rebuild their lives, overcome social and economic obstacles, and keep their culture alive.
The hotel where I stayed in Bakhchysarai, Bahitgul Boutique-Hotel, is a beautiful traditional Crimean Tatar house. They serve traditional Crimean Tatar food, so I ate breakfast at my accommodation most days. The view while eating there is also excellent, as you can look out over the entire ancient capital.
Tatarskaya Usadba in Kazan, Russia.
As the former capital of the Kazan Khanate, the city of Kazan was completely destroyed after being captured by Ivan the Terrible in 1552. In 1556, the Russians built a new city of Kazan. Only Russians were allowed to live inside the city, so the Tatars settled by Lake Kaban to the southwest, which gradually became the Old Tatar Quarter.
The early Old Tatar Quarter was made of wooden houses, which caught fire very easily. During the reign of Catherine the Great (1762-1796), the city of Kazan was rebuilt with brick and stone, which gradually created the look of the current Old Tatar historical district.
Although part of the Old Tatar Quarter was turned into an industrial zone during the Soviet era, the historical district still covers 88 hectares today. It preserves 75 historical buildings from the 18th to 20th centuries, including mosques in the traditional Tatar style, estates of wealthy Tatar merchants, and theaters.
I stayed in a traditional Tatar estate by Lake Kaban this time, which was originally the home of 19th-century Tatar merchant Khamit Sabitov. The estate offers both lodging and meals. Since I did not book their dinner in advance, I only had breakfast, which was also in the traditional Tatar style.
I tasted a Tatar specialty meat pie (bekken), which is made with sour cream dough and filled with cabbage and eggs. I also ate a cake with frosting and Eastern European stuffed buns (pirozhki).
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Summary: Halal Travel Guide: Heritage Hotels - History, Architecture and Muslim Travel is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Heritage Hotels, Muslim Travel, Architecture while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
I am sharing 12 heritage hotels where I have stayed.
No. 21 Mansion (Ershiyi Hao Gongguan) in Dalian, Liaoning.
Xianting Boutique Resort (Xianting Jingpin Dujia Minsu) in Jianshui, Yunnan.
Xiulu Yuan branch of Xiushan Inn (Xiushan Kezhan Xiulu Yuan Dian) in Tonghai, Yunnan.
Sarang Paloh Heritage Stay & Event Hall in Ipoh, Malaysia.
23 Love Lane in Penang, Malaysia.
Hotel Puri in Malacca, Malaysia.
Omah Sinten Heritage Hotel & Resto in Solo, Indonesia.
Maristan Tarihi Konak in Mardin, Turkey.
Gamaleya Boutique Hotel in Cairo, Egypt.
Komil Hotel in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
Bahitgul Boutique-Hotel in Bakhchysarai, Crimea (Russian-occupied).
Tatarskaya Usadba in Kazan, Russia.
No. 21 Mansion (Ershiyi Hao Gongguan) in Dalian, Liaoning.
In Dalian, we stayed at Number 21 Mansion (Ershiyi Hao Gongguan) on Russian Style Street. The hotel sits in a courtyard that is part of the Yantai Street Russian-style building complex, which includes 28 European-style villas and marks the starting point of Dalian's history. In 1898, Tsarist Russia leased Dalian Bay and began building Dalian city the following year. The first street built was called Engineer Street, which is now known as Russian Style Street. Soon after, Timov Street was built right next to Engineer Street, and it was renamed Yantai Street after 1946. Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Tsarist Russia hired German and Russian designers to build a series of European-style villas on Yantai Street, and 28 of them still stand today.
After the Russian-style building complex on Yantai Street was restored in 2011, several hotels and restaurants moved in. When we visited, several places were hosting weddings, which felt a bit like the Italian Style Street in Tianjin. Several villas in the courtyard belong to the Dalian Railway 1896 Garden Hotel, which you can stay in at any time. The No. 21 Mansion where we stayed is military property and only opens during holidays, but you can book it online.
Building No. 21 was built in 1903 and designed by the famous German architect Jan Hendel. In 1920, early labor movement leader and Manchurian Provincial Committee Secretary Wang Ligong lived here. The house we stayed in had windows on both the north and south sides, making the environment very pleasant. The courtyard was very quiet, which was a sharp contrast to the busy Russian-style street next door.
Xianting Boutique Resort (Xianting Jingpin Dujia Minsu) in Jianshui, Yunnan.
Jianshui is a famous historical and cultural city in Yunnan, known as the Zou and Lu of Southern Yunnan for its thriving Confucian studies. The Jianshui Xianting Boutique Homestay where we stayed is a typical three-courtyard house with one large central courtyard and four smaller ones. The main hall, courtyards, and side rooms are all connected, creating a very peaceful atmosphere. It is rare to find such elegant furnishings in the courtyard; walking through the door feels like stepping back into ancient times. Our room had traditional door bolts and wooden beds, which really satisfied our modern imagination of ancient times.
Xiulu Yuan branch of Xiushan Inn (Xiushan Kezhan Xiulu Yuan Dian) in Tonghai, Yunnan.
Tonghai Ancient City in Yuxi, Yunnan, is also a national historical and cultural city, and it preserves many ancient buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties. We stayed at the Tonghai Xiushan Inn Xiulu Branch, which was converted from the old county committee compound. The compound itself is one of the first historical buildings in Tonghai County. After the renovation, it looks brand new, and the courtyard is filled with many lush potted plants.
Sarang Paloh Heritage Stay & Event Hall in Ipoh, Malaysia.
Ipoh is a historical and cultural city in Malaysia, known as the City of Tin. A fire broke out in Ipoh in 1892, destroying more than half of the original wooden shophouses. Later, a local Datuk led the reconstruction into arcade streets typical of the Straits region, which is now Ipoh Old Town. In 1907, Chinese community leader Yao Desheng funded the construction of a new street across the river from the Old Town. It is 1 kilometer long and consists of 216 arcade shophouses, which is now Ipoh New Town. Today, Ipoh has a large area of old streets with covered walkways (qilou) made up of the historic New Town and Old Town districts. Many of these buildings are decades or even centuries old and are well worth a visit.
We stayed at the Sarang Paloh Heritage Stay & Event Hall, a heritage hotel in the Old Town located inside the Yik Foong gold shop built in the 1930s. The hotel was converted from two buildings with covered walkways. The facade on the left is in the Art Deco style, while the right side is Neoclassical. Inside, it features traditional Malaysian Chinese decor.
Our room was on the second floor of the Yik Foong gold shop building. It had very high ceilings and looked out over the main road of Ipoh Old Town. Brewing two cups of the complimentary Ipoh white coffee felt like stepping back into the Nanyang of a hundred years ago.
23 Love Lane in Penang, Malaysia.
Penang is an island in northwestern Malaysia. In 1786, the Sultanate of Kedah ceded it to the British East India Company. George Town, which was established on the island shortly after, became the first British base in Southeast Asia. After George Town was built, the British East India Company kept encouraging people to move there. After the 19th century, the Chinese, Malay, Indian, Peranakan (local-born Chinese), Eurasian, and Siamese people living in Penang each formed their own communities.
Penang has many heritage hotels converted from grand mansions, and the one we stayed at, 23 Love Lane (Le Lin), is a very interesting example. The 23 Love Lane mansion was first built in the 1790s. British, Indian, and Chinese people have all been its owners, so the architecture is a mix of Eastern and Western styles, serving as a miniature reflection of Penang's cultural melting pot over the last century.
In the 1860s, it was an Anglo-Indian bungalow. A Straits Eclectic style building was added in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and a Jack Roof Annex villa was built in the 1920s. Around the 1930s, an Indian shop house was built inside the courtyard. After the 1990s, the mansion became the budget Oasis Hotel, until it became the current 23 Love Lane heritage hotel in 2011.
We stayed in an Anglo-Indian shop house built before the war. This place used to be a shop and home for a Tamil merchant. Now it is a two-story vintage suite with a bathroom on each floor, making it perfect for trips with family and friends.
Hotel Puri in Malacca, Malaysia.
