Famous Mosques in China

China is home to almost 40,000 mosques of which 25,000 alone in Xinjiang. Here are 9 famous Chinese mosques in all different corners of China.

1. Huaisheng Mosque in #Guangzhou, #Guangdong province is China’s oldest mosque, built in 627 CE during the Tang Dynasty.

2. Qingjing Mosque in the ancient coastal town of #Quanzhou, #Fujian province, built in 1009 CE and is the oldest ‘Arab style’ mosque in China for the many Arab traders visiting and living in the city during the ancient maritime Silk Road era.

3. The Great Masjid of #Xian , #Shaanxi province was built in the year 742 CE, during the Tang dynasty. It served as the religious center of Arab merchants and traders based in China, coming from the overland Western Silk routes.

4. The Niujie Mosque is the oldest Mosque in #Beijing. It was first built in 996 during the Liao Dynasty and was reconstructed and enlarged under the Kangxi Emperor (1661–1722) of the Qing Dynasty.

5. Daowai Mosque or Harbin Mosque in Northern #Harbin city, #Heilongjiang province, built in 1897 during the Qing Dynasty and extended in 2003.

6. Lhasa Great Mosque, also known as Hebalin Mosque in #Lhasa, #Tibet Autonomous Region, built in 1716 and renovated in 1959.

7. Id Kah Mosque in #Kashgar, #Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, built in 1442 (with older structures dating back to 996) is the largest mosque in China (2009) with an area of about 16,000 m2.

8. Tongxin Great Mosque in Wuzhong City, #Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, built in the 14th century. It was originally a Mongolian Buddhist temple, eventually abandoned after the Yuan Dynasty and reinstalled as a mosque during the early Ming Dynasty.

9. The new Hangzhou Great Mosque in #Hangzhou City, #Zhejiang province, completed in 2016 to meet the increasing population of muslim inhabitants in the city.

Other equally renowned, ancient mosques scattered all over China are for example the Huasi Mosque in Linxia City (1487) and the Dunhuang Mosque in Dunhuang City (Ming Dynasty 1368-1644 and rebuilt in 1917), both in #Gansu province; the Jinan Great Southern Mosque in Jinan city, #Shandong province (1295), or the Nanning Mosque in Nanning City, #Guanxi (1717).