Reposted from the web

Summary: This first part of the Liaoning mosque series traces historic Hui Muslim mosques, migration routes, and community life across the province. The article preserves founding dates, architectural layouts, imam and elder stories, old inscriptions, and photos of prayer halls, gates, and carved details.

I am sharing 12 ancient mosque (qingzhensi) buildings I visited in Liaoning, moving in a clockwise direction.

Lingyuan Mosque: First built during the Qianlong reign.

Suizhong Mosque: First built in 1737, moved in 1797, and renovated in 1927.

Luyang Mosque: First built in 1531 and rebuilt in 1925.

Beizhen Mosque: First built in 1522 and expanded in 1617.

Xinlitun Mosque: First built in 1842 and rebuilt in 1873.

Xinmin Mosque: First built in 1765 and rebuilt in 1883.

Shenyang South Mosque: First built in 1636, with expansions in 1662 and 1902.

Shenyang East Mosque: First built in 1803 and renovated in 1935.

Kaiyuan Old City Mosque: First built in 1406 and rebuilt in 1680.

Fengcheng Mosque: First built in 1775 and expanded in 1890.

Fuzhou Mosque: First built in 1649 and expanded in 1920.

Qingdui Mosque: First built during the Daoguang reign, rebuilt in 1895, and expanded in 1920.

Lingyuan Mosque

Lingyuan sits at the border of Hebei, Liaoning, and Inner Mongolia. It was originally called Tazigou. Since the Qianlong reign, Hui Muslims from Shandong and Hebei kept traveling through the gaps in the Great Wall near Xifengkou to reach the northeast. Lingyuan was their first stop after leaving the pass, and some Hui Muslims settled there.

Lingyuan Mosque was built during the Qianlong reign. According to the stone inscriptions inside, a Hui Muslim doctor named Zhang Lichen and others cured the illness of a Mongol prince from the Harqin Left Banner. The prince's mansion then provided the land and silver to build the Lingyuan Mosque.

Main gate





Hanging flower gate (chuihuamen)



The prayer hall consists of a porch, a main hall, and a rear niche (yaodian), just like traditional northern styles, but the architectural details are very different from styles found inside the pass.













The main hall has cracks due to years of neglect and is currently closed. Namaz is now held in a room nearby.



















Side rooms (xiangfang)















Suizhong Mosque

Suizhong is right next to Shanhai Pass and is the southwestern-most county in Liaoning. 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 mosque was built in 1737 (the second year of the Qianlong reign) below the Kuixing Tower in the southeast of Suizhong city, and it was moved to its current location inside the West Gate in 1797 (the third year of the Jiaqing reign).

The Suizhong mosque was renovated between 1924 and 1927, suffered severe damage in the 1960s, and was restored again between 1981 and 1984.



Turn left after entering the gate to find the ablution room (shuifang).



Calligraphy in the ablution room (shuifang).



Opposite the main gate is the second gate.



A vase-shaped ornament on the porch roof (juanpeng).



Inside the second gate is the main prayer hall.





The porch (baoxia) in front of the main prayer hall is the most distinctive part of the mosque, and it is the most brightly colored mosque porch I have ever seen.



The front says "Mosque" (Qingzhensi), and the two sides are inscribed with "Rectify the Heart" (Zhengxin) and "Sincerity" (Chengyi).







A plaque reading "Recognize the Oneness of Allah" (Renzhu Duyi).



Details of the patterns.







Behind the porch (baoxia) is the main prayer hall, which features very delicate brick carvings.



The large character for "religion" (jiao) at the bottom is new work, while the brick carvings above are likely original.



You can take a close look at the content of the brick carvings, which include scrolls, painting tubes, incense bottles, and even a chessboard and various fruits.





Traditional Hui Muslim paintings on the door of the main prayer hall.







The interior of the main prayer hall was likely rearranged after the 1980s, and both the mihrab and minbar are very simple.





Above the rear kiln hall (yaodian) of the main prayer hall is the moon-sighting tower (wangyuelou).







Luyang Mosque.