We stayed at the famous Hotel Puri in the old town of Malaysia, which is where the TV show The Little Nyonya was filmed.
Hotel Puri is a century-old mansion once owned by overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. It is a classic three-section, two-story Baba Nyonya house. Malacca became quiet in the 20th century as many people moved to larger cities like Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. This old house sat abandoned for a long time until it was carefully renovated into the hotel it is today.
During the time it was abandoned, bats and swifts moved in. After the house became a hotel, the swifts in the third section refused to leave, so the hotel let them stay. They now build their nests right next to the old plaques.
Omah Sinten Heritage Hotel & Resto in Solo, Indonesia.
Solo is a historic cultural city in Central Java, Indonesia, and was the final capital of the once-powerful Mataram Sultanate on Java island. In 1755, at the direction of the Dutch East India Company, the Mataram Sultanate was split into the Yogyakarta Sultanate and the Surakarta Sunanate, with Surakarta city becoming the capital of the Surakarta Sunanate.
During the Dutch East Indies era, the Surakarta Sunanate held autonomous status just like the Yogyakarta Sultanate and was considered a vassal state of the Dutch Empire. The Republic of Indonesia was declared in 1945, and in 1946 the Surakarta Sunanate lost its ruling power and was incorporated into Central Java Province. Although it has no real power, the Surakarta Sunanate still holds royal authority and a special status for maintaining traditional Javanese culture.
In Surakarta, I stayed at the Omah Sinten Heritage Hotel & Resto across from the royal palace. The hotel uses traditional Javanese architectural style, and the breakfast area is a teak wood pavilion built in the 1930s, surrounded by many trees, making it very cool.
Maristan Tarihi Konak in Mardin, Turkey.
The ancient city of Mardin is located in southeastern Turkey, bordering Syria and Iraq, and sits in the Upper Mesopotamia region at the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The entire ancient city is built on the southern slope of a ridge. At the very top of the cliff sits a thousand-year-old castle, with a terraced stone city built below it. Because of this, you can look out over the Mesopotamian plains from any terrace in the city, and the view is spectacular.
Our hotel, Maristan Tarihi Konak, is located in a 700-year-old building. It was originally built by Jewish people and is now run by Kurds. Five hundred years ago, many Armenians and Jews lived in the ancient city of Mardin. Today, it is mainly home to Kurds and Arabs, along with a significant number of Assyrian Christians.
The taxi drove into the maze-like alleys of the old city, weaving left and right up very steep slopes, which made us feel quite nervous. The car finally stopped on a slope. Idris, a young Kurdish man from the hotel, greeted us warmly by the side of the road. It was a coincidence that my name is also Idris, which is the name of a prophet.
Idris led us up the small stone steps until we finally reached the Maristan Tarihi Konak hotel. Before I went, I checked online and found that most hotels in the old city of Mardin feature stone houses. This one is relatively good value because it is not on the main road. The reviews also specifically mentioned that the staff are very friendly, and that turned out to be true.
The walls of our stone house are very thick. Even when it is 30 degrees outside in the summer, you do not need air conditioning inside. The only downside is that it does not get as much light as a wooden house because the windows are very small. It is very interesting that our room door is also very traditional. You have to insert the large key and turn it several times in the opposite direction, which feels especially ancient.
The breakfast we had on the hotel terrace was very rich. It included four types of cheese, yogurt, two kinds of olives, honey, fig jam, pomegranate jam, and grape jam. The main staple was not the bread common in Turkey, but Kurdish flatbread (nan).
The hotel manager is a Kurdish friend named Zahit. He took us for a walk through the old city bazaar and then pointed out the general direction of various historical sites on the main road, which was very thoughtful.
Gamaleya Boutique Hotel in Cairo, Egypt.
As a cultural metropolis with a history of over a thousand years and hundreds of historical sites, the ancient city of Cairo was listed as a World Cultural Heritage site as early as 1979. However, due to the noisy environment, traffic congestion, and worrying sanitary conditions, it seems that not many Chinese tourists are willing to explore it deeply, except for the Khan el-Khalili market which specializes in tourist souvenirs. I stayed in the old city of Cairo for four days this time and basically visited all the various mosques, shrines (gongbei), religious halls (daotang), mansions, inns, and madrasas in the city.
To make it easier to walk around the old city, I started looking for suitable accommodation online. Most tourists visiting Cairo choose to stay in the embassy district where the environment is a bit better, as there are almost no places suitable for tourists to stay inside the old city. However, I still managed to find the Gamaleya Heritage Hotel, which only opened in 2021.
The owner of Gamaleya, Ibrahim Kassissia, has had his family living here since the 1930s. He moved to Canada 40 years ago, but during a trip to China, he got the idea to return to his hometown to open a heritage hotel. He later bought back the long-abandoned old house and turned it into the hotel it is today.
The first floor of the hotel is a cultural workshop where master craftsmen in silver, copper, wood, and leather work and teach apprentices. Every morning when we head out, we see a group of students learning diligently from the masters. The second floor is where breakfast is served. It is a semi-buffet style where food is made fresh to order every morning based on what guests want. The third floor and above are the guest rooms. While the accommodations aren't as fancy as a big hotel, they are definitely a great choice for visiting Cairo's old city.
Komil Hotel in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
In the ancient city of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, I stayed at the Komil Hotel, which is recommended by Lonely Planet. The hotel is in an alley in the center of the old city. It is a wealthy merchant's house built in the 19th century. Komil's grandfather bought it 50 years ago, and it opened as a hotel in 2000. The owner, Komil Kadirov, speaks fluent English and is very welcoming to guests.
The hotel still keeps the wood carvings and paintings of traditional 19th-century Bukhara architecture. My room was partially renovated, but the dining room where we ate breakfast is perfectly preserved. It feels like traveling back to 19th-century Bukhara. Their breakfast is very generous. Even for one person, they fill the whole table, which made me feel a bit embarrassed. Breakfast was a real highlight of my trip to Uzbekistan. Almost every hotel prepares more than ten dishes. They always ask if you want boiled or fried eggs, and black or green tea. The service is truly excellent.
Bahitgul Boutique-Hotel in Bakhchysarai, Crimea (Russian-occupied).
Bakhchisaray is an ancient mountain city on the Crimean Peninsula. It was the capital of the Crimean Khanate from 1532 to 1783 and is the cultural center of the Crimean Tatars. In May 1944, Stalin deported all 240,000 Crimean Tatars from the Crimean Peninsula to Uzbekistan and other remote regions. For nearly half a century after that, there were almost no Tatars on the Crimean Peninsula.
After 45 years of struggle by the Crimean Tatars, the Soviet Union finally declared the deportation illegal in 1989, and the Crimean Tatars finally gained the right to return to their homeland. Today, 250,000 Crimean Tatars have returned to the Crimean Peninsula, working hard to rebuild their lives, overcome social and economic obstacles, and keep their culture alive.
The hotel where I stayed in Bakhchysarai, Bahitgul Boutique-Hotel, is a beautiful traditional Crimean Tatar house. They serve traditional Crimean Tatar food, so I ate breakfast at my accommodation most days. The view while eating there is also excellent, as you can look out over the entire ancient capital.
Tatarskaya Usadba in Kazan, Russia.
As the former capital of the Kazan Khanate, the city of Kazan was completely destroyed after being captured by Ivan the Terrible in 1552. In 1556, the Russians built a new city of Kazan. Only Russians were allowed to live inside the city, so the Tatars settled by Lake Kaban to the southwest, which gradually became the Old Tatar Quarter.
The early Old Tatar Quarter was made of wooden houses, which caught fire very easily. During the reign of Catherine the Great (1762-1796), the city of Kazan was rebuilt with brick and stone, which gradually created the look of the current Old Tatar historical district.
Although part of the Old Tatar Quarter was turned into an industrial zone during the Soviet era, the historical district still covers 88 hectares today. It preserves 75 historical buildings from the 18th to 20th centuries, including mosques in the traditional Tatar style, estates of wealthy Tatar merchants, and theaters.
