Niujie Mosque 牛街清真寺

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The oldest and largest of the 40-odd mosques in Beijing, Niujie is a central religious and social gathering place for Beijing’s 250,000 Muslims. The mosque was built in 996 AD, during the Liao dynasty, and was originally designed by the son of an imam, Nazruddin. After Genghis Khan’s armies destroyed it in 1215, the mosque was rebuilt and later significantly expanded in 1442. By the Qing dynasty, the neighboring markets were well known for halal beef and mutton, and today the Muslim presence is still quite strong, with Muslim grocery stores lining the road and Arabic script on most of the signs.
Of the 42 rooms in the complex, the most important is the 600 square-meter prayer hall, which can hold more than 1,000 worshippers and is a striking blend of Islamic and Chinese design. Imams used the Tower for Observing the Moon to determine the start of Ramadan each year. Both the tower and the interior of the main prayer hall are off-limits to non-believers, and women are restricted to certain areas. The front gate of the mosque is only open during two important Muslim festivals: Ramadan and Eid ul-Adha (known in China as Corban). The son of the founding Arab imam is buried in the courtyard garden, along with two sheikhs from Central Asia who came to China along the Silk Road. The mosque complex also contains several
stone tablets, including epitaphs for the two sheikhs and a stele by Emperor Kangxi (1654-1722) absolving the Hui Muslim minority of a conspiracy to overthrow the Qing dynasty. Other artifacts housed in the mosque include ancient porcelain and classical Islamic texts.
Recently, the mosque was been given a RMB 20 million facelift, which has greatly enlarged the complex and allowed the mosque to reclaim two nearby buildings, one of which serves as a separate place of worship for women. Try and visit around 1pm on Fridays, when prayers have been known to draw upwards of 700 worshippers.
Visitors must dress conservatively: long trousers or skirts and shirts with sleeves.

Location 

Niu Jie
牛街
18 Niujie
Xuanwu District
宣武区
牛街18号
Daily 24hrs. RMB 2 (locals), RMB 10 (foreigners)
6353 2564
Smoking
Cash only

Contact

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