Luyang Town is located east of Jinzhou, not far from Goubangzi, the home of the famous Goubangzi smoked chicken. Luyang Mosque was first built in 1531 (the tenth year of the Ming Jiajing reign), renovated during the Qing Xianfeng period, and rebuilt into its current form between 1922 and 1925. During the reconstruction, Manager Wang of the Luyang Enliyong pastry shop was in charge of construction, and he invited Yang Peiran (Yuchun), who was a brigade commander in the Northeast Army at the time, to help raise funds. People say when the two main beams for the hall were transported from the Goubangzi train station to Luyang, they were pulled by over a dozen oxen, moving step by step for more than half a month. Work stopped several times to prepare materials, and it finally took two and a half years to complete.

Luyang Mosque is a rare historic mosque in China that places the moon-sighting tower (wangyuelou) directly above the main prayer hall, and you can climb up to sight the moon using a wooden ladder inside the hall. A plaque inscribed by the anti-Japanese hero General Zuo Baogui, reading 'Gu Shi Ming Ming,' originally hung in front of the main hall. Sadly, it was destroyed along with other plaques during the Cultural Revolution. The current plaque was re-inscribed in 1984.

















Beizhen Mosque

Beizhen Mosque is located outside the Xiaonan Gate of Beizhen in Jinzhou. It was first built in 1522 (the first year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty), expanded in 1617 (the 45th year of the Wanli reign), and renovated again in 1798 (the third year of the Jiaqing reign). Historically, Beizhen Mosque was inside the south city of Guangning. When the city was renovated during the Qianlong reign, the south city was abandoned. The south city wall gradually disappeared, and later Guangning City was renamed Beizhen City, turning Beizhen Mosque from a city mosque into one located outside the city walls.

Beizhen Mosque follows the traditional northern mosque structure of a porch (juanpeng), main hall, and rear hall (yaodian), but it is unique because the porch and the main hall are separate and not connected. The beams and brackets of the building feature painted floral patterns and exquisite wood carvings.





















Plaques currently preserved at Beizhen Mosque

The Way of Heaven's Mandate: Respectfully presented to Guangning County Mosque by General Wuwei of Fei County, Shandong, Zuo Baogui, in the first year of the Guangxu reign of the Great Qing Dynasty (1875), during the first ten days of the twelfth lunar month. This was presented by the famous anti-Japanese general Zuo Baogui while he was passing through Beizhen on his way to fight in the war in Korea.



Ancient Islamic Faith: Respectfully erected by followers Yang Yuxi and Yang Yuzhen in the first ten days of the seventh lunar month in the year of Yiyin (1795) of the Qianlong reign.



Everlasting Golden Daylily: Presented by Xu Guangzhang, an official of Guangning County, Jinzhou Prefecture, and Bai Yongfu, a local officer, in the first ten days of the fourth lunar month in the year of Yisi (1845) of the Daoguang reign.



Sincere Righteous Act: The ancient mosque was renovated in the autumn of 1617 (the 45th year of the Wanli reign), respectfully presented by the Northeast Islamic Association.



Gratitude for Great Kindness: Respectfully erected in the first ten days of the fourth lunar month in the year of Yisi (1845) of the Daoguang reign by Jin Qiyuan, a follower and newly appointed patrol officer of Guangning County.



Universal Mercy for All Things: Respectfully erected in the year of Yimao (1794) of the Qianlong reign by follower Yang Yuzhen and his son Jianming.



Righteousness Among Peers: Mr. Zhang, whose wealth-generating name was Juxing. He was a registered resident of Beizhen. He was generous, righteous, and enthusiastic about public affairs. Whenever there was something in our faith that needed to be done or reformed, he was always the first to advocate for it and support it with all his might. Because of this, in recent years, although the affairs of our faith have not reached perfection, they have moved closer to civilization and begun to shine. When drinking water, one must think of the source; Mr. Zhang's contribution is truly worthy of praise. Unexpectedly, Heaven did not grant him a long life, and he was killed in the line of duty for the sake of the country on a certain day of a certain month. Beyond our deep grief, we feared his life's deeds would be forgotten, so we gathered together to erect a stone tablet to honor his name. We still felt a sense of regret, knowing that a tablet might not fully capture his merits. We have now carved this plaque to ensure his memory lasts for a long time and to serve as a small token of our gratitude. The Beizhen County Mosque was established by the entire congregation, on a lucky day in the middle of the twelfth lunar month in the ninth year of the Republic of China (1920).