I stayed in a traditional Tatar estate by Lake Kaban this time, which was originally the home of 19th-century Tatar merchant Khamit Sabitov. The estate offers both lodging and meals. Since I did not book their dinner in advance, I only had breakfast, which was also in the traditional Tatar style.
I tasted a Tatar specialty meat pie (bekken), which is made with sour cream dough and filled with cabbage and eggs. I also ate a cake with frosting and Eastern European stuffed buns (pirozhki).
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Islamic Art Guide: Quanzhou Maritime Museum Song-Yuan Stone Inscriptions (Part 2)
Reposted from the web
Summary: Islamic Art Guide: Quanzhou Maritime Museum Song-Yuan Stone Inscriptions (Part 2) is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Quanzhou, Islamic Art, Stone Inscriptions while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
The gravestones feature cloud and moon patterns, including both capstones and base stones. After the Ming Dynasty, cloud and moon shaped gravestones became common in Quanzhou. Most do not have inscriptions and are a variation of the gravestones used by the faith community during the Yuan Dynasty.
Mosque column base.
This mosque column base was unearthed in 1998 at Jintoupu Village, outside Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou.
The comparison table of ancient and modern place names on Quanzhou religious inscriptions is very interesting. It shows that most of the friends (dosti) who came to Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties were from Iran, including Ardabil, Fars, Jajarm, Gilan, Hamadan, Hormuz, Isfahan, Qazvin, Shiraz, Siraf, and Tabriz. Others came from Bukhara and Khwarazm in Uzbekistan, Balasagun in Kyrgyzstan, Ahlat in Turkey, Jerusalem in Palestine, Yemen, and Huocheng in Xinjiang, China.
Descendants of Quanzhou Muslims.
The tombstone of the Guo family ancestors was discovered by a survey team from the Maritime Museum in Fashi Village, in the eastern suburbs of Quanzhou, in 1974. It was moved to the Maritime Museum for preservation in 1978.
According to family records, the ancestors of the Baiqi Guo family were from Guojia Village in Fuyang, Hangzhou. They arrived in Quanzhou during the Yuan Dynasty, lived on East Street at first, and later moved to Fashi Port outside the East Gate. In 1956, villagers on Stone Street in Fashi Village were leveling land at a site commonly known as Liugongqi. They dug up a large tomb belonging to a foreign merchant (fanke) and turned the area into a garden. Villagers said the tomb had a large, square stone platform with two levels. Each level held two stone tombs shaped like Sumeru pedestals (xumizuo). A tombstone stood at the head of the upper level, but villagers broke it into two pieces and carried them back to the village to use as flooring for a communal warehouse.
In 1959 and 1974, a research team from the Quanzhou Maritime Museum followed clues from the Guo Clan Genealogy of Baiqi (Baiqi Guo Shi Zupu). After many searches in Fashi Village, they finally found the Guo family ancestral tombstone with Arabic writing. It was moved to the museum for safekeeping in 1978.
The top right corner of the tombstone has the words Tingpo carved in seal script, with Jin carved below it. This represents Tingpo in Fashi, Jinjiang County. The top left corner has the words Baiqi carved in seal script, with Hui carved below it. This represents Baiqi in Hui'an County. These two places are where the Baiqi Guo clan lived at different times. Below that, the words Ancestral Tomb of the Yuan Dynasty Guo Clan (Yuan Guo Shi Zu Fen Ying) are carved in regular script.
The Chinese characters on the tombstone are easy to explain, but the Arabic inscription is very difficult to interpret. In the early 1980s, the views of Chen Dasheng, the director of the Maritime Museum, became the mainstream opinion. He interpreted the Arabic as 'lbn Qds Daqqaq Nam', or 'Ibn Quds Daqqaq Nam'. Because 'nam' means 'famous' in Persian, he believed the ancestors of the Baiqi Guo family were Persian.
Professor Wu Youxiong from Quanzhou Normal University offered a completely different interpretation in his work, 'The Origins of the Baiqi Guo Surname and Mosque Education (Jingtang Jiaoyu)'. After consulting the director of the Arabic department at China National Radio, Wu Youxiong concluded that the text was actually Minnan dialect spelled out in Arabic script: 'Yin Go Zi Ta-gag Mou', meaning 'Tomb of Guo Deguang of the Yuan Dynasty'. He argued that previous researchers failed to translate it because they were unfamiliar with Minnan dialect, and that the evidence for the Guo family's Persian origins does not exist.
The method of using Arabic script to write Chinese is called 'Xiao'erjing' or 'Xiao'erjin', also known as 'Xiaojing'. It was used for annotations in mosque education (Jingtang Jiaoyu). According to the Guo family genealogy, the tomb of Guo Deguang was renovated many times. This tombstone was likely re-erected during the Qing Dynasty by Guo descendants who had returned to the faith.
In 1709 (the 48th year of the Kangxi reign), Chen Yougong, the regional commander of Tingyan-Shao and a left-wing commander-in-chief, came to Quanzhou. He revived the faith and established a school for mosque education (Jingtang Jiaoyu) at the Qingjing Mosque. At that time, Guo Honglong, a member of the eighth generation of the Guo family's fourth branch, moved from Hecuo in Baiqi to live at the Qingjing Mosque and returned to the faith, citing the principle of 'strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches'. After Honglong returned to the faith, other members of the Guo family who came to Quanzhou city for business began visiting the Qingjing Mosque. As the number of converts grew, Chen Yougong funded the construction of a mosque in Daishang Village, where the four branches of the Guo family lived. According to the Fenyang Guo Family Migration Map to Quanzhou Tonghuai Street, during the Kangxi year of Jichou, Commander Chen Yougong served at the Quanzhou Xiecan Office. He revived the faith, and after Baiqi and his nephew came to the city to trade, many more people joined the faith. The Daishang Mosque was built by Mr. Chen.
After Guo Honglong converted, most of his descendants moved to live near the Qingjing Mosque in Quanzhou, while others lived at the Daishang Mosque. According to the Fenyang Guo Family Migration Map to Quanzhou Tonghuai Street, during the Qianlong era, Guo Honglong's grandson Guo Shifu lived near the Qingjing Mosque in Quanzhou, while another grandson, Guo Shili, lived at the Daishang Mosque. According to the family genealogy Yizhai Gong Xing Shu, Guo Shifu helped renovate the Qingjing Mosque in 1794 (the 59th year of the Qianlong reign) alongside Bai Yunhan, the deputy commander of the Zhangzhou Left Battalion.
The Ding family of Chendai is known as the 'Ten Thousand Ding' and lives in Chendai Town, Jinjiang. They arrived in Quanzhou City during the Yuan Dynasty. In the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, they moved to Chendai to give up business for farming. By the mid-Ming Dynasty, they left the faith through the processes of clan formation and the imperial examination system. The owners of Anta, Xtep, 361°, and Qiaodan are all from the Ding family of Chendai.
The Pu family are descendants of Pu Shougeng, a key figure in Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties. Because Pu Shougeng massacred the Song dynasty royal family, the Ming dynasty ordered that all remaining members of the Pu family be sent to serve in the military, forcing his descendants to flee and hide.
The ancestor of the Jin family of Qingyuan, Jin Ji, served as a military general (wulue jiangjun) during the Zhishun era of the Yuan dynasty to guard the Quanzhou circuit, and he later helped end the Ispah rebellion. During the Wanli era of the Ming dynasty, a descendant of the Jin family named Jin Ali helped renovate the Qingjing Mosque.
The Su family of Yanzhi Lane originally came from Gushi County in Guangzhou, Henan, and moved to Quanzhou with Wang Chao at the end of the Tang dynasty. In 1307, the seventh year of the Yuan Dade era, the Su family ran into trouble while transporting government grain to the capital. The imperial court punished them severely, so Su Tangshe hid in Yanzhi Lane in Quanzhou, converted to Islam, changed his name to Ahema, and his family married Hui Muslims for generations.
