Chinese Islamic Architecture

In 652 AD, Muslim traders and diplomats brought the religion of Islam to China.
Today, China boasts a Muslim population of over 23 million and there are 35,000
mosques scattered throughout the vast country. Islamic influence can be found
everywhere, from the bustling cities of Beijing and Shanghai to the wild western
regions of Xinjiang.
Islamic architecture in China is as rich and varied as the country itself. In China’s
desert region of Xinjiang, mosques are built in the more traditional Middle Eastern
style, with towering domes and minarets. In China’s more populated east, however,
mosques eschew domes in favor of a more traditional style of Chinese architecture.
Symmetrically designed, eastern mosques more closely resemble buddhist Pagodas,
in the hopes of blending in and winning acceptance from the native population.
1. Xi’an the oldest Mosque
Built during the Tang Dynasty in 742 AD, Xi’an’s Great Mosque is the oldest in
China. Constructed in the Chinese style to blend in with existing places of worship,
the Great Mosque is almost devoid of the traditional features of a Middle Eastern
place of worship. It has no dome, nor traditional minarets, and, aside from some
Arabic decorations, little to distinguish its faith of origin.
Architecture
 The mosque is a walled complex of four courtyards, with the prayer hall located
in the fourth courtyard.
 Each courtyard contains a central monument, such as a gate, and is lined with
greenery as well as subsidiary buildings.
 The first courtyard, for instance, contains a Qing dynasty monumental gate,
while the fourth courtyard houses the Phoenix Pavilion, a hexagonal gazebo.
 Many walls throughout the complex are filled with inscriptions of birds, plants,
objects, and text, both in Chinese and Arabic. Stone steles record repairs to the
mosque and feature calligraphic works.
 In the second courtyard, two steles feature scripts of the calligrapher Mi Fu of
the Song dynasty and Dong Qichang, a calligrapher of the Ming dynasty.
 The Xingxin Tower is located in the third courtyard, which contains many steles
form ancient times. This courtyard is for visitors to attend prayer services.
 The fourth courtyard has a bigger prayer hall which can seat more than a
thousand people.
Overall, the mosque's architecture, like the majority of Hui Chinese mosques,
combines a traditional Chinese architectural form with Islamic functionality.
For example, whereas traditional Chinese buildings align along a north–south axis in
accordance with feng shui, the mosque is directed west towards Mecca,while still
conforming to the axes of the imperial city.
Some scholars also speculate that the three-story, octagonal pagoda in the third
courtyard, called the Shengxinlou or “Examining the Heart Tower,” originally served
as the mosque's minaret, used for the call to prayer.
Minaret of Chinese Minaret of Islam
Minaret
a tall slender tower, typically part of a mosque, with a balcony from which a muezzin
calls Muslims to prayer.Minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to
mosques. Minarets serve multiple purposes. While they provide a visual focal point,
they are generally used for the Muslim call to prayer. The basic form of a minaret
includes a base, shaft, a cap and head.
The prayer hall is a monumentally sized timber building with a turquoise hip roof,
painted dougong (wooden brackets), a six-pillared portico, and five doors. It is raised
upon a large stone platform lined with balustrades. The expansive prayer hall
consists of three conjoined buildings, set one behind the other. Interior
ornamentation is centered on the rear qibla wall, which has wooden carvings of
floral and calligraphic designs
Facing the prayer hall of the Great Mosque of Xi'an, in the fourth courtyard
Calligraphy on a plaque in the Great Mosque of Xi'an

Part 3
A Paifang, also known as a pailou, is a traditional style of Chinese

architectural arch or gateway structure. Evolved from the Indian
subcontinent's torana through the introduction of Buddhism to China, it has
developed many styles and has been introduced to other East Asian countries, such
as Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. These Gate ways serves as a symbolic entrance to the
neighborhood and also the gate serves as a focal point for the community.

Chinese Islamic Architecture

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Chinese Islamic Architecture

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In 652 AD, Muslim traders and diplomats brought the religion of Islam to China.

1. Xi’an the oldest Mosque

Minaret of Chinese Minaret of Islam

Calligraphy on a plaque in the Great Mosque of Xi'an

A Paifang, also known as a pailou, is a traditional style of Chinese

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