Xinlitun Mosque

Xinlitun is an ancient town in Jinzhou, western Liaoning, known as the 'First Town Beyond the Border'. During the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty, Hui Muslims from Jinzhou, Yixian, Heishan, Yingkou, and other places settled in Xinlitun and 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 conflict broke out between the Manchu leader Dashan (Fifth Master) and Hui Muslims including Liu Hua, Zhao Guang'en, and Wang Yao, which escalated into a clash between the Manchu and Hui communities, eventually leading 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 several years of preparation, General Zuo Baogui, an anti-Japanese hero and commander of the Fengtian Army, led the effort by donating 300 taels of silver to complete the reconstruction.



















The main gate of the Xinlitun Mosque features two couplets: 'Transforming people and things, it can transform all; giving life to heaven and earth, it gives life to all.'

The light that gives life to heaven, earth, people, and all living things, the one Lord of all creation.

Saints, sages, emperors, and kings all follow the one and only supreme authority.

Above the main gate, there is also a stone carving of two dragons playing with a pearl.







The brick and stone carvings at the Xinlitun Mosque are very exquisite and feature various traditional patterns. The stone carvings on both sides of the main prayer hall feature inscriptions, which is very rare for an ancient mosque.











The traditional calligraphy at the Xinlitun Mosque includes both the 'miaohui' (tracing) style and the 'kuanbi' (broad-brush) style, both of which are very distinctive. The plaque in the center of the main prayer hall was handwritten in 1983 by Imam Bai Hexi. Imam Bai was born in 1911 in Pingquan, Hebei, and studied under the famous Great Imam Liu Pinyi from Hebei.























In front of the main prayer hall of the Xinlitun Mosque, there are four steles from the Guangxu era renovation, which contain detailed information about the donors. The 'Stele for the Renovation of the Xinlitun Mosque' from the 13th year of Guangxu (1887) lists not only the name of the anti-Japanese hero and Fengtian Army commander General Zuo Baogui but also the Manchu leader Dashan, who was involved in the earlier conflict, symbolizing the resolution of Manchu-Hui tensions in Xinlitun during the Guangxu era.

The 'Stele of Donor Names and Silver Amounts for the Mosque Renovation' lists a number of contributing mosques that was the highest in Northeast China, showing the close connections between the various mosque communities in the region at that time.

Fengtian Province: South Mosque, North Mosque, Fumin Hall South Mosque, Fumin Hall North Mosque, Huimin Tun Mosque, Banlamen Mosque, Guangning Mosque, Qinghemen Mosque, Shaohuying Mosque, Shijiagou Mosque, Huihui Tun Mosque, Yizhou City Mosque, Jinzhou Prefecture Mosque, Hongluoxian Mosque, Gaoqiao Town Mosque, Zhonghousuo Mosque, Shanhaiguan Mosque, Laogongwo Three Mosques, Tieling Mosque, Kaiyuan Mosque, Fakumen Mosque.

Jilin Province: West Mosque, East Mosque, North Mosque, Manjia Tun Mosque, Yitong Prefecture Mosque, Yingchengzi Mosque, Ashiha Mosque, Wula Street Mosque, Shanqianhuai Mosque, Kaoshan Tun Mosque, Nong'an City Mosque, Taipingzhuang Mosque, Xiaohelong Mosque.

Kulu Street: Public Council, Zhou Junkui, various shop guests, and the Mosque.

Beyond the Northern Border: Shaodang Firm, Niuzhuang City, Haizhou City, Gaizhou City, Fuzhou City, Liaoyang City, Fenghuang City, Xiuyan, Tianzhuangtai, Shegouying, Pikou, Dengshang, Fujia Tun, Bajiaotai, Tongliu Two Forts.















Xinmin Mosque

Xinmin is in the northwest part of Shenyang. In the early years of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, many new immigrants came here to farm during the migration to the northeast, which is how the name Xinmin started. During the Qianlong reign, many Hui Muslims came to Xinmin. In 1765, they built Xinmin Mosque in Nanyingzi. Xinmin Mosque burned down in 1866. It was rebuilt in 1883, which is the structure we see today.

The main building of Xinmin Mosque consists of a porch (juanpeng), the main prayer hall, the rear kiln hall (yaodian), and the Moon-Watching Tower (wangyuelou) on top of the kiln hall. The Moon-Watching Tower has a double-eaved roof with four corners coming to a point, and it has a 1.5-meter-tall copper spire on top. The beams of the porch are painted with Suzhou-style patterns, and the wooden screens feature delicate openwork carvings. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: This second part of the Liaoning mosque series continues through old mosque communities in the province, including buildings rebuilt or altered across the Qing Dynasty, Republic of China era, and later decades. The article records mosque origins, prayer hall structures, community elders, steles, and architectural details still visible today.