The Lin family of Quanzhou originally came from Henan. In 1384, the seventeenth year of the Ming Hongwu era, Lin Nu sailed to the Western Oceans. Because he felt that different religions caused disharmony, he converted to Islam, married a Semu woman, and his descendants continued to practice the faith. Lin Qicai passed the imperial examination in 1559 (the 38th year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty). He wrote the 'Stele Record of the Imperial Reconstruction of Faming Mosque' for Faming Mosque, one of the four major official temples in Beijing during the Ming Dynasty, and the 'Stele for the Protection of the Tomb of Bo Hazhi' for the tomb of the Western Regions sage Bo Hazhi in Changping, Beijing. Some of Lin's descendants changed their surname to Li. The great Ming Dynasty thinker Li Zhi was a cousin of Lin Qicai.
The lawn of the Maritime Museum displays many stone tombs with pedestal bases (xumizuo). Many are carved with beautiful Arabic calligraphy, mostly featuring verses from the Quran.
During the Song and Yuan dynasties, Quanzhou had large areas of cemeteries for foreign merchants (fanke). These were mainly concentrated in the areas from Tumen Street to Jintoupu, Houban, Fashi, and Meishan in the southeast suburbs.
In the Song and Yuan dynasties, one could travel from Tonghuai Gate, pass through Jintoupu, and head southeast to reach the Houzhu seaport. The road from Tonghuai Gate to Fashi was built on alluvial beach land, so it often sank into the mud. Because of this, after the Ming Dynasty, local residents often used the stone tomb components with pedestal bases from the Song and Yuan dynasties as materials for slope protection and pond embankments when building roads and ponds. There were once three ponds at Puwei in Jintoupu. When the water dried up in winter, more than thirty Islamic tomb stones could be seen. South of Jintoupu, there is a small temple called Houban Palace. Just under its northeast wall, nearly ten stone tomb components with pedestal bases (xumizuo) are used as foundation stones. Several more Islamic tomb stones are also found near the drainage ditches and rice paddy mud in Houban Village.
Additionally, a large number of stone tomb components from the Song and Yuan dynasties were discovered in the areas of Jincuowei, Secuowei, Xiacuopu, Dingcuoshan, and Tiecuowei in the eastern suburbs of Quanzhou. Jin, Ding, Xia, and Tie are the surnames of the 'half-southern barbarians' (bannanfan)—the descendants of intermarriages between Arabs, Iranians, and local Quanzhou people—though these families no longer practice Islam today.
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Summary: Islamic Art Guide: Quanzhou Maritime Museum Song-Yuan Stone Inscriptions (Part 2) is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Quanzhou, Islamic Art, Stone Inscriptions while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
The gravestones feature cloud and moon patterns, including both capstones and base stones. After the Ming Dynasty, cloud and moon shaped gravestones became common in Quanzhou. Most do not have inscriptions and are a variation of the gravestones used by the faith community during the Yuan Dynasty.
Mosque column base.
This mosque column base was unearthed in 1998 at Jintoupu Village, outside Tonghuai Gate at the East Gate of Quanzhou.
The comparison table of ancient and modern place names on Quanzhou religious inscriptions is very interesting. It shows that most of the friends (dosti) who came to Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties were from Iran, including Ardabil, Fars, Jajarm, Gilan, Hamadan, Hormuz, Isfahan, Qazvin, Shiraz, Siraf, and Tabriz. Others came from Bukhara and Khwarazm in Uzbekistan, Balasagun in Kyrgyzstan, Ahlat in Turkey, Jerusalem in Palestine, Yemen, and Huocheng in Xinjiang, China.
Descendants of Quanzhou Muslims.
The tombstone of the Guo family ancestors was discovered by a survey team from the Maritime Museum in Fashi Village, in the eastern suburbs of Quanzhou, in 1974. It was moved to the Maritime Museum for preservation in 1978.
According to family records, the ancestors of the Baiqi Guo family were from Guojia Village in Fuyang, Hangzhou. They arrived in Quanzhou during the Yuan Dynasty, lived on East Street at first, and later moved to Fashi Port outside the East Gate. In 1956, villagers on Stone Street in Fashi Village were leveling land at a site commonly known as Liugongqi. They dug up a large tomb belonging to a foreign merchant (fanke) and turned the area into a garden. Villagers said the tomb had a large, square stone platform with two levels. Each level held two stone tombs shaped like Sumeru pedestals (xumizuo). A tombstone stood at the head of the upper level, but villagers broke it into two pieces and carried them back to the village to use as flooring for a communal warehouse.
In 1959 and 1974, a research team from the Quanzhou Maritime Museum followed clues from the Guo Clan Genealogy of Baiqi (Baiqi Guo Shi Zupu). After many searches in Fashi Village, they finally found the Guo family ancestral tombstone with Arabic writing. It was moved to the museum for safekeeping in 1978.
The top right corner of the tombstone has the words Tingpo carved in seal script, with Jin carved below it. This represents Tingpo in Fashi, Jinjiang County. The top left corner has the words Baiqi carved in seal script, with Hui carved below it. This represents Baiqi in Hui'an County. These two places are where the Baiqi Guo clan lived at different times. Below that, the words Ancestral Tomb of the Yuan Dynasty Guo Clan (Yuan Guo Shi Zu Fen Ying) are carved in regular script.
The Chinese characters on the tombstone are easy to explain, but the Arabic inscription is very difficult to interpret. In the early 1980s, the views of Chen Dasheng, the director of the Maritime Museum, became the mainstream opinion. He interpreted the Arabic as 'lbn Qds Daqqaq Nam', or 'Ibn Quds Daqqaq Nam'. Because 'nam' means 'famous' in Persian, he believed the ancestors of the Baiqi Guo family were Persian.
Professor Wu Youxiong from Quanzhou Normal University offered a completely different interpretation in his work, 'The Origins of the Baiqi Guo Surname and Mosque Education (Jingtang Jiaoyu)'. After consulting the director of the Arabic department at China National Radio, Wu Youxiong concluded that the text was actually Minnan dialect spelled out in Arabic script: 'Yin Go Zi Ta-gag Mou', meaning 'Tomb of Guo Deguang of the Yuan Dynasty'. He argued that previous researchers failed to translate it because they were unfamiliar with Minnan dialect, and that the evidence for the Guo family's Persian origins does not exist.
The method of using Arabic script to write Chinese is called 'Xiao'erjing' or 'Xiao'erjin', also known as 'Xiaojing'. It was used for annotations in mosque education (Jingtang Jiaoyu). According to the Guo family genealogy, the tomb of Guo Deguang was renovated many times. This tombstone was likely re-erected during the Qing Dynasty by Guo descendants who had returned to the faith.
In 1709 (the 48th year of the Kangxi reign), Chen Yougong, the regional commander of Tingyan-Shao and a left-wing commander-in-chief, came to Quanzhou. He revived the faith and established a school for mosque education (Jingtang Jiaoyu) at the Qingjing Mosque. At that time, Guo Honglong, a member of the eighth generation of the Guo family's fourth branch, moved from Hecuo in Baiqi to live at the Qingjing Mosque and returned to the faith, citing the principle of 'strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches'. After Honglong returned to the faith, other members of the Guo family who came to Quanzhou city for business began visiting the Qingjing Mosque. As the number of converts grew, Chen Yougong funded the construction of a mosque in Daishang Village, where the four branches of the Guo family lived. According to the Fenyang Guo Family Migration Map to Quanzhou Tonghuai Street, during the Kangxi year of Jichou, Commander Chen Yougong served at the Quanzhou Xiecan Office. He revived the faith, and after Baiqi and his nephew came to the city to trade, many more people joined the faith. The Daishang Mosque was built by Mr. Chen.
After Guo Honglong converted, most of his descendants moved to live near the Qingjing Mosque in Quanzhou, while others lived at the Daishang Mosque. According to the Fenyang Guo Family Migration Map to Quanzhou Tonghuai Street, during the Qianlong era, Guo Honglong's grandson Guo Shifu lived near the Qingjing Mosque in Quanzhou, while another grandson, Guo Shili, lived at the Daishang Mosque. According to the family genealogy Yizhai Gong Xing Shu, Guo Shifu helped renovate the Qingjing Mosque in 1794 (the 59th year of the Qianlong reign) alongside Bai Yunhan, the deputy commander of the Zhangzhou Left Battalion.
The Ding family of Chendai is known as the 'Ten Thousand Ding' and lives in Chendai Town, Jinjiang. They arrived in Quanzhou City during the Yuan Dynasty. In the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, they moved to Chendai to give up business for farming. By the mid-Ming Dynasty, they left the faith through the processes of clan formation and the imperial examination system. The owners of Anta, Xtep, 361°, and Qiaodan are all from the Ding family of Chendai.
The Pu family are descendants of Pu Shougeng, a key figure in Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties. Because Pu Shougeng massacred the Song dynasty royal family, the Ming dynasty ordered that all remaining members of the Pu family be sent to serve in the military, forcing his descendants to flee and hide.
The ancestor of the Jin family of Qingyuan, Jin Ji, served as a military general (wulue jiangjun) during the Zhishun era of the Yuan dynasty to guard the Quanzhou circuit, and he later helped end the Ispah rebellion. During the Wanli era of the Ming dynasty, a descendant of the Jin family named Jin Ali helped renovate the Qingjing Mosque.
The Su family of Yanzhi Lane originally came from Gushi County in Guangzhou, Henan, and moved to Quanzhou with Wang Chao at the end of the Tang dynasty. In 1307, the seventh year of the Yuan Dade era, the Su family ran into trouble while transporting government grain to the capital. The imperial court punished them severely, so Su Tangshe hid in Yanzhi Lane in Quanzhou, converted to Islam, changed his name to Ahema, and his family married Hui Muslims for generations.
The Lin family of Quanzhou originally came from Henan. In 1384, the seventeenth year of the Ming Hongwu era, Lin Nu sailed to the Western Oceans. Because he felt that different religions caused disharmony, he converted to Islam, married a Semu woman, and his descendants continued to practice the faith. Lin Qicai passed the imperial examination in 1559 (the 38th year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty). He wrote the 'Stele Record of the Imperial Reconstruction of Faming Mosque' for Faming Mosque, one of the four major official temples in Beijing during the Ming Dynasty, and the 'Stele for the Protection of the Tomb of Bo Hazhi' for the tomb of the Western Regions sage Bo Hazhi in Changping, Beijing. Some of Lin's descendants changed their surname to Li. The great Ming Dynasty thinker Li Zhi was a cousin of Lin Qicai.
The lawn of the Maritime Museum displays many stone tombs with pedestal bases (xumizuo). Many are carved with beautiful Arabic calligraphy, mostly featuring verses from the Quran.
During the Song and Yuan dynasties, Quanzhou had large areas of cemeteries for foreign merchants (fanke). These were mainly concentrated in the areas from Tumen Street to Jintoupu, Houban, Fashi, and Meishan in the southeast suburbs.
In the Song and Yuan dynasties, one could travel from Tonghuai Gate, pass through Jintoupu, and head southeast to reach the Houzhu seaport. The road from Tonghuai Gate to Fashi was built on alluvial beach land, so it often sank into the mud. Because of this, after the Ming Dynasty, local residents often used the stone tomb components with pedestal bases from the Song and Yuan dynasties as materials for slope protection and pond embankments when building roads and ponds. There were once three ponds at Puwei in Jintoupu. When the water dried up in winter, more than thirty Islamic tomb stones could be seen. South of Jintoupu, there is a small temple called Houban Palace. Just under its northeast wall, nearly ten stone tomb components with pedestal bases (xumizuo) are used as foundation stones. Several more Islamic tomb stones are also found near the drainage ditches and rice paddy mud in Houban Village.
Additionally, a large number of stone tomb components from the Song and Yuan dynasties were discovered in the areas of Jincuowei, Secuowei, Xiacuopu, Dingcuoshan, and Tiecuowei in the eastern suburbs of Quanzhou. Jin, Ding, Xia, and Tie are the surnames of the 'half-southern barbarians' (bannanfan)—the descendants of intermarriages between Arabs, Iranians, and local Quanzhou people—though these families no longer practice Islam today.
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Saudi Culture Guide: Beijing International Book Fair and Saudi Heritage
Reposted from the web
Summary: Saudi Culture Guide: Beijing International Book Fair and Saudi Heritage is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Saudi Culture, Beijing Book Fair, Muslim Travel while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
The 30th Beijing International Book Fair took place at the China National Convention Center from June 19 to 23. As the guest of honor, Saudi Arabia carefully planned a series of cultural exchange activities, including displays of calligraphy, clothing, and food culture, which attracted many people interested in learning about Saudi culture.
We tasted herbal Arabic coffee, sweet dates, and various date desserts, as well as Saudi-style chocolates. The date-filled cookies were especially delicious.
The cloth bag and notebook we received as gifts.
Nearby, a calligrapher was writing Arabic names for visitors. There was a long line, showing that everyone was very enthusiastic about Arabic culture.
The Saudi women's clothing exhibition perfectly blended tradition with modern style.
At the "Hejaz Night," under the brilliant starry sky of the Hejaz midnight, everyone shared stories and offered blessings to every Hejaz woman.
The creator is the famous Saudi fashion designer Adnan Akbar. He learned embroidery as a child and opened the first fashion boutique in Saudi Arabia in the 1970s. This piece was inspired by the traditional clothing of the Hejaz region and cleverly incorporates the beauty of sunlight reflecting off the Red Sea into its unique embroidery.
Adnan's work from the 1980s was inspired by ancient traditional Saudi jewelry.
Adnan's work from 1975 was inspired by the Asir region in southwestern Saudi Arabia, combining gold and silver threads with vibrant Arabian colors.
The "Covenant of Loyalty" combines traditional clothing features from four different regions of Saudi Arabia, innovating while staying rooted in tradition.
An exhibition of traditional Saudi musical instruments. The first is the bowed string instrument rebab, which is popular in northern Saudi Arabia. The rebab spread along trade routes to many parts of the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia, developing its own unique characteristics in each place. The rebab is very important in the music of the Arab Bedouin people and is their main bowed string instrument.
The plucked string instrument simsimiyya is mainly popular along the Red Sea coast in western Saudi Arabia. The simsimiyya is widely used in Egypt. It appeared in paintings from the time of the pharaohs and is an important instrument for accompaniment.
The oud is the oldest plucked string instrument in the world. Many Saudi musicians used the oud to compose, perform, and sing in the 20th century. Today, it is a key part of modern Saudi music. Modern ouds come in three types: Arabic, Turkish, and Persian. The one on display at the exhibition is an Arabic oud. The Arabic oud is larger than the Turkish and Persian versions, and its tone is fuller and deeper.
The exhibit shows how to make prayer beads (tasbih) and displays traditional pigments.
In the Middle East, people began using materials like pearl, amber, hardwood, and bone to make counting beads for reciting tasbih during the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. Since then, tasbih beads have developed into a distinct category of craft.
Traditional Saudi pigments are extracted from minerals and plants, including natural quartz, cranberries, canna leaves, and charcoal.
The Saudi exhibition area has many picture books. This set of food-themed books is high quality, with beautiful illustrations and interesting content. Each book uses several engaging stories to introduce food culture.
Our Food From Madinah: Madinah is a desert oasis in the mountains of western Saudi Arabia and is known for its high-quality roses.
Our Food From Najran: Najran is the date palm capital in southern Saudi Arabia and has the best soil in the country.
Our Food From Albaha: Albaha is located in the Hejaz Mountains in southwestern Saudi Arabia. It has heavy rainfall, thick forests, and a beautiful environment. Albaha produces many bananas, honey, apples, pomegranates, and pumpkins. This makes the food culture in the Albaha region very different from other parts of Saudi Arabia.
Our Food From Jazan: Jazan is on the Red Sea coast in the far southwest of Saudi Arabia. It sits right next to Yemen and is an important agricultural area. The coffee beans used for Saudi coffee grow on the terraced fields in the mountains of Jazan.