The main gate and side rooms of Xinmin Mosque. Above the main gate hangs a plaque reading "Correct Yourself, Correct Others," presented in 1883 by Liu Dianyuan, a military officer with the rank of Blue Feather Guard.







There are three plaques in front of the main prayer hall. The first plaque, "The One and Only for Eternity," was presented in 1873 by Zhang Delu, a military official; Ha Zhongguang, a hereditary noble; and Ma Shaochun, a local magistrate.



The second plaque, "Be Pure, Be One," was presented in 1883 by Ding Chunxi, a military commander and decorated hero.



The third plaque, "Sincere Intentions and Respectful Heart," was presented in 1883 by Zuo Baogui, a high-ranking military commander in charge of the Fengtian camp. Zuo Baogui was a famous general in the late Qing Dynasty and a hero in the war against Japan. He led troops to guard Fengtian in 1875 and began commanding the Fengtian army in 1880. Zuo Baogui was stationed in Fengtian for twenty years. During this time, he was devoted to his faith, supported public welfare and education, donated to build many mosques, set up schools and soup kitchens, and wrote plaques for many mosques.



The mihrab, minbar, and roof gables of the Xinmin Mosque main hall feature beautiful calligraphy. This is a traditional Chinese calligraphy style that originated in Shandong during the Ming and Qing dynasties and became popular in Northeast China through the Shandong school.



















Qing Dynasty door stones and stone tablets are piled up in the backyard of Xinmin Mosque. A tablet from the Tongzhi era contains a contract for a cemetery, including the names of donors and the boundaries of the land. The inscription also provides a rare mention of the now-vanished Xinmin North Mosque. Xinmin North Mosque was built in 1853. Its kiln-style prayer hall had a moon-viewing tower (wangyuelou) with double eaves, but it was destroyed in the 1960s and 1970s.













Shenyang South Mosque.

Shenyang South Mosque was built in 1636. The ancestors of the Tie family who founded it were Hui Muslims who came to the interior of China during the Mongol western campaigns. In the early Ming Dynasty, Tie Xuan served as a government official in Jinan. During the Jingnan Campaign in 1400, Tie Xuan led the defense of Jinan. The Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, attacked for three months without success. It was not until 1402, after the Prince of Yan captured Nanjing and returned north, that Jinan finally fell. Tie Xuan was captured and executed. After Tie Xuan passed away, his second son, Tie Fushu, fled outside the Great Wall and moved from Jinzhou to Shenyang between 1573 and 1620.

The original Shenyang South Mosque was quite simple. In 1662, Tie Kui expanded it into a large mosque and invited the famous imam She Yuanshan from Beijing to teach there. After Imam She's student Tie Hongji finished his studies, he became the leader. From then on, the position of imam at the South Mosque was passed down through the Tie family for 11 generations, with the last imam, Tie Zizhang, serving until 1956.

The rear hall of the mosque was expanded in 1902. The main hall is not the traditional T-shape but features a structure with a rolled-shed roof, a front hall, a rear hall, and a hexagonal kiln-style prayer hall. This style of adding a pavilion-like kiln hall to the rear is common in Northeast China.





















The mihrab of the South Mosque is very unusual; instead of a traditional niche, it uses a "great spirit tablet" design, which is a unique local feature.























Shenyang East Mosque.

Shenyang East Mosque was built in 1803. In 1935, the prayer hall was rebuilt in a Western style, while the moon-viewing tower (wangyuelou) kept its original Chinese style. The East Mosque was occupied in 1958, returned in 1980, and became the Shenyang Islamic Institute in 1988.















Kaiyuan Old City Mosque

Take a train from Shenyang to Kaiyuan, then take a taxi to the Kaiyuan Old City. Located inside the East Gate of the old city, the Kaiyuan Old City Mosque was first built in 1406 (the fourth year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty) and is the oldest mosque in Northeast China.

The current main prayer hall follows the style of the 1680 (the 19th year of the Kangxi reign) reconstruction, consisting of a small porch (juanpeng), the main hall, and a hexagonal pavilion-style rear hall (yaodian), similar in style to the South Mosque in Shenyang.