Our Food From Aseer: Aseer is in the southwest of Saudi Arabia. It has magnificent mountains and wide plains, a pleasant climate all year round, and a thriving agricultural sector.
The Saudi exhibition area features two picture books about Saudi historical sites: 'Princess Taj's Treasure and the Golden Mask' and 'AlUla: City of Miracles and Land of Civilization.' They introduce Saudi history and culture from the perspective of a child's adventure. AlUla was recently exhibited at the Gate of Divine Prowess in the Forbidden City, and it feels like Saudi Arabia has really prioritized cultural outreach over the last two years.
Besides the picture books they are giving away, the Saudi area also has some large display albums, and this photography collection of the Old Town of Jeddah is also very beautiful. The Old Town of Jeddah is probably the most accessible World Heritage site in Saudi Arabia. When we visited last year, the whole old town was under renovation, so we couldn't enter some of the old houses. I am looking forward to seeing how it looks once the repairs are finished.
Next to the Saudi exhibition area is the King Abdulaziz Public Library booth. This library has three branches in Riyadh, Casablanca, and Peking University. The Peking University branch was completed in 2017. There are also many exquisite art books inside the booth, including one that displays various miniature painting manuscripts. There are also many free picture books about local Saudi culture, all of which have been translated into Chinese.
After finishing the Saudi exhibition area, I continued to browse the nearby Iranian exhibition area. The biggest surprise was seeing Iranian artist Zeinab Badri creating her work on the spot. Zeinab was born in Tehran in 1991. She became a professional illustrator in 2015 and has created many works since then. When we visited, Zeinab was working on a piece about China and Iran, which felt very interesting.
The Iran exhibition area had a rich collection of books, including beautiful miniature painting albums and various children's picture books with very cute art styles, though they were all in Persian. We also saw the famous Persian language expert, Professor Bai Zhisuo, at the exhibition area. He is the one who translated the Complete Works of Masnavi for The Commercial Press. This May, The Commercial Press published two new books he translated, Art History in Islamic Civilization and Suhrawardi on Art and Aesthetic Philosophy. Those interested can buy them to read.
These are the cute picture books collected from the Iran exhibition hall, along with a postcard gifted by the illustrator Zeinab.
The Malaysia exhibition area is also worth a visit. Besides having many good books, you can also eat various small Malaysian snacks.
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Summary: Saudi Culture Guide: Beijing International Book Fair and Saudi Heritage is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Saudi Culture, Beijing Book Fair, Muslim Travel while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
The 30th Beijing International Book Fair took place at the China National Convention Center from June 19 to 23. As the guest of honor, Saudi Arabia carefully planned a series of cultural exchange activities, including displays of calligraphy, clothing, and food culture, which attracted many people interested in learning about Saudi culture.
We tasted herbal Arabic coffee, sweet dates, and various date desserts, as well as Saudi-style chocolates. The date-filled cookies were especially delicious.
The cloth bag and notebook we received as gifts.
Nearby, a calligrapher was writing Arabic names for visitors. There was a long line, showing that everyone was very enthusiastic about Arabic culture.
The Saudi women's clothing exhibition perfectly blended tradition with modern style.
At the "Hejaz Night," under the brilliant starry sky of the Hejaz midnight, everyone shared stories and offered blessings to every Hejaz woman.
The creator is the famous Saudi fashion designer Adnan Akbar. He learned embroidery as a child and opened the first fashion boutique in Saudi Arabia in the 1970s. This piece was inspired by the traditional clothing of the Hejaz region and cleverly incorporates the beauty of sunlight reflecting off the Red Sea into its unique embroidery.
Adnan's work from the 1980s was inspired by ancient traditional Saudi jewelry.
Adnan's work from 1975 was inspired by the Asir region in southwestern Saudi Arabia, combining gold and silver threads with vibrant Arabian colors.
The "Covenant of Loyalty" combines traditional clothing features from four different regions of Saudi Arabia, innovating while staying rooted in tradition.
An exhibition of traditional Saudi musical instruments. The first is the bowed string instrument rebab, which is popular in northern Saudi Arabia. The rebab spread along trade routes to many parts of the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia, developing its own unique characteristics in each place. The rebab is very important in the music of the Arab Bedouin people and is their main bowed string instrument.
The plucked string instrument simsimiyya is mainly popular along the Red Sea coast in western Saudi Arabia. The simsimiyya is widely used in Egypt. It appeared in paintings from the time of the pharaohs and is an important instrument for accompaniment.
The oud is the oldest plucked string instrument in the world. Many Saudi musicians used the oud to compose, perform, and sing in the 20th century. Today, it is a key part of modern Saudi music. Modern ouds come in three types: Arabic, Turkish, and Persian. The one on display at the exhibition is an Arabic oud. The Arabic oud is larger than the Turkish and Persian versions, and its tone is fuller and deeper.
The exhibit shows how to make prayer beads (tasbih) and displays traditional pigments.
In the Middle East, people began using materials like pearl, amber, hardwood, and bone to make counting beads for reciting tasbih during the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. Since then, tasbih beads have developed into a distinct category of craft.
Traditional Saudi pigments are extracted from minerals and plants, including natural quartz, cranberries, canna leaves, and charcoal.
The Saudi exhibition area has many picture books. This set of food-themed books is high quality, with beautiful illustrations and interesting content. Each book uses several engaging stories to introduce food culture.
Our Food From Madinah: Madinah is a desert oasis in the mountains of western Saudi Arabia and is known for its high-quality roses.
Our Food From Najran: Najran is the date palm capital in southern Saudi Arabia and has the best soil in the country.
Our Food From Albaha: Albaha is located in the Hejaz Mountains in southwestern Saudi Arabia. It has heavy rainfall, thick forests, and a beautiful environment. Albaha produces many bananas, honey, apples, pomegranates, and pumpkins. This makes the food culture in the Albaha region very different from other parts of Saudi Arabia.
Our Food From Jazan: Jazan is on the Red Sea coast in the far southwest of Saudi Arabia. It sits right next to Yemen and is an important agricultural area. The coffee beans used for Saudi coffee grow on the terraced fields in the mountains of Jazan.
Our Food From Aseer: Aseer is in the southwest of Saudi Arabia. It has magnificent mountains and wide plains, a pleasant climate all year round, and a thriving agricultural sector.
The Saudi exhibition area features two picture books about Saudi historical sites: 'Princess Taj's Treasure and the Golden Mask' and 'AlUla: City of Miracles and Land of Civilization.' They introduce Saudi history and culture from the perspective of a child's adventure. AlUla was recently exhibited at the Gate of Divine Prowess in the Forbidden City, and it feels like Saudi Arabia has really prioritized cultural outreach over the last two years.
Besides the picture books they are giving away, the Saudi area also has some large display albums, and this photography collection of the Old Town of Jeddah is also very beautiful. The Old Town of Jeddah is probably the most accessible World Heritage site in Saudi Arabia. When we visited last year, the whole old town was under renovation, so we couldn't enter some of the old houses. I am looking forward to seeing how it looks once the repairs are finished.
Next to the Saudi exhibition area is the King Abdulaziz Public Library booth. This library has three branches in Riyadh, Casablanca, and Peking University. The Peking University branch was completed in 2017. There are also many exquisite art books inside the booth, including one that displays various miniature painting manuscripts. There are also many free picture books about local Saudi culture, all of which have been translated into Chinese.
After finishing the Saudi exhibition area, I continued to browse the nearby Iranian exhibition area. The biggest surprise was seeing Iranian artist Zeinab Badri creating her work on the spot. Zeinab was born in Tehran in 1991. She became a professional illustrator in 2015 and has created many works since then. When we visited, Zeinab was working on a piece about China and Iran, which felt very interesting.
The Iran exhibition area had a rich collection of books, including beautiful miniature painting albums and various children's picture books with very cute art styles, though they were all in Persian. We also saw the famous Persian language expert, Professor Bai Zhisuo, at the exhibition area. He is the one who translated the Complete Works of Masnavi for The Commercial Press. This May, The Commercial Press published two new books he translated, Art History in Islamic Civilization and Suhrawardi on Art and Aesthetic Philosophy. Those interested can buy them to read.
These are the cute picture books collected from the Iran exhibition hall, along with a postcard gifted by the illustrator Zeinab.
The Malaysia exhibition area is also worth a visit. Besides having many good books, you can also eat various small Malaysian snacks.
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Halal Travel Guide: Xinlitun and Fuxin - Liaoning Towns, Mosques and Food
Reposted from the web
Summary: Halal Travel Guide: Xinlitun and Fuxin - Liaoning Towns, Mosques and Food is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Xinlitun, Fuxin, Liaoning Travel while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
On the morning of June 10, I took a high-speed train from Xinmin North Station in Liaoning and arrived at Heishan North Station in 15 minutes. I then took a taxi to Xinlitun Town, moving from the jurisdiction of Shenyang to that of Jinzhou. We performed the afternoon prayer (peshin) at the Xinlitun Mosque. The imam at the mosque is from Cangzhou. During this trip to Liaoning, I found that many imams are from Cangzhou. This connects Northeast and North China closely, not just through culture but also through religious traditions.
Xinlitun is an ancient town in the western Liaoning region, known as the First Town Beyond the Border. During the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty, Hui Muslims from places like Jinzhou, Yixian, Heishan, and Yingkou came to settle in Xinlitun. They built the Xinlitun Mosque in 1842 (the 22nd year of Daoguang).
On the 15th day of the first lunar month in 1873 (the 12th year of Tongzhi), Xinlitun held a stilt-walking festival. During the event, a Manchu banner man named Dashan, also known as Fifth Master Da, got into a dispute with Hui Muslims named Liu Hua, Zhao Guang'en, and Wang Yao. This escalated into a conflict between the Manchu and Hui communities, which eventually led to the burning of the Xinlitun Mosque. Afterward, both the Manchu and Hui communities learned from the incident and decided to rebuild the Xinlitun Mosque. After years of planning, General Zuo Baogui, an anti-Japanese hero who led the Fengtian Army, personally donated 300 taels of silver to finally finish the reconstruction.
The main gate of Xinlitun Mosque has two couplets: 'Transforming people and things, it can transform everything; giving birth to heaven and earth, it gives birth to life itself.'
The light that gives birth to heaven, earth, people, and all living things; all life has one supreme ruler.
With saints, sages, emperors, and kings, all follow the one and only original Lord.
Above the main gate, there is also a stone carving of two dragons playing with a pearl.
The brick and stone carvings at Xinlitun Mosque are very beautiful and feature many traditional patterns. There are inscriptions on the stone carvings on both sides of the main hall, which is very rare for an old mosque.
The traditional calligraphy at Xinlitun Mosque includes both outlined and broad-stroke styles, both of which are very unique. The plaque in the center of the main hall was handwritten by Imam Bai Hexi in 1983. Imam Bai was born in 1911 in Pingquan, Hebei, and studied under the famous Grand Imam Liu Pinyi from Hebei.
In front of the main hall of Xinlitun Mosque, there are four stone tablets from the Guangxu era renovation that contain a wealth of information about the donors. The 1887 tablet titled "Stele for the Renovation of Xinlitun Mosque" lists the name of General Zuo Baogui, a commander in the Fengtian Army and an anti-Japanese hero. It also mentions Dashan, the leader of the Manchu people during the conflicts between the Manchu and Hui Muslims at that time. This serves as a symbol of how the tensions between the Manchu and Hui Muslims in Xinlitun were resolved during the Guangxu reign.
The "Stele of Surnames and Donation Amounts for the Mosque Renovation" lists the mosques that contributed funds at the time. The sheer number of them is the highest in Northeast China, showing the close connections between the various mosque communities in the region back then.
Fengtian Province: South Mosque, North Mosque, Fumin Hall South Mosque, Fumin Hall North Mosque, Huimintun Mosque, Banlamen Mosque, Guangning Mosque, Qinghemen Mosque, Shaohuying Mosque, Shijiagou Mosque, Huihuitun Mosque, Yizhou City Mosque, Jinzhou Prefecture Mosque, Hongluoxian Mosque, Gaoqiao Town Mosque, Zhonghousuo Mosque, Shanhaiguan Mosque, Laogongwo Three Mosques, Tieling Mosque, Kaiyuan Mosque, and Fakumen Mosque.
Jilin Province: West Mosque, East Mosque, North Mosque, Manjiatun Mosque, Yitong Prefecture Mosque, Yingchengzi Mosque, Ashiha Mosque, Wulajie Mosque, Shanqianhuai Mosque, Kaoshantun Mosque, Nong'an City Mosque, Taipingzhuang Mosque, and Xiaohelong Mosque.
Kulu Street: Public Council, Zhou Junkui, various shop guests, and the mosque.
To the north: Shaodanghang, Niuzhuang City, Haizhou City, Gaizhou City, Fuzhou City, Liaoyang City, Fenghuang City, Xiuyan, Tianzhuangtai, Shegouying, Pikou, Dengshang, Fujiatun, Bajiaotai, and the two forts of Tong and Liu.
There are many halal restaurants in Xinlitun, but many were closed for the Dragon Boat Festival. We bought beef jerky and smoked dried tofu (gan doufu) at Wang Zijing Deli, and both were delicious! The dried tofu is especially tasty when eaten with noodles and baked flatbread (huoshao).
We had charcoal-grilled meat for lunch in Xinmintun; eating barbecue in town is such a great deal. They serve Qiqihar-style barbecue, and since the owner is a cattle butcher, the beef is cheap and tasty. We ordered beef chuck (niu shangnao) and beef rib fingers (niu litiao), which tasted great wrapped in lettuce. We also ordered Northeast-style cold noodles and Korean-style bibimbap; a big bowl of cold noodles is only 10 yuan and will definitely fill you up.
I took a train from Xinlitun Railway Station in the afternoon and arrived at Fuxin South Station. First, I visited the Haizhou Open-pit Mine National Mine Park, then I went to the Fuxin Mosque (Fuxin Si) to pray and perform dua.
The urban area of Fuxin was originally a grassland for the Mongols, and the name Haizhou comes from the Mongolian word for hillside. Coal was discovered in Haizhou in 1913, and it was mined on a small, shallow scale at first. After Japan occupied Fuxin in 1931, they started large-scale open-pit mining and forced many laborers to work there, which quickly turned Fuxin into an industrial city. Fuxin City was officially established in 1940, with the central mining area as its core.
After 1936, the Japanese forced some Hui Muslims from Shandong and Hebei to come to Fuxin to mine coal, and Hui Muslims began to settle in the city. In 1953, the Haizhou Coal Mine was built into the first large-scale open-pit coal mine in New China. It was the largest open-pit coal mine in Asia at the time, and the number of Hui Muslims in Fuxin gradually increased.
I had dinner at the Daijia Restaurant Huiweizhai near the Fuxin Mosque in the evening. I ordered the braised beef brisket (baxiongkou) with rice, and the shop also served dried tofu (gandoufu) and soybeans on the side. Traditional halal stir-fry dishes in Liaoning are similar to those in Beijing and Tianjin. They all developed from Shandong cuisine (Lucai), so the flavors are quite alike. The various stir-fried dishes go great with rice, and the dried tofu (gandoufu) is delicious.
The Dai family was one of the first groups of Hui Muslims to move to Fuxin. In the second year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty, they traveled from Cangzhou, Hebei, to settle in Qinghemen Town, Fuxin. The Dai family is a major Hui Muslim clan in Cangzhou. According to family records, their ancestor Dai Cheng was originally a Han Chinese Buddhist. He moved from Hongdong County, Shanxi, to Qing County, Cangzhou, in the second year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty, and later served as the commander of the Pengcheng Guard. Dai Cheng became friends with an imam in Qing County. Influenced by the imam, he eventually converted to Islam. His descendants later led the construction of the Daijiazhuang Mosque in Qing County during the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty.