Porch (juanpeng)





The Old City Mosque once had many plaques and couplets, but only the 'Allah is One' (Zhenzhu Duyi) plaque, gifted by the Kaiyuan County government in 1832 (the 12th year of the Daoguang reign), remains hanging above the main hall.



Inside the main hall









Old items stored in the mosque's reception hall include roof drip tiles, eave tiles, ridge beasts, and carved wooden railings from the main hall, the finial from the moon-viewing tower (wangyuelou) of the rear hall, and a plaque inscribed with 'Silk and Gauze' (Lingluo Shajuan).



























Wood carvings and stone engravings stored in the reception hall.









Very exquisite calligraphy









Fengcheng Mosque

Fengcheng Mosque was first built in 1775 (the 40th year of the Qianlong reign), renovated in 1862 (the first year of the Tongzhi reign), expanded with a north lecture hall and side rooms in 1876 (the second year of the Guangxu reign), and finally reached its current size after the moon-viewing tower was added in 1890 (the 16th year of the Guangxu reign).

The most distinctive feature of Fengcheng Mosque is the moon-viewing tower, built during the Guangxu reign, which has a double-eaved, four-cornered pyramidal roof, flying eaves, brackets, and intricately carved decorative brackets (que-ti).



















The mosque features 300-year-old Chinese junipers, a stele from the Guangxu renovation, and very exquisite wood and brick calligraphy carvings on the brackets and wall corners.



















Fuzhou Mosque

Fuzhou is a thousand-year-old city established during the Liao Dynasty. It was a major commercial hub in southern Liaoning from the Ming and Qing dynasties onwards, filled with merchants, until it was gradually replaced by Wafangdian along the South Manchuria Railway in modern times.

Around 1641 (the sixth year of the Chongde reign of the Qing Dynasty), Hui Muslims from the four major surnames of Yin, Ma, Dai, and Hui migrated from Cangzhou, Hebei to Fuzhou, and later established Fuzhou Mosque in the southwest of the city in 1649 (the sixth year of the Shunzhi reign). Three thatched rooms were built as the main hall in 1656 (the 13th year of the Shunzhi reign), which was rebuilt in 1774 (the 39th year of the Qianlong reign) and expanded again in 1880 (the sixth year of the Guangxu reign), still with a thatched roof. In 1920, the front porch and rear hall were expanded, and the roof was changed to blue brick tiles, resulting in its current form.



















Hanging in front of the Fuzhou Mosque main hall is a 'Return to Simplicity and Truth' (Huanpu Guizhen) plaque, respectfully presented in 1897 (the 23rd year of the Guangxu reign) by Wang Tingxiang, a third-rank official and imperial censor.







Additionally, there are brick carvings of traditional calligraphy featuring dua on the wall corners. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: The final part of the Liaoning mosque series is a short, image-led record of historic mosque sites and remaining architectural details. It keeps the original photo order and focuses on Liaoning Hui Muslim heritage, mosque preservation, and local community memory.





Qingdui Mosque (Qingdui Si)

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 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 is one of them.

Qingdui Mosque was first built during the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty, starting as just three thatched rooms. In July 1894, when the First Sino-Japanese War broke out, the famous Hui Muslim general Zuo Baogui led his troops to Korea to fight the Japanese and passed by Qingdui Mosque. General Zuo Baogui got along very well with the mosque's imam, Zhang Chaozhen. He later donated money, and with additional funds raised by his personal Hui Muslim guards and three local halal restaurants—Deshengyuan, Qingshengyuan, and Yongshengyuan—they prepared to expand the mosque. Unfortunately, before the expansion was finished, General Zuo Baogui died heroically while fighting the Japanese in Pyongyang.

In 1895 (the twenty-first year of the Guangxu reign), the mosque's elder, Hui Wanchun, oversaw the rebuilding of the main hall into the three-room green brick and tile structure seen today. In 1920 (the ninth year of the Republic of China), the gate tower was rebuilt and the lecture hall was expanded, giving the mosque its current size.

The mosque's main gate features a brick-carved couplet that reads: 'The pure palace spreads the teachings of the Muhammadan path, the true sage passes down scriptures that bestow grace from the Western Regions.' This is a very precious piece of Republican-era brick-carved calligraphy. The main gate is usually closed, so you must enter the mosque through the south wing where the imam lives. The imam is from Gansu and warmly introduced us to the history of Qingdui Mosque; it is not easy for his family to stay and maintain this small community mosque. view all