However, genetic testing of the Dai family's descendants shows their genotype is J2a-MF194043, which belongs to the same branch as the Yin family of Hui Muslims in Cangzhou. This genotype originates from Armenia and is typical of the Hui Muslims from the Western Regions.
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Summary: Halal Travel Guide: Xinlitun and Fuxin - Liaoning Towns, Mosques and Food is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Xinlitun, Fuxin, Liaoning Travel while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.
On the morning of June 10, I took a high-speed train from Xinmin North Station in Liaoning and arrived at Heishan North Station in 15 minutes. I then took a taxi to Xinlitun Town, moving from the jurisdiction of Shenyang to that of Jinzhou. We performed the afternoon prayer (peshin) at the Xinlitun Mosque. The imam at the mosque is from Cangzhou. During this trip to Liaoning, I found that many imams are from Cangzhou. This connects Northeast and North China closely, not just through culture but also through religious traditions.
Xinlitun is an ancient town in the western Liaoning region, known as the First Town Beyond the Border. During the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty, Hui Muslims from places like Jinzhou, Yixian, Heishan, and Yingkou came to settle in Xinlitun. They built the Xinlitun Mosque in 1842 (the 22nd year of Daoguang).
On the 15th day of the first lunar month in 1873 (the 12th year of Tongzhi), Xinlitun held a stilt-walking festival. During the event, a Manchu banner man named Dashan, also known as Fifth Master Da, got into a dispute with Hui Muslims named Liu Hua, Zhao Guang'en, and Wang Yao. This escalated into a conflict between the Manchu and Hui communities, which eventually led to the burning of the Xinlitun Mosque. Afterward, both the Manchu and Hui communities learned from the incident and decided to rebuild the Xinlitun Mosque. After years of planning, General Zuo Baogui, an anti-Japanese hero who led the Fengtian Army, personally donated 300 taels of silver to finally finish the reconstruction.
The main gate of Xinlitun Mosque has two couplets: 'Transforming people and things, it can transform everything; giving birth to heaven and earth, it gives birth to life itself.'
The light that gives birth to heaven, earth, people, and all living things; all life has one supreme ruler.
With saints, sages, emperors, and kings, all follow the one and only original Lord.
Above the main gate, there is also a stone carving of two dragons playing with a pearl.
The brick and stone carvings at Xinlitun Mosque are very beautiful and feature many traditional patterns. There are inscriptions on the stone carvings on both sides of the main hall, which is very rare for an old mosque.
The traditional calligraphy at Xinlitun Mosque includes both outlined and broad-stroke styles, both of which are very unique. The plaque in the center of the main hall was handwritten by Imam Bai Hexi in 1983. Imam Bai was born in 1911 in Pingquan, Hebei, and studied under the famous Grand Imam Liu Pinyi from Hebei.
In front of the main hall of Xinlitun Mosque, there are four stone tablets from the Guangxu era renovation that contain a wealth of information about the donors. The 1887 tablet titled "Stele for the Renovation of Xinlitun Mosque" lists the name of General Zuo Baogui, a commander in the Fengtian Army and an anti-Japanese hero. It also mentions Dashan, the leader of the Manchu people during the conflicts between the Manchu and Hui Muslims at that time. This serves as a symbol of how the tensions between the Manchu and Hui Muslims in Xinlitun were resolved during the Guangxu reign.
The "Stele of Surnames and Donation Amounts for the Mosque Renovation" lists the mosques that contributed funds at the time. The sheer number of them is the highest in Northeast China, showing the close connections between the various mosque communities in the region back then.
Fengtian Province: South Mosque, North Mosque, Fumin Hall South Mosque, Fumin Hall North Mosque, Huimintun Mosque, Banlamen Mosque, Guangning Mosque, Qinghemen Mosque, Shaohuying Mosque, Shijiagou Mosque, Huihuitun Mosque, Yizhou City Mosque, Jinzhou Prefecture Mosque, Hongluoxian Mosque, Gaoqiao Town Mosque, Zhonghousuo Mosque, Shanhaiguan Mosque, Laogongwo Three Mosques, Tieling Mosque, Kaiyuan Mosque, and Fakumen Mosque.
Jilin Province: West Mosque, East Mosque, North Mosque, Manjiatun Mosque, Yitong Prefecture Mosque, Yingchengzi Mosque, Ashiha Mosque, Wulajie Mosque, Shanqianhuai Mosque, Kaoshantun Mosque, Nong'an City Mosque, Taipingzhuang Mosque, and Xiaohelong Mosque.
Kulu Street: Public Council, Zhou Junkui, various shop guests, and the mosque.
To the north: Shaodanghang, Niuzhuang City, Haizhou City, Gaizhou City, Fuzhou City, Liaoyang City, Fenghuang City, Xiuyan, Tianzhuangtai, Shegouying, Pikou, Dengshang, Fujiatun, Bajiaotai, and the two forts of Tong and Liu.
There are many halal restaurants in Xinlitun, but many were closed for the Dragon Boat Festival. We bought beef jerky and smoked dried tofu (gan doufu) at Wang Zijing Deli, and both were delicious! The dried tofu is especially tasty when eaten with noodles and baked flatbread (huoshao).
We had charcoal-grilled meat for lunch in Xinmintun; eating barbecue in town is such a great deal. They serve Qiqihar-style barbecue, and since the owner is a cattle butcher, the beef is cheap and tasty. We ordered beef chuck (niu shangnao) and beef rib fingers (niu litiao), which tasted great wrapped in lettuce. We also ordered Northeast-style cold noodles and Korean-style bibimbap; a big bowl of cold noodles is only 10 yuan and will definitely fill you up.
I took a train from Xinlitun Railway Station in the afternoon and arrived at Fuxin South Station. First, I visited the Haizhou Open-pit Mine National Mine Park, then I went to the Fuxin Mosque (Fuxin Si) to pray and perform dua.
The urban area of Fuxin was originally a grassland for the Mongols, and the name Haizhou comes from the Mongolian word for hillside. Coal was discovered in Haizhou in 1913, and it was mined on a small, shallow scale at first. After Japan occupied Fuxin in 1931, they started large-scale open-pit mining and forced many laborers to work there, which quickly turned Fuxin into an industrial city. Fuxin City was officially established in 1940, with the central mining area as its core.
After 1936, the Japanese forced some Hui Muslims from Shandong and Hebei to come to Fuxin to mine coal, and Hui Muslims began to settle in the city. In 1953, the Haizhou Coal Mine was built into the first large-scale open-pit coal mine in New China. It was the largest open-pit coal mine in Asia at the time, and the number of Hui Muslims in Fuxin gradually increased.
I had dinner at the Daijia Restaurant Huiweizhai near the Fuxin Mosque in the evening. I ordered the braised beef brisket (baxiongkou) with rice, and the shop also served dried tofu (gandoufu) and soybeans on the side. Traditional halal stir-fry dishes in Liaoning are similar to those in Beijing and Tianjin. They all developed from Shandong cuisine (Lucai), so the flavors are quite alike. The various stir-fried dishes go great with rice, and the dried tofu (gandoufu) is delicious.
The Dai family was one of the first groups of Hui Muslims to move to Fuxin. In the second year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty, they traveled from Cangzhou, Hebei, to settle in Qinghemen Town, Fuxin. The Dai family is a major Hui Muslim clan in Cangzhou. According to family records, their ancestor Dai Cheng was originally a Han Chinese Buddhist. He moved from Hongdong County, Shanxi, to Qing County, Cangzhou, in the second year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty, and later served as the commander of the Pengcheng Guard. Dai Cheng became friends with an imam in Qing County. Influenced by the imam, he eventually converted to Islam. His descendants later led the construction of the Daijiazhuang Mosque in Qing County during the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty.
However, genetic testing of the Dai family's descendants shows their genotype is J2a-MF194043, which belongs to the same branch as the Yin family of Hui Muslims in Cangzhou. This genotype originates from Armenia and is typical of the Hui Muslims from the Western Regions